#46: Lockdown Love: Relationships & inspiration for a homestay Valentine’s Day

4 min readFeb 13, 2021

Whether Valentines day is something you celebrate or not the past year has been an interesting time for relationships.

If you live with your partner you’ve probably grown to know them more deeply than ever before — for better or for worse. Maybe you live apart and you’ve had to make the most of fleeting opportunities between lockdowns, meanwhile clocking up the hours on extended zoom calls. Or maybe you’re single and this whole pandemic has royally messed with your love life. Whatever your situation, this Valentine’s weekend will be different from any before.

So whether you’re looking for inspiration for things to break the monotony of lockdown life, using V Day as a catalyst to be a better, more present partner, or you’ll be using the time to think about how you’re going to find love this year, this edition of The Power Up has you covered:

// Lockdown Valentine’s date night ideas & inspiration

// Become an expert on your & your partner’s stress cycle

// 6 ways men can love themselves more

// The 5 Love Languages & how to use them

// Three ways for men to become better lovers…
of the natural world

Plus plenty of bonus content too…

However you’re hoping to spend this weekend I hope you find something of value in this edition.

Enjoy…

And if you’d like to receive The Power Up delivered direct to your inbox every weekend, you can sign-up here.

Lockdown Valentine’s date night ideas & inspiration

So Valentine’s will be a little different this year. But maybe in a surprisingly good way.

Restrictions breed creativity, so although your favourite restaurant, flower shop and cultural institutions might be closed for business, there are plenty of ways to create an occasion to remember in the comfort of your own home. If you’re looking for inspiration, The List has you covered.

Become an expert on your and your partner’s stress cycle

Lockdown life is testing for cohabitants of all kinds — especially couples.

But by learning how each partner experiences and copes with stress, we can prevent stress from outside the relationship from spilling into the relationship, and better face today’s challenges as a team.

6 ways men can love themselves more

Valentine’s can be a shitter if you’re single. If that’s you and you’re determined to change your relationship status soon then it can help to begin with a bit of self-love. No, not that. Take your mind out of the gutter for a second and give this some proper attention.

Listen up: Self Love is not ‘just for girls’, and this may be a cliche, but if you can’t love yourself first, how can you expect someone else to?

The 5 Love Languages and how to use them

Ever been in a relationship where, no matter what you try, your significant other doesn’t seem to appreciate your efforts? Maybe your partner loves to cuddle, but you find it a bit smothering?

This is the 5 Love Languages at play — an insightful framework that can help partners — or indeed friends & family — understand each other better.

Three ways for men to become better lovers… of the natural World

Shocking recent social research found that many men still act against their own environmentally-friendly leanings just to avoid a perception of femininity.

This thoughtful piece analyses some of the dynamics at play and posits the case for a long overdue redefinition of a more healthy, less insecure and individualist masculinity.

BONUS CONTENT

THANKS FOR READING

I hope you found something valuable in this The Power Up.

If you did, and would like to receive this in your inbox each week, you can sign-up here.

See you next time, Adam