Questioning whether we really need friends is common among busy men and women. After all, humans are social creatures who seem to need a strong network of support to foster physical and emotional. But with a full schedule, how can you ever make time for genuine friendships?
First, let’s consider why making time for friends is essential by looking at science. Several studies confirm that a strong social network is necessary for physical and psychological health, no matter your age. Friends reduce depression and improve your self-esteem and happiness.
However, these connections have to be genuine. Making a friend simply because you have to will do more harm than good. Similarly, hiding important parts of your personality and interests from your friends will make your connections shallow, unfulfilling, and potentially abusive.
Having a balance between your business or work and social life will help you stay healthy and happy.
Here’s why social life is essential and why you should create more connections.
Having a social life can benefit your work life in a few ways. Going out and seeing and talking to people you don’t know helps you build and foster connections which can translate into making new friends, customers, and other business contacts. This helps you expand your network.
When you’re stagnated into one routine, working 24/7 without any social contact, your physical and mental health suffers. In fact, individuals who have the lowest level of social involvement are more likely to suffer complications and die younger than those with greater involvement.
When you start speaking to more people, you become more creative. Creativity can improve the way you approach problem-solving, marketing, and other business aspects. Social activities give you ideas that you might have overlooked while inside your office or your own head.
Talking to people you don’t know might lead to new opportunities and paths for your business. It’s a way to access those you may never have been able to reach. Participating in social activities can help you stay on top of the relevant trends, news, and issues that may impact you.
As we become more settled into our habits and routines, finding time to nurture relationships becomes a challenge. Building lifelong friendships is similar to dating; you’ve got to make time if you want it to work. Click here if you want more advice on dating and relationships specifically.
We all get busy, but if you’re purposely avoiding social situations or making excuses, there may be some underlying trauma you aren’t addressing. Perhaps you had a previous negative experience, you fear disappointment, or you don’t feel capable of being vulnerable with others.
Or, maybe you feel pressured to make more friends. However, science says you shouldn’t be. Approximately 22% of people have no friends, 27% have no close friends, and 49% have three or a few close friends. Having 3 to 5 friends is more than enough to lead a happy social life.
There’s nothing wrong with having no friends or a few close buddies as long as you’ve made this choice continuously. Speak to a mental health provider if you need help making friends.
It can be difficult to juggle a busy job and a social life. But it is possible to balance work and your personal life—it just requires some careful planning. Here’s how to see your friends more often.
Setting boundaries around your work commitments is important. Doing this will help you find the balance between work and personal time. Start by setting realistic expectations for how much time you can spend working, then talk to your employer about reducing your work hours.
If you can’t reduce your work hours, find ways to socialize when you have free time. Consider talking to people during your lunch hour, or mark off blocks of time that you have available. You may find you have more time to spend with your friends than you originally thought.
Planning ahead is key to making time for your social life. As soon as the weekend arrives, take a few minutes to plan out the activities you want to do. This could be anything from a dinner or a movie with friends to volunteering. When you make plans, you’re more likely to stick with them.
In moments where you can’t spare a second, use technology. Social media, email, group chats, and video calling services allow you to connect with friends and family from anywhere.
Remember that friendships require effort to stay connected. Even when your schedules are very different, you should take the initiative and reach out more often. Not every activity needs to be an all-day event. You could connect with friends through a quick phone call or text.
More often than not, a lack of social life is caused by poor priorities. It’s clear that your job, children, or spouse is essential, but what about the other things you make time for? As stated, we all get busy, but are you actually busy, or can you find a bit of spare time every week?
With that said, you should avoid competing priorities. For example, if you want to watch a movie with a friend, but you also want to answer emails at that time, then your schedule is too full.
To prioritize correctly, invite your closest friends or family first, or focus on activities that are important to you, such as a church group or volunteering. It’s also a good idea to spread out social activities throughout the week instead of doing them all at once to avoid overwhelm.
We live in a hustle culture that tells us we’re never working hard enough, but try to silence these voices. You need to take time for yourself to recharge and stay productive. When planning your social week, block out a few hours or a whole day that’s dedicated to you and you alone.
You can spend this time doing whatever you like, but consider doing something relaxing, like reading a book, listening to music, or going for a walk. When in doubt, take a long nap.
If you’re struggling to carve out free time for yourself, get help with some tasks. For example, you could outsource your marketing function, hire someone to clean your house, or ask your spouse to help with child-rearing. Use any extra money you can to make your life easier.
If you’re a people pleaser, it may feel weird or wrong to say “no,” but it’s okay to set boundaries with your friends and family. You know how hard you work, and you know that there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything. So, be honest when you can’t commit to something.
Having a full schedule can be stressful, and it can be tempting to think that social interactions are something you should be doing all the time. But it’s important to accept that you can only do so much. So, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to be constantly connected.
