The keys to making your relationship goals successful are patience, clear communication, and a whole lot of trust. If you’re looking for some goals to work toward with your partner, this list of 50 relationship goals is the perfect place to start.
50 Relationship Goals
1. Carve out a weekly date night. No phones!
In a modern world with modern problems, making time to sit with your significant other without the distraction of technology can be difficult, but that means it’s even more important. Setting aside a weekly date night where it’s just the two of you will bring you closer and make priceless memories.
2. Make a 5-year plan.
The most successful couples are on the same page about where they want to be as individuals and a couple in the future. Sit down with your partner and make a 5-year plan where you outline your goals and expectations for finances, housing, careers, and anything else that’s important for you to achieve together.
3. Learn each other’s love languages.
Whether you feel like taking an official Love Languages quiz online or not, sitting down to chat about how you like to give and receive love can help clear up miscommunications, establish expectations, and forge a more solid bond between you and your partner.
4. Make a budget—and stick to it.
It’s no surprise that arguments about money are one of the leading causes of breakups and divorces. Setting your expectations about how the money will be spent (and saved) ahead of time can help save some of that heartache.
5. Preserve traditions and develop new ones.
In the midst of everyday life, setting aside special moments to celebrate traditions together can help life feel a little more magical. Whether your tradition is a trip to the ice cream parlor on hot summer days or a movie night together on weekends, having little activities that are meaningful to you will help you enjoy the present together when things get hectic.
6. Discuss those topics.
If you haven’t already, start having conversations with your significant other about topics like parenting, religion, work-life balance, politics, and finances. Although you and your partner don’t need to see eye-to-eye about everything, initiating these conversations will help you identify places where you might not be compatible so that you can work on them ahead of time.
7. Read together.
If you and your beau are bookworms, a candlelit evening curled up with books is in order. Taking the time to unplug from your phones and enjoy a new story in peaceful quiet will be a stress reliever for you both.
8. Make time to touch base every day over coffee or at bedtime.
In the humdrum of life, making time to talk about your days together can get pushed to the wayside. Whenever it fits in your schedule, make time over morning coffee or at bedtime to talk about what’s new in your life and share a few moments together.
9. Make a vacation bucket list.
What’s more romantic than traveling the world together? Make a list of all the places you’d like to see. Don’t be afraid to daydream a little. On a bucket list, the world is your oyster.
10. Read each other’s favorite book or watch each other’s favorite movie.
They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but in the age of media, your partner’s favorite book, movie, or TV show might reveal much more about them. There’s no better way to get to know someone than to engage with a story that touched their heart.
11. Keep in touch with each other’s loved ones.
Having a harmonious life with your significant other means building relationships with the other people they love. As you build relationships with those loved ones, make an effort to include them, reach out to them, and get to know them better.
12. Reminisce with a scrapbook.
It’s so easy to lose memories to the sands of time. How are you supposed to recall in perfect detail all the great days you’ve spent together as a couple? With a scrapbook or other method of recording your memories together, you can look back on your favorite days as often as you’d like.
13. Learn how to communicate your needs.
As convenient as it would be, our significant others aren’t mind readers. Learning how to communicate your own needs clearly and effectively will save you a headache in the future, and make life a lot easier for your partner, as well.
14. Sign up for an exercise or art class together.
Getting out of the house to enjoy a fun activity together will help bring you closer as a couple. Whether you enjoy a yoga class at the gym or a painting or ceramics class at a local studio, diving into a new hobby with your partner will bring you closer together and give you both a memory you’ll cherish for years to come.
15. Take a trip.
If your day-to-day surroundings are feeling a bit oppressive, consider taking a vacation together. From a weekend getaway to a cabin in the woods to an international trip, there are plenty of options for vacations that will take you out of your element and help you and your partner reconnect away from everyday life.
16. Pamper each other.
Set aside time for bubble baths, massages, face masks, and evenings eating chocolate-covered strawberries on the couch. Showing your partner your love with a decadent evening can help you both get some much-needed R&R at the end of a long day or workweek.
