26 Couple Goals to Strengthen Your Relationship (2024)

Even if you and your significant other are in the healthiest, most loving relationship, your union still needs constant nurturing. Without attending to your partnership, you run the risk of becoming complacent and stagnant, which kills connection and intimacy. One of the best ways to keep your relationship feeling fresh and alive and to foster growth, both individually and as a pair, is by setting couple goals.

According to licensed marriage and family therapist Eliana Lev, couple goals are frameworks that allow relationships to grow and flourish. These objectives are typically based on shared values and your future vision, and they help guide your behaviors and decisions. They can cover essentially any topic, from trying new activities to buying your dream house. “When goals are shared, team-like mentalities are fostered that couples can always return to, especially in times of strife,” Lev mentions.

Whether you’ve been together for 10 months or 10 years, you can set goals at any point in your relationship. We recommend taking time to brainstorm some ideas individually before coming together as a couple, where you share, workshop, and finalize your shared ambitions. Make sure to keep an open dialogue, where you constantly check in with one another to discuss your progress.

If you’re unsure where to start, we’re compiled a list of expert-approved ideas. Ahead, 26 couple goals to strengthen your relationship.

Touch Base Every Day

Even with busy schedules and the constant demands of life, touching base with your partner at least once a day is a productive couple goal to set. This could look like asking how your significant other is doing while sipping on your morning cup of Joe or setting aside five minutes at the start of dinner to talk about the highs and lows of each other’s days. If you don’t have time for an in-person chat, check in with your partner via text. You can gauge your progress by assessing whether you “had some type of connection today, where we learned about what was going on in the mind of the other person,” according to licensed clinical social worker Diana Gasperoni.

Learn Something New About Each Other

If you and your partner have been together for a while, it’s easy to assume you know everything about them. But we are always growing and evolving, and even the longest-standing relationships have surprises. Make an effort to learn something new about your significant other every month. To deepen your connection, ask each other questions from our guide or create your own.

Try Different Things

Routines are comforting, and they require minimal thought, but after some time, they can become monotonous. Instead of falling back on the same date night spot you always go to or the same walk you always take, introduce novelty into your relationship to keep it interesting and exciting. Maybe this looks like ordering a new dish or trying a new workout class together. Find something that the two of you are passionate about, and make a commitment to regularly incorporating it into your lives.

Set Aside Time for Physical Intimacy

Having sex is an important part of maintaining and enhancing your connection to one another. How often you engage in the act depends on your unique relationship. "Some couples will go a lifetime and have sex two or three times a week, and other couples will have sex every three months," Gasperoni shares. "It's all OK. What matters is how much sex is really good for both people." Come up with a realistic number of times per week or per month that works for both of you, and hold yourselves to it.

Create a Reasonable Budget

Money is a common cause of arguments, so to eliminate conflict down the road, it’s important to set your expectation about how much you’re spending and saving. To help with this, one potential couple goal is to set a reasonable budget that guides your shopping habits. Come up with a number that dictates how much you’ll spend, how much you’ll save, and how much you’ll invest.

Have a Weekly Date Night

Going on dates with your partner is one of the best ways to make memories and strengthen your bond. Since life can get busy, having a goal of spending intimate time alone every week will hold you accountable. These date nights can be as simple as cooking dinner together at home or something more elaborate, like going to a concert. You can even tackle two goals at once by arranging a different activity every time. Just make sure that you set your phones aside to eliminate any distractions and live more in the moment.

Plan Couple Getaways

Spending time with your partner in your local town has ample benefits, but sometimes, a change of scenery is needed to restore your connection. Travel has been proven to increase relationship satisfaction, boost romantic feelings, and improve closeness. Create a bucket list of places that you’ve been wanting to visit, and select one with your partner to actually put into action this year.

Focus on Yourself

In order for any relationship to thrive, the two of you need to be whole on your own. “The ability to maintain our own individuality as part of a couple creates a deeper capacity for intimacy and desire,” Lev says. To prevent losing your sense of self, set a goal of cultivating your own interests separately, whether it’s learning a new language, taking a poetry class, or establishing a consistent exercise routine. Then, come together as a unit to discuss how the journey is going.

Implement a Daily Ritual

To make quality time a priority amid your hectic schedules, incorporate a ritual into your daily lives. According to licensed marriage and family therapist Dr. Towanda Jackson, these habits are “mutually agreed upon activities and events designed to increase bonding, foster nurturing, and improve intimacy.” This can be anything, from hitting the gym as a unit every morning or watching a TV show at the end of every evening. Even giving one another a hug when you get home from work is something you can count on and look forward to.

Respect Each Other’s Boundaries

Setting your boundaries and following those of your partner (within reason, of course) is another couple goal to integrate into your relationship. “Healthy boundaries are a mechanism that prevents each partner from engaging in activities or conversations that are personally distressful and offensive,” Jackson explains. Chat about anything that’s off limits for you in terms of money, sex, parenting, language, or any other topic, and then, make an effort to respect the other’s wishes.

