Hey Sunshine! ☼

Carve Out A Few Minutes

In this fast paced world full of responsibilities for family and work, beloved friendships can take a hit. As much as you want to stay connected, it just seems like there is so little time to keep in touch and up to date with all of your friends, old and new. But carving out a few minutes to reach out to a friend is exactly what you need when things in life get hectic. You need a few moments to slow down, get grounded, and connect!

What Connecting With A Friend Can Do For You

Connecting with a good friend decreases anxiety, elevates your mood, and relieves loneliness and feelings of isolation. My favorite thing to do is laugh with a friend. This goes on my Lightened Up Activities List many times a week. Combining laughter with connecting with a friend is a powerhouse way to lighten up your day!

Too Much To Do?

Often part of what keeps us from staying in touch is the thought of how much time it will take. But there are some great and fun ways to stay in touch when you don’t have hours to spend on the phone. Or when you can’t seem to coordinate your schedules to talk.

Marco Polo

When you only have a minute or two, send a Polo! This is one way I keep in touch with some of my friends. Marco Polo is an app where you send short videos back and forth to each other. It’s like Facetime but not live. You can hop on the app, shoot off a quick video to your friends to keep them updating on what is happening in your life, and also ask them about theirs. They will receive it when they have a moment to watch and then can respond in kind when they have a free moment. I’m actually on a group Polo with 9 friends and we all send little videos and respond to each other when we can. It has been a fabulous way for us all to stay connected in this busy life of ours.

Group Texting

Last year one of my childhood friend’s father passed away. She reached out to a small group of us from back in the day to reconnect via group-text. This has been another fabulous way to stay connected with old friends.

The best of all ways is to make the time when you can for a phone call, or a shared meal together. But as far as lightening up your life goes, any way at all that you can connect with a friend, for any amount of time, will work and counts!