17. Celebrate each other’s successes.
When you or your love experience a big win, take the time to properly celebrate it together. Whether it’s a toast with wine over a dinner at home, or something more extravagant, celebrating each other’s successes will bring you closer together and ensure you both feel loved and special.
18. Set expectations for gifts.
Gift-giving can be one of the most stressful parts of a relationship. Not knowing how large, how expensive, or how complex a gift should be can make you feel nervous and insecure about what presents to choose. The best solution is to talk to your significant other about your expectations for gifts as a couple ahead of time, so you don’t have to leave things up to interpretation.
19. Be honest with yourselves and each other.
Honesty is a key component of any successful relationship, but sometimes the most difficult person to be honest with is ourselves. Being able to be truthful about what you need, what you want, and what’s not working for you will help you be a stronger individual, and help your relationship thrive far into the future.
20. Keep your word.
If you tell your significant other you’re going to do something, do it! Becoming a person who sticks to their word will help build trust between you and your significant other and will show that you have genuine love and respect for them.
21. Make a list of things you love about each other.
On tough days, it helps to have a tangible reminder of why you love one another. Make a list of all the qualities you love about your partner. Refer to the lists when needed and remember all the wonderful reasons you fell in love.
22. Have your own lives.
As much as you might want to spend all your time with your partner, having your own life with friends, family members, and activities you love will help you feel like a whole, independent person outside of your relationship. It will also give you and your beau something to talk about when you see one another.
23. Talk candidly about social media.
Every relationship is different, and it’s helpful to know how your partner prefers to approach social media. Set expectations about privacy, what kind of content is appropriate to post, and how much you feel comfortable sharing with the outside world as a couple. And most importantly: stick to the rules you set!
24. Write love notes.
If you’re a busy couple that struggles to find time to chat throughout the day, leaving little love notes around the house (or sending them via text) is a great way to remind one another how much you care when the going gets tough.
25. Communicate about sex and intimacy.
If you haven’t yet had some candid discussions around sex and intimacy, now is the time. Every person is different, and sexual compatibility is as much about communication as it is about chemistry.
26. Do your best to talk openly about unwanted, “negative” emotions.
If you experience jealousy, suspicion, anger, or another uncomfortable emotion within your relationship, try being open with your partner about it. It can be tempting to bury emotions we feel guilty for having, but that will ultimately make it more difficult for you and your partner to have a successful relationship. There’s no shame in feeling what you feel.
27. Emphasize the things you have in common.
It can be easy to get hung up on what’s different between you and your person but emphasizing your commonalities can help bridge the gap in communication and understanding.
28. Learn to understand and honor your differences.
The flip side of #27 is this. Talking openly with your partner about the ways you are similar and different can help you understand (and anticipate) one another’s feelings, reactions, and preferences.
29. Try something new together.
When the days start bleeding into one another and get a little bit boring, learning something new together can help shake things up. Whether it’s a documentary on Netflix or an activity outside the house, having a new experience and learning together can be useful.
30. Don’t hold onto the past.
It’s easier said than done, but genuinely letting go of the past is one of the most essential parts of any happy relationship. If you’re struggling as an individual to let go of past arguments, consider a conversation with your partner about how to approach forgiveness and healing together.
31. Get comfortable with silence.
Especially when you live with your significant other, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be spending a lot of time in the same space. It helps to get comfortable with silence—no one can think of something to say all the time! Being able to quietly sit together and feel comfortable will make your daily lives together so much more peaceful.
32. Don’t take life too seriously.
Don’t forget that spontaneity, joy, and laughter are all vital parts of your life with your spouse. Make time to appreciate the unexpected humor and happiness in the situations you encounter and don’t be afraid to be a little silly.
33. Make rules about disagreements.
No matter how happy you are with your person, disagreements will happen. Talking about your expectations, the preferred method of communication, and “rules” for arguing ahead of time can make sure those disagreements are resolved as quickly and painlessly as possible. Consider touching on things like when and where you will argue (at home vs. in public, for example) and whether you will go to bed angry.
