Relationship and self-love coach Alex told Bored Panda about all the small ways we can show our partners that we still care for them. It’s a wonderful thing to keep in mind for long-term relationships. We sometimes lose perspective and can forget to shower our partners with love during our daily routines. Fortunately, all is not lost!

Creating daily rituals and putting in the extra effort to make your partner’s day can have a massive impact on how both of you feel about the relationship, each other, and your future. The best part is that you don’t have to go big: romance can blossom even from the smallest acts.

“A daily departure and returning ritual is always a great way to have a moment to connect,” Alex told Bored Panda that creating small rituals and traditions can help show your partner that you still care about them, deeply. “For example, an embrace, a kiss, packing a lunch, or whatever fits the couple’s needs and desires would be a lovely opportunity to reestablish the romance between partners.”

Relationship coach Alex opened up to Bored Panda about a small ritual that she still remembers very fondly to this very day. It’s definitely something that would stick in our minds as well. It’s something that we can all do today.

“One [ritual] I love that a partner has done for me is they left a love note on a sticky note on my computer for when I sat down to work in the early morning. It’s easy, simple, and put a huge smile on my face,” she said.

According to relationship expert Alex, learning to listen can help us pick up some subtle (and not-so-subtle) hints for some special things we could do for our partners.

“Keep an open ear for when they say things like, ‘I wish I had…’ or, ‘Someday I’d love to…’ and make a note to self to get that item or plan that outing that they mentioned as soon as you can,” she told Bored Panda.

Alex pointed out that when we overhear our partners daydreaming about something, we shouldn’t wait for their birthday or a holiday to make them happy. “This shows you listen to their words and it will be a wonderful surprise that will create that spark and desire again,” she noted that we can all come closer to our partners when we actively listen to them and show this by coming up with small surprises.

Birthdays, Christmas, scooch on over, we’re aiming for random workdays now! You can’t schedule real romance, after all.

It’s also vital to keep on dating even in long-term relationships. Relationship expert Alex advised Bored Panda that a good number to aim for is incorporating “at least one date night a week.” That’s on top of a daily good morning or good evening ritual. This helps “maintain connection, intimacy, and the feelings of emotional and physical safety within the relationship,” Alex said.

“I think, too often couples fall into a pattern of waiting for a birthday or holiday to celebrate each other and it isn’t enough for most.”

The ‘Overheard Bumble’ account has over 376k followers on Instagram and is on its way to joining the rest of the ‘Overheard’ pages in popularity. For instance, ‘Overheard LA’ has more than 1.6 million fans while ‘Overheard New York’ boasts a very impressive 1.5 million.

The man behind the ‘Overheard’ empire is Jesse Margolis who founded ‘Overheard LA’ way back in 2015. In the six years since, he’s made the project a well-known part of the internet. What’s more, he’s even started publishing a print-only witty and tongue-in-cheek newsletter called ‘The Overheard Post’ that he helps deliver. Printing newspapers is a bold decision in this day and age, so more power to Jesse.

“While our home will always be Instagram, we have begun to expand to other verticals such as text via the community app Clubhouse, where we host a biweekly comedy show and are exploring some really exciting product ventures,” a representative of the ‘Overheard’ project explained to Bored Panda earlier.

According to the ‘Overheard’ rep, the project’s success has a lot to do with connecting people and helping them see what they have in common, whether that’s a shared experience or location. “Whether that is living in NYC (@overheardnewyork), dating on Bumble (@overheardbumble), or talking about celebrities (@overheardcelebs). It’s our goal to make people laugh and provide moments of joy and self-reflection,” they told my colleague.

“We are fortunate to work with great brands like Bumble, Le Labo, Netflix, etc. Currently, we see ourselves as social-first local media, and plan to expand into podcasts, local events, product, and more video content,” the ‘Overheard’ spokesperson told Bored Panda.