03 October 2011 ~ 20 Comments

15-minute, 15-Day Marriage Challenge Starts Today

15 days daily challenges

Calendar Card © by Joe Lanman

Good Morning and Welcome to the 15 minute, 15 Day Challenge! The challenge starts today, October 3rd. The last day is October 17th. For the next 15 days we’ll be devoting 15 minutes a day to our spouses.

This is my busiest time of year. Believe me, I didn’t do it on purpose like this, but I didn’t want to wait to launch the blog and I wanted to launch the blog with the challenge- so here we are.

It’s the busiest time of year for me because a) Today is my son’s birthday b) our wedding anniversary is also this week c) my daughter’s birthday falls within the challenge as well d) it is an insanely busy time at my full time job.

I got a little mad at myself when I realized I had set this up to fall during this time, but I guess it makes it even more of a challenge. I’m committed- and if I can do it, you can do it!

Challenge Rules:

  1. Leave a comment below letting us know that you’re participating.
  2. Devote 15 minutes a day, every day, throughout the challenge. If you’re apart for business or something, try 15 phone minutes or 15 Skype minutes. Find a way to make it work.
  3. Spend the 15 minutes engaged with one another. Sitting next to each other watching TV in silence doesn’t count
  4. Sex does count, but if it’s a quickie that takes less than 15 minutes- fill it out with some pillow chat or something
  5. Don’t try to be perfectionists! If you haven’t really been spending time together at all you may even feel a little awkward. You may get interrupted. For one reason or another, things may not go as planned. Have fun with it and just do it.
  6. If you have a spouse that’s unwilling, use the time to work on your marriage by yourself. Sounds strange to say, but choose this time to try and be the best husband or the best wife you can be.

I’ll be posting ideas every day on how to spend this time and I’ll also be posting what my husband and I did to spend the time. If you don’t have the book, 15 Minute Marriage Makeover, I highly recommend it- It will help give you some ideas and help you even beyond what we’ll be doing here within a short time every day.

Lastly, we need to hold one another accountable! The reason why some of these weight loss programs work isn’t because they’re telling you something you don’t already know. It’s because you weigh in every week and you have other people to hold you to what you said you would do.

It’s so easy even with the best of intentions to get sidetracked once life gets in the way. Leave a comment below the post just to say you’re on board and make sure you add your name to the email list. We’ll send you an email everyday about the challenge to keep you motivated. I won’t spam you because I don’t have that kind of time! Check back on the blog daily, check in on the facebook page and on twitter. Share what you did to inspire others. I may share some of your great tips on the blog.

Let’s do this together, let’s have fun with it and give our love lives a boost.

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  • Carlissa Tyler

    My husband and I are looking forward to taking on this challenge. We too, have a lot going on right now and live a busy lifestyle. Over the past couple of weeks, he has been working 16 hour days with his only day off being Sunday. I also work full-time, in addition to working with 5 individuals for whom I am a personal coach through a personal training and development company. Now, add 2 toddlers to the picture and I am sure you know the rest! LOL!! So, while 15 minutes does not seem like a lot, sometimes it is a challenge to fit in, especially if you are not intentional about your time. Thanks for creating this challenge and we look forward to your updates!!! :o )

  • http://www.makingloveinthemicrowave.com Aja

    Thanks for participating Carlissa! I’m looking forward to sharing and I think it will be a lot of fun :)

  • miss nc

    Im all in and Im dragging my husband with me!

  • http://www.makingloveinthemicrowave.com Aja

    Miss NC,
    Drag away! Welcoming you and your husband.

  • http://www.affaircare.com Cindy Taylor-Affaircare

    We are in like Flynn! First, on a personal level my Dear Hubby and I are taking the 15 minute, 15-Day Marriage Challenge and specifically setting aside 15 minutes every day. Hey, practice what ya preach, right? ;) Second, on our blog and FB page we are linking here and talking about the challenge, encouraging others to join too!

  • karimah

    my hubby and i are joining in as well!! looking forward to it.

  • Pingback: Day One: 15 Minute, 15-Day Marriage Challenge « AFFAIRCARE

  • Tiffany

    I think we will be giving this a shot too….. reading this I thought “well… we always spend time together… way more than 15 minutes a day…..” but then realized that we spend out time together watching TV on the couch at night. It’s closeness, it’s togetherness, but it’s not focused time. I’d like to work on spending 15 minutes of focused time on each other for 15 days… I’m sure it will be very beneficial :D

  • ajdorsey

    Welcome everyone! I’m sure the challenge will help us all keep it hot. Check out today’s down music memory lane idea.

  • http://20andengaged.com Briana @ 20 and Engaged

    Looking forward to joining the challenge! I have to wait until after Monday Night Football so I can get his undivided attention. I’ll be blogging about it tomorrow!

    • http://makingloveinthemicrowave.com Aja

      Ok- will be sure to visit and see how it went!

  • Pingback: 15 Minute Marriage Challenge Day One | Making Love in the Microwave

  • Kristin

    Countme in :)

  • http://www.positivelifeguide.com/cheating/man/how-to-get-over-a-cheating-man/ cheating man

    Thanks for the post. What I have seen in marriage is to be a successful couple we should have a strong sense of ‘we,’ acting and making decisions as one unit. I am sure all married couples fight occasionally. But we need to make sure that we fight or argue fair if we had really had to. Having respect for your partner will avoid bad arguments and discussions with them. Also finally I have seen that forgiving each other is one of the fundamental needs in any marriage. (Read my latest post on help with cheating husband)

  • http://www.positivelifeguide.com/cheating/spouse01/what-to-do-with-a-cheating-spouse/ cheating spouse

    Thanks for the post. What I have seen in marriage is to be a successful couple we should have a strong sense of ‘we,’ acting and making decisions as one unit. I am sure all married couples fight occasionally. But we need to make sure that we fight or argue fair if we had really had to. Having respect for your partner will avoid bad arguments and discussions with them. Also finally I have seen that forgiving each other is one of the fundamental needs in any marriage. (Read my latest post on infidelity husband cheated)

  • http://www.positivelifeguide.com/cheating/spouse01/what-to-do-with-a-cheating-spouse/ cheating spouse

    It was nice to find this site. The article is well put up. Thanks to the author. Also thanks for sharing this information through your post. Thanks. (Read my latest post on husband infidelity)

  • http://www.positivelifeguide.com/marriage/how-to-keep-your-husband-in-marriage-from-divorce-affairs-and-cheating/ how to keep your husband

    Thanks for the post. What I have seen in marriage is we should be ready and willing to make adjustments in our relationship. And we need to make it a point to give each other space. Also I have seen that sharing a long-term dream strengthens the couple’s bond and gives us something to work for as a married couple. It is very important to understand and accept the feelings and opinions of your partner. Always stress on the importance of faith and trust. (Read my latest post on my spouse hates)

  • http://www.positivelifeguide.com/marriage/why-my-husband-hates-me-what-can-i-do-about-it/ my husband hates

    Thanks for the post. What I have seen in marriage is to be a successful couple we should have a strong sense of ‘we,’ acting and making decisions as one unit. I am sure all married couples fight occasionally. But we need to make sure that we fight or argue fair if we had really had to. Having respect for your partner will avoid bad arguments and discussions with them. Also finally I have seen that forgiving each other is one of the fundamental needs in any marriage. (Read my latest post on keep husband)

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