34. Discuss boundaries early and often.
Talking to your significant other about your personal boundaries sets both of you up for success. After all, your partner can’t be respectful of boundaries they aren’t aware of. Chat about boundaries regarding money, sex, friendship, family, parenting, and anything else you deem suitable.
35. Honor your anniversaries.
Don’t let those special days go by without celebrating. Marking the time you’ve spent together is a nod to how important your relationship is to both of you, no matter how long you’ve been together.
36. Destigmatize couple’s therapy.
When the going gets tough, successful couples go to couple’s therapy. Although there can sometimes be a stigma around this kind of counseling, bringing in a professional who is trained to help couples work through disagreements and difficulties can mean the difference between healing and heartbreak.
37. Allow yourselves room to grow.
There are so many exciting days of your life to come. You may look back five years from now and hardly recognize the person you are today. That kind of growth is exciting, but as you and your partner grow and change, it can sometimes feel like you’ve lost touch with the person you fell in love with. Allowing yourselves room to grow can give you both the space to keep your love strong no matter what life brings.
38. Take time to give compliments.
Acknowledging the hard work your spouse put into something, how nice they look today, or something you enjoy about their personality will make them feel loved and special—and can remind you of all their wonderful qualities, too!
39. Have an “us vs. the problem” mentality.
When difficulties in life arise, it can be all too easy to feel like it’s you against your significant other. But having an “us vs. the problem” mentality means that you and your love are a team against the difficulties you’re facing together. Not only does this help you stay strong as a couple, but it often also helps the situation be resolved more quickly. After all, two heads are better than one.
40. Make a chore chart.
Struggling to work out the finer details of household management? A chore chart can be a big help. Setting expectations for who will take care of what chores and when can help things run more smoothly and ensure there won’t be any arguments about the dirty dishes in the sink.
41. Talk about your non-negotiables.
A healthy part of any relationship is defining ahead of time what you are and aren’t willing to compromise on as individuals. For example, if one of you wants a big wedding and you aren’t willing to consider a small ceremony or elopement, that’s something your partner should know is important to you as soon as possible. You both deserve to live the life of your dreams.
42. Do something spontaneous.
In a world that requires we plan out every detail of our daily lives, doing something spontaneous with your significant other can help return a little color to your lives and wash away some of the stress of your regimented schedules.
43. Create a savings goal for a luxury item or trip.
If you and your partner have dreams you would like to accomplish together, there’s no time to start saving like the present. Create a savings goal together for that car, vacation, or other purchase that you’ve been dreaming about.
44. Create a morning and evening routine.
There’s nothing like a morning and evening routine to set expectations, carve out time together, and begin and end every day on the right foot. Doing it with your partner will make it even more special, whatever it looks like for you.
45. Talk about your “next steps.”
Being on the same page about where your relationship is headed is vital. Whether you’re dating and talking about an engagement, married and talking about children, or in another phase of life altogether, knowing where your spouse’s head is at will help keep the foundation of your relationship strong.
46. Set expectations for PDA.
Some people love a touchy-feely relationship in public and others … not so much. Know what your person prefers and be sure to be respectful of the boundaries you discuss together.
47. Get to know each other’s friends.
Becoming a part of each other’s social circles is a meaningful part of any relationship. It shows that things are progressing well and gives your friends an opportunity to get to know and love your partner, too.
48. Enjoy the great outdoors together.
A little Vitamin D never hurts. Finding activities that you and your significant other like to do in the great outdoors is a great way to pass your time together. From reading a book in the shade of a tree to long weekend hikes, you can’t go wrong with a little outside time.
49. Make a home together.
If you live with your significant other, make sure to cultivate a space that makes both of you feel comfortable, safe, and loved. An ambiance that sets you both up for success will go a long way when life gets busy.
50. Say I love you often.
Chances are good that no matter how many times you say, “I love you,” your partner will never get tired of hearing it. Sometimes, hearing those three little words is a very important reminder. Use them often. Check out…13 Couples Goals, Based on Dr. Gottman’s Advice200 Questions for Couples100 Romantic Things to Say
