How do you make time for friends and families?

It's so hard these days. Life is so busy. But TV, long working hours, and the general pace of life today makes it hard. Try some of these:

Eat together as a family with the TV off.

Young people, try to spend at least one Sunday a month having lunch with your parents.

Call your parents as much as you can.

Parents learn computer skills and email your grown up children, with a joke or funny quote.

Send friends & relatives an E Card if you havent seen them in a while.

Plan outings with your friends AND parents together on Public Holidays.

Get to bed early more nights of the week, so other nights you can see people, even if it's only for an hour.

Moniter your computer time and watch a movie with the family.

Make a "play games" one night a month. Scabble or whatever blow yours hair away.

Choose the TV shows that really interest or teach you and the kids something. Don't just sit in a semi-coma watching rubbish. I know, sometimes I do that!

Make more of birthdays and get family and friends together.

I still live with my family, so they are always around but over the years have grown distant so I don't really give them the time of day anymore.

My friends are my family, I always put them first no matter what the circumstance, I have been known to put them before my own health, university studies, family etc. Which is probably a really bad thing, I am a sucker for my friends, if they call me at 12, 1 in the morning asking for help I will be there for them.

I always put time into my friends, it's only just now due to medical reasons I have been told that I need to focus more time on myself. But I look around Sydney and it is full of people who just don't care anymore about the simple things, and I would hate to end up that way so I will probably continue doing what I'm doing.

I am not in a situation where I have to make time for my family but thought this would be a good idea to share with everyone. Why not make appointment times marked off either in your diaries or appointment books where you slot in the person that you want to make time for and that time is kept free at all times just for that person. Make it once a day, a week, a month, or a year. Whatever is necessary and don't let any other appointments take over that time slot. Just like you would if it was an important business meeting.

Why call it making time? Family and friends are a very important part of a person's life. It should be known as quality time with the other unimportant things like computer games, etc., way low on the burner of life.

I have a priority list in my life, written on my heart and brain. First is my best friend, soul mate and hubby. Second, is my other family members. Third, are my friends. Watching TV that he likes, just sitting without the TV or computer on, or making him a special dinner where we can chat about everything and nothing is quality time. For my time with my Mother or siblings and their family, I use the internet to write letters or IM, call just because I want to say hi and tell them I love them, or even sit down and handwrite a letter. They all live to far to take a drive but I do visit as often as I can. And for my friends, near and far, I use all the above family communications.

Some times it is the little things that add value to the lives of those we love, some times it is putting the person and their feelings in perspective, and some times it is as simple as a hug!

It is very hard for my husband and I to make time for friends and family due to the fact we both work very hard and have 3 children and he has children from a previous marriage so all together we have 5 kids. So several times a year we go out on our own with friends just to catch up and every other holiday we have friends and family over and we go to family and friends houses when we are not hosting dinners at our own house. Just this Saturday we had a very nice cook out with friends and family and we talked caught up with each other and talked about old times it was very nice. I wish we had time to do it more often. I also make sure that I sent emails to everyone atleast once a month just to say how we are doing and how I want to find out about their families. I always attach pictures of the kids as well.

With the latest in technology....texting, internet...I sometimes feel like I'm cheating time. Time is so constant that advancement in gadgetry has made it impossible NOT to be able to connect somehow. Time is fast but our minds are faster...meaning we will just need to REALLY WANT to connect, the means & technology is all within our reach.
It'll only take a minute to text a note to someone & make or break a deal, or put tears or a smile into a face.
If you want, surely there is a way.
Control time by alloting an "unbreakable time for friends & family"...perhaps 1 day in the week, or 1 - 2 hours everyday.
Don't ever give TIme, control over your life.

It's kind of like the financial theory of " paying yourself first." (set aside some savings first.) This makes for less wasted money.

If you make time available for family and friends first, you will still get the other duties done.

Although we have to fulfill financial needs to survive , in the end
time spent away from those who care is lost forever.

You never know when the last moment spent with any given individual will be. Life is short and unpredictable.

Your gut or your loved one. will tell you when and how.Phone ,card, help with a project or homework , make a meal, play ball etc. etc.

People need to look at family and keep in touch. One of my cousins who I was very close to in my early years just found out that she has inoperable
pancreatic cancer and just months to live. I haven't seen her in about a year even though we only live about 50 miles apart. As you get older you realize that we are only here for a short time .
We need to keep in closer touch with family and friends as you never know when your time or theirs will come. After someone is gone you always say I should have called or went to see them more often. A phone call takes only a few minutes and can mean so much.

i think its important to stay in touch with those you love, especially family. your family members are your roots. its not as if channel seven knows you or your family personally though. evaluate the relationships in your life. some may be closer than others - so yes, maintain those important relationships.
personally i like to give friends a call on my way home from work. I'll let someone know I'm on route somewhere and was just calling to say hi and ask how they are, this way if you're busy it doesn't turn into too long a conversation and you don't seem rude when you say you have to go.
i find "the grapevine" to be a nice way to send salutations, especially within the family.
but come on...how busy can you be. it boils down to just thinking of them and you'll find you have more unused time than you think

I think that it is tragic that people have become so busy doing nothing really. We get so focused on going and going that we can forget about what really matters. I try to make myself available for friends and family, which is hard when they don't want to stop and improve relationships. It would be awesome if you could still stop by a friends house to chat for a few minutes or whatever. Now you have to plan for weeks in advance it seems. With that being the case, I try to make phone calls, send cards, and e-mails