If you find that you and your significant other only have last night’s episode of your favorite show to talk about and you don’t get quite as excited to see them anymore, then you may be in a relationship rut. While this can be frustrating, and even scary, it doesn’t have to signal the end of your relationship.
You have the power to revive your relationship to its former glory, and can even find those butterflies again. Surprisingly, technology is a great way to reconnect, and one that is often overlooked. After all, you’re in a 21st century relationship so it’s time to use 21st century resources to reignite that spark. Research even shows that being connected to your loved ones online can actually make you happier.
Relationship and Technology: How to get over your Ex
So, stop waiting for that bolt of lightning to strike and check out our 10 favorite tech-savvy tricks to get the romance back in your love life.
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Make Date Planning a Breeze
You’ll never get into a tiff about where to go to dinner again with this helpful relationship app. BetterHalf offers you all the restaurant suggestions you need, and the more you use it the better it works. The app will keep track of your favorite spots—and even offer movie suggestions to round out your date night! Using the app’s customized tips will make it easy to pick a special place for date night–and you can even send your honey an invite right from the app.
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Try Something New
One of the best ways to get out of a rut is to try something new. Learning new things together is also a great way to bond and find new appreciation for your sweetheart. Whether you want to take a group painting class, expand your culinary skills, or increase your literary knowledge, sites like Eventful and Meetup offer plenty of suggestions and venues right in your town. Not only will you discover new activities, but these sites will also help you connect with other couples who enjoy the same things.
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Write Your Love Story
Documenting how you fell in love, your favorite things to do together, and your hopes for the future can rev up your relationship in no time. And the Couple app makes it easy to create a timeline of your relationship through photos, videos, and text entries. Not only does the app give you a chance to relive those early days, but it also has tools to send love notes and other sweet messages to one another–just to make sure they know you’re thinking of them.
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Become a Honey-Do Hero
When we live together every day it’s easy to start to take those little things for granted. Especially when those little things are doing the dishes or picking up a quart of milk on the way home. You’ll never overlook those little things again with the Honey-Do List app. Whether it’s picking up the kids from practice or grabbing a bunch of flowers to let her know she’s special, this app will keep track of all things you need to do to keep a smile on your partner’s face.
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Get Some Good Advice
Sometimes all you need is a little perspective, but it’s not always easy to get un-biased advice from friends and family. When you need a little objective advice, but don’t feel like hitting the therapist’s office, turn to RelationTips. This app offers customized advice on how to improve your relationships, using information you provide about the relationship in question. Everything from how to express your feelings to creative dating ideas is right at your fingertips. And if you tend to forget things like anniversaries or his favorite cologne, the app will store that info for you as well.
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Send a Love Note
It doesn’t matter if your relationship is five days old, or five decades—you never get tired of knowing your loved one is thinking of you. With smartphones and mobile devices there are more ways than ever to let them know you care. If you want to send an irreverent card to make them smile, check out Someecards, an e-card website that offers hundreds of sassy messages to show them how much they matter.
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Focus on the Positive
When it feels like you’re spinning your wheels and every little thing your beloved does rubs you the wrong way, you need to re-set your relationship outlook. And if you’re feeling pretty cranky, it’s a good bet your partner is feeling it too. To help both of you move to a more positive space, set a challenge to text each other five things you appreciate about the other every day. Whoever sends five things first gets to choose the movie on your next date night. Lively competition and a focus on what you love about each other is a sure way to turn those relationship frowns upside down.
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Get Some Privacy
One of the drawbacks of technology is it can seem impossible to keep anything private. Posts on Facebook are available to all your friends, and even messages sent on your phone can be seen by anyone who picks it up. If you feel like sending a spicy message to your sweetie but want to make sure it remains for their eyes only, use the Avocado app. This app creates a private space just for you and your loved one. No one else has access and messages can’t accidentally be sent to someone else. This app lets you get a little frisky with your sweetie without risk of over-exposure.
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Show Your Silly Side
Being too serious with your honey is often the first sign of things going south. If you need a quick, easy way to lighten the mood and let them see your silly side, use Dubsmash to send them a sweet, silly message. Dubsmash is an app that lets you record yourself lip-synching to a well-known song, movie clip, or other funny audio clip. You can select from hundreds of 5-second clips to make the perfect, goofy message to make your love smile.
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Share Your Feelings
It can be hard to let your beloved know how you feel, and starting those conversations is even more awkward. Thanks to Tokii, a communication app that prompts you with conversation starters like, “I feel…” you can break the ice in a casual, safe way. Your sweetheart will be delighted to see you sharing yourself and they will be able to reciprocate with some messages of their own. They might be so happy to learn how you’re really doing that you’ll find some offers of backrubs or a night off from the kids on the table.
Don’t despair if your love life is in a slump. With these helpful ideas and relationship apps for couples you have plenty of help to get things back on track. By becoming a thoughtful, intentional participant in your relationship, you’ll soon be looking forward to date night with all the excitement you felt the first time you met.
