Introduction
Some people think that sending forwards is a good idea to keep in touch if you are long-distance friends. I absolutely do not care for forwards and bluntly ask my friends not to send me any. I love my friends and want to connect them on a personal level…. only!
Relationships are all an investment. The more time you dedicate to them, the more they will benefit you in the long run.
In this post, I am sharing some ideas to keep in touch with your friends who live far away from you.
1. Take out time for audio/video chats
Whatsapp has made it really easy to call our friends whenever we want. Staying in touch was never this easier. Honestly, we don’t have any excuse for not staying up to date with our friends now. Following are some ideas:
- Monthly catch ups – Decide day and time in advance and mark in the calendar
- Schedule a themed video chat – Some ideas: Experience cooking, painting, DIY, or planning together
- An example of the above is when my sister Nataliya and I scheduled our Daal Date on a Video call. We both were ready with our dejkas and ingredients and cooked it together on video chat. It was a big success and we really enjoyed it.
2. Do things together, apart
Plan activities and deadlines together. Do them on your own. Once they’re completed, call each other and discuss how did you like it. These can include the following:
- Watch a decided drama/sitcom/movie
- Decide a book and read/listen to it
- DIY Projects
- Creating Journals
- Making paintings
- Cooking recipes
3. Take out time to check each other’s daily stories
Insta/snapchat stories are a great way to stay connected with friends even though they’re far away.
Mere looking at their stories will keep you updated and make you feel close to them. Commenting on their stories once in a while is a good way to show them you remember them.
4. Tag each other on stories on random thoughts
We would be lying if we deny the fact that we are reminded of our friends many times in our lives. Whenever such a moment takes place or something reminds us of our friends, lets take a moment and share it with them. Let’s take a picture of that thing and tag them with a note on your memories.
5. Audio messages on Whatsapp
I absolutely love leaving voice messages for my closest friends.
This is my favorite point. The best part is that you don’t have to worry about their time zones, or set up a time for a chat. You can just send your side of the story whenever you are free. They can reply with an audio message whenever they’re free.
Personally, I use audio messages to connect with most of my close friends. Rather than feeling dizzy and chatting with them on text messages, I prefer sending them personal voice messages. They’re great for Whatsapp group messages too. We use them often in our close group friends and family groups on whatsapp. Following is an example of our monthly audio roundups:
Following are some ideas of how you can connect with your friends through voice messages:
- 2-minute life roundup – Send your friends an audio recording of a summary of all that happened in your life since the last time you met (or talked). Ask them to reply the same way.
- Remember memories together – Talk about things you did together.
- Casual gup shup – Voice messages are far more personal than just a standard ‘Hi whats up’ text. During your busy routine, just sending a ‘how are you?’ audio message is a great way to reconnect despitee the distance.
6. Cut them some slack
Respect your friends family/work life. Don’t get upset if they don’t reply in a certain time. Don’t always expect them to be available when you contact them. Have patience. Even if you don’t hear back from them, its okay for you to still keep sending them a message or two in a month. They will get back to you once they’re out of the challenging time they’re in right now.
Conclusion
Today, it is so common for us to live a life away from our loved ones. If we don’t make the most of technology to stay in touch with them, we will be missing out on precious times with our loved ones. Life is really too short to let distances come in between relationships that matter.Â
These are the relationships that really matter in life so let’s make an effort and stay connected to our close ones.
Also, I keep hearing about we don’t have time. It is really not about having time, its about making time for whats important for you! If someone’s not important for you, you won’t have time in your busy life. But if they’re important for you, even a 20 hour work day won’t keep you away from connecting with them. Its all excuses when we say ‘we’re very busy’. It’s only the fact that ‘we don’t have time for you in our lives’.
Thanks for stopping by.
If you liked the points, do comment below. How do you stay connected with your long-distance loved ones? I would love to know. Lots of love!
P.S. If there is someone who is in a long distance relationship with spouse, I would love you to message me and do a guest post for me on tips to stay close to your spouse in spite of the long distance relationship.