Communicate Your Needs

Our partners are not mind readers, unfortunately. Instead of assuming that your significant other knows you could use a hug after a stressful day at work or words of encouragement after a bout of self-doubt, practice sharing your needs with them. When you tell your partner how to best support you, they’ll appreciate the openness, and the knowledge will make them feel more empowered to attend to your desires. “Explicitly spelling out our wants and needs may feel arduous, but speaking honestly and directly gives each partner the chance to support us in the ways we hope and desire,” Lev expresses.

Improve Conflict Resolution

Conflict is an inevitable part of any relationship. Whether you’re arguing about whose turn it is to take out the trash or you’re in a tizzy about an off-hand comment your partner made, being able to address the discord in a respectful way is an effective, results-driven goal, according to Jackson. Lev explains that many of us run at the first sign of tension, but luckily, this is a skill you can build. “When we learn to withstand the distress and instead focus on repair, we create a more robust attachment in the relationship,” Lev mentions. In order to successfully squash an argument, communicate your perspective without blame and listen attentively when your partner speaks before you come up with a solution.

Practice Acceptance

According to Lev, we may have unconscious expectations about how our partner should be and how they should act. Instead of putting them in a box, make it a goal to accept them for who they are, which includes both their flaws and strengths. “This knowledge both deepens our connection to our partners and allows us to love the totality of who they are—the good, bad, and everything in between,” Lev says.

Learn Each One Another’s Love Languages

The five love languages—touch, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, and gifts—communicate how someone gives and receives love. Learn one another’s preferences, so you can better meet one another’s needs. If your partner appreciates affection, for instance, prioritize holding their hand when you’re walking around town and giving them frequent hugs.

Surprise Each Other

Regularly surprising your partner will make them feel seen and appreciated. Get in the habit of doing something thoughtful for your significant other, such as hand-delivering their favorite pastry or making them a playlist with songs by their most-loved artists. You can even arrange a surprise date every once in a while or establish a routine where the two of you alternate who plans the evening—without the other knowing the itinerary.

Volunteer Together

Volunteering is an exceptional way to nurture your relationship. Not only will the two of you bond over a cause that you’re passionate about, but you’ll also have an excuse to spend more time together. Whether it’s volunteering at a local soup kitchen once a week or organizing a coat drive every winter, any community service work will bolster your connection and sense of purpose.

Introduce New Traditions

You and your partner both have different upbringings with various family traditions, but now that you’re in a committed relationship, you can start creating your own. You could spend every Valentine’s Day at your favorite restaurant, designate Sundays as your technology-free day, or maintain a memory jar filled with details about all of your shared moments that you revisit once a year.

Fine-Tune Your Listening Skills

Active listening is the most important component for healthy communication, which makes it a noteworthy couple goal that you can practice together every day. Being a better listener means focusing on what your partner is saying, instead of thinking about what you’re going to say next, and processing their words without judgment. It also entails reflecting back what they’ve said and validating their concerns and feelings.

Regularly Compliment One Another

Even if your love language isn’t words of affirmation, giving one another compliments every once in a while will make both of you feel seen, valued, and loved. This could be as simple as telling your significant other that you love their laugh or that their work ethic inspires you. Whatever it is, make an effort to communicate how you feel about them instead of keeping those thoughts to yourself.

Express Gratitude

Expressing gratitude toward your partner not only makes you happier, but it also elicits more positive feelings toward your partner. In addition to telling your significant other how thankful you are for them, you can show them by giving them thoughtful gifts, offering to help them with a tedious task, or joining an activity that they love.

Divide Household Chores

If you and your partner are living together, dividing up your household chores will make life easier and help you dodge the ensuing arguments. Decide who will tackle which job and how often. For instance, maybe you agree to cook every night if your partner does the dishes, or perhaps you switch off every evening.

Celebrate Anniversaries

Whether it’s a milestone in your dating life or your marriage, carving out time to recognize and celebrate your anniversary will help you feel more connected. Pop open a bottle of Champagne in your living room, arrange a picnic on the beach, or book a staycation. Pick an activity or plan an event that will spark joy, and make sure to reminisce on all of your shared memories.

Be Honest

In order for a relationship to work, you and your significant other must show up as your authentic selves. That’s why honesty is the cornerstone of every partnership. Practice being open with your loved one about what you’re thinking and feeling, and you’ll build trust and emotional intimacy. Although being truthful isn’t always easy, you’ll feel more comfortable doing so over time—especially when your partner responds in a loving and supportive way.

Write Love Notes

If you regularly tell your partner “I love you” during everyday conversations, those three words could lose their meaning. Every once in a while, consider writing your loved one a note, expressing your gratitude for them and highlighting their most admirable qualities. The special gesture will make your significant other feel recognized, and they’ll have those words to reflect back on for years to come.

Give Each Other Alone Time

It may sound counterintuitive, but both partners need alone time in order to feel more connected. Being attached at the hip will make you lose your sense of self and create a codependent partnership. Make sure to tell your partner when you need alone time and what that looks like. If the two of you spent the entire day together, maybe you take a moment to decompress in separate rooms, for example.

Take Life Less Seriously

Taking life too seriously will prevent you from feeling any joy. Incorporate spontaneity, laughter, and lightness into your relationship for a more enriching union, whether it’s having a dance party, going to a comedy show, or learning crochet.