5 Tips to Reconnect with Your Friends
In 2023, the US government published a paper on “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” which calls attention to an “urgent public health issue.” It goes into detail about why social connection matters for us individually and in our communities, what impacts our social connections, how lack of social connection impacts us (emotionally, mentally, and physically), and how to advance our social connections.
With our ever more busy lives, sometimes our friendships get pushed further to the side than we might have intended. We may feel embarrassed by the amount of time that has passed since we last reached out or unsure of ways to fit everyone into our schedules.
The research is really clear that being in community with others is important. We need friends! But it's hard to make and see friends in busy adult lives.
Not to worry, I’ve got some tips below that you can use to help reconnect with friends. And if you like these, you’re sure to like my popular Friday Five newsletter where I share various tips every week to help you live a more joyfully managed life!
1. Reconnect via text message
A great resource I’ve found for improving our social connectedness is the nonprofit Sunny: they have an app and a digital library of articles, tips, and resources to help us improve our relationships and fight against the loneliness epidemic. I like getting their emails, too.
Here are 3 Texts to Send to Reconnect from them:
Text #1: Hi stranger! Didn’t mean to drop off like that, life has just been crazy. How are things?
Text #2: Hey, how did your _________ go? It’s been a while, but miss our talks! Hope you’re well.
Text #3: I just saw _________ and it totally reminded me of you! Hope all is well. Would love to catch up when you’re free.
Use one of these prompts—or draft your own—and reach out to someone you’ve been meaning to catch up with!
2. Pick an activity to catch up
I loved this article about 15 ways to catch up with friends that aren't coffee or drinks.
My friend Thomas and I discussed a few years back how delighted we were to run errands to spend time with each other. This list is packed with unusual ideas (take your friends on the drive to that far-away Craigslist pickup! Have friends help you plant your garden! Start an article-discussion club!).
My suggestion: pick just one idea from the article and invite a friend to do that with you in the next week. I promise you won't regret it.
3. Set up a recurring event
Try making time with your friends an open, recurring invitation.
Here's an example: one summer, I put together a simple spreadsheet of the parks in our community that are fun to gather for families, and assigned a weekend morning to each park. I then shared the list in a calendar invite with lots of our friends and our kids' friends. It was an open invite for them to join us if they want any given weekend - or not. Because it's an open invitation to a large crew, there's no pressure for anyone in particular to join but it did create some built-in community for us each weekend.
This isn't just for families with kids, though - the same idea could work for:
a group of friends meeting at a bar once a week
a once-a-week night at a local restaurant for Taco Tuesday or Thursday Night Long Island Ice Teas
a weekly or monthly brunch date with those former colleagues you miss working with
a monthly calendared dinner with friends - just set the recurring calendar invite and let it happen unless it needs to get rescheduled occasionally
4. Schedule a reading retreat
If you do not read for pleasure, taking a vacation just to read may sound like an absolute nightmare. For folks like me, though, it sounds like a dream!
Imagine yourself in your favorite location, an eReader or bookshelf loaded with your full TBR list, your favorite drinks and snacks on hand, and no clocks forcing you to think about how much time you’ve spent with your nose in a book. A dream, right?
I actually did this in early 2024 with a friend who invited a handful of us, gifted us each the coziest blanket, and then fed and watered us as needed while we read all the books. Truly delightful.
And I recently stumbled upon this article, which details, step-by-step, how to create your ultimate reading vacation. It contains tips on choosing a destination, planning meals, gathering supplies, and collecting reading material.
The easiest way to get a little traction on a reading retreat with friends would be to text a few friends right now with this article link and ask them if they'd ever want to make this happen with you.
And while you’re at that reading retreat, why not try out this last tip:
5. Try the Scandinavian Sleep Method for traveling with friends if space is tight
How often do you lose sleep fighting over the covers when you’re on a trip with friends and there aren’t enough beds for everyone to sleep alone? My husband and I have started using the Scandinavian Sleep Method at home and it's been so nice that I’m certain it’ll work for you and your friends on your next trip.
According to The Sleep Foundation:
In the Scandinavian sleep method, couples [or friends, in this case] use two separate duvets to lessen sleep disruption.
Sleepers still share a bed but have individual single-size comforters or duvets.
Each sleeper can personalize their sleep to fit their individual preferences and minimize disturbing one another.
By having separate duvets/blankets/comforters, you and your friends can maintain your individual sleeping temperature requirements while sharing a bed. Which can, in turn, lead to a better overall experience while on vacation.
Want more tips?
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About The Author
Jessica Eastman Stewart is a consultant, workshop facilitator, and podcast guest expert. She teaches busy professionals how to get more organized at home and at work so they can stop feeling worn out and start living a Joyfully Managed Life! Thousands of readers drop everything when her weekly newsletter, The Friday Five, arrives in their inbox. Every Friday, you’ll get FIVE amazing tips to help life feel INSTANTLY more joyful and easy!
