Test How Many Minutes You Spend On Your Marriage

By Joseph and Linda Dillow & Peter and Lorraine Pintus

Do you spend only four minutes a day in meaningful conversation with each other?  Does your calendar have a blinking NO VACANCY sign on it? We suggest you take the following test to help you determine if your marriage is suffering from low priority.

MARRIAGE MINUTES TEST

Over a seven day period, note the number of minutes you spend doing each of the following activities:

1. ________ Talking with your spouse when no one else is around.

2. ________ Discussing things related to just the two of you, excluding the kids, your parents, work, money, friends, or daily activities.

3. ________ Spending time just looking at each other.

4. ________ Having fun together, alone, in a mutually enjoyable activity.

5. ________ Making love, kissing, hugging, or touching each other.

6. ________ Talking about the future of your marriage, not about retirement funds, retirement homes, and insurance plans.

7. ________ Discussing world events, politics, or issues of the day. This means two-way talking and listening.

8. ________ Just sitting together doing the same thing or something different, such as reading, listening to music, sewing, and so on.  Do not include television watching or computer time.

9. ________ Eating together without interruptions (no kids, no phones).

10. ________ Spending time in prayer, Bible reading, devotional reading, or worship together.  Do not include religious services.

__________ TOTAL MARRIAGE MINUTES

Explanation: Estimated total number of Marriage Minutes available for relating to each other per week is 1,800 minutes (thirty hours).  

Divide your total Marriage Minutes score by 1,800 available minutes.  

For example, if you estimated your total number of Marriage Minutes to be 180, divide 180 by 1,800.  This would equate to 10 percent.  

If your score was near to 10 percent, congratulations! 

In our over-scheduled society, many couples don't even rank above 5 percent.

_______________________________________________________   

God bless your family and your marriage.

Jim Stephens