21 First Date

Ideas
First date is always important because it’s where you drop your first impression and most importantly, it
plays a big role to determine whether or not this relationship will work out.

It’s just like choosing what to read. Let’s not talk about the book cover (I know, I know, Don’t just a book
by its cover!) so now we all judge by how the story begins. No matter how amazing the storyline is, if the
introduction failed to grab readers’ attention, no one is going to read it because no one likes to get their
time wasted. Relationship works this way too.

If you need ideas to secure your first date and your own impression, You’ve come to the right place!
When I first started dating, my idea of a date was the stereotypical cheap-dinner-and-a-movie. Don’t
hate on me, I didn’t know any better! By the time I finished high school I was pretty comfortable in my
own skin and got pretty good at coming up with ideas for dates. I’ve put together a list of some of my
favorites as well as some suggested by friends. Enjoy!

Outdoor Adventures
Go for a walk – This is such a simple first date idea but most shy away from it because they feel like they
must do something complex in order for their date to be impressed. Wrong! The only ideas you need to
impress your date with are the ones that you articulate as your conversation progresses. If you are an
interesting person and have found a fun person to spend time with, rest assured that a walk about town
will be just fine. Remember, the idea is to leave your date wanting more. As a warning, you may be
tempted to start talking about previous relationships. Don’t. That’s not how to get over an ex. Rather,
enjoying the company of a fun new person without dwelling on the past will serve you best!

Watch an outdoor movie – Going to a movie is pretty worn out in the world of first date ideas. You can
resurrect it in a fun way by going to see a movie outdoors or, even better, at a drive-in movie theater if
you still happen to have one near where you live.

Create your own picnic – Pick a nice spot near where you’re meeting up and swing by a grocery store or
take-out restaurant for some quick eats before setting up camp for food and conversation with your
new favorite person. There’s no need to spend a lot of money. Picnics are supposed to be simple and
you want it to be about getting to know your date, not truffles wrapped in gold foil!

Go boating – The idea of sailing on a first date seems like a recipe for disaster but something milder, like
canoeing, row boating, or taking a paddle boat out on a sunny afternoon would work well. Admittedly,
the last time I took a girl on a paddle boat for a date we both ended up soaking wet with marsh moss in
our hair. It was amazing though!

Go for a run together – If running is your idea of a good time, an easy run with a new friend can make
for a great date!
Volunteer at a soup kitchen – One of the best first dates I’ve ever been on involved meeting up with a
woman at 5:30am to serve breakfast at the local soup kitchen. Not only did we get to know each other
better but we got to do something worthwhile that helped our community. It’s hard to come up with a
reason why giving back to your community could be considered a bad idea for a first date! If you don’t
have a soup kitchen or other short-order volunteer opportunity, be creative and come up with your
own. There is always somebody nearby who could use some help if we are willing to give it.

Get up insanely early and be the first customers at your favorite breakfast joint – You’ll get a chance to
chat before the restaurant gets busy and have time to do some people-watching when the regulars start
pouring in. Note: If you find somebody who is cool with rolling out of bed early to join you for a
breakfast date, it’d be a bad idea to let them get away!

Indoor Sweetness
Take an intro yoga or other fitness class – If you’re really out of shape, this might not be a great idea for
a first date. Otherwise, pick a class that will fit both of your fitness levels and have some fun! You should
know that getting hot and sweaty

Visit a psychic – Everybody likes to know the future, well, at least a prediction of it!

Visit a shut-in – This might not seem like it belongs on a list of first date ideas but if you step away from
your preconceptions, I think you might consider it and even try it out. Visiting people who are unable to
get out and enjoy regular social interactions isn’t just a worthwhile use of your time. It gives you a
chance to learn a bit about the character of your date. Is he or she willing to spend time with people
who are in need? If your date is unkind it will only be a matter of time before that unkindness is pointed
at you. Seek the good hearts!

Play video games – Playstation, Nintendo, Xbox, it doesn’t matter. If your date is into video games and
you’ve got strong thumbs, it might be time for a bit of virtual smackdown! Just be careful not to beat
your date too badly at whatever video game you decide to play. You don’t want your first date ideas to
turn into video-game-inspired revenge ideas.

Take a music lesson together – Have you always wanted to learn how to play the guitar or some other
instrument? Inviting a date along for a partner lesson at a local music school might be a fun way to start
your lesson and get the much-dreaded first date out of the way.

Go to a used bookstore – It can be a new bookstore if you insist. It doesn’t matter! If you and your date
enjoy reading and perusing books, hitting up a bookstore on a first date may just end up being one of
the ideas that sets you on a quick course to true love.

Go gift shopping – Not for each other, but for somebody else. Perhaps you need to pick up a gift for your
sister or some other relative and you need some insight into the process? Ask your date to give you
some in-motion advice and perhaps even pick up something small for each other. Trinkets only. Save the
cars and fur coats for later dates!

Play It Safe Ideas

Take a cooking class together – Check your local community college or continuing education program for
listings of cooking classes you can take if there isn’t a culinary school to be found.

Visit a tourist hot spot in your town that neither of you has been to before – Even if you’ve been living in
the same place for years, there’s a great chance that you’ll have missed at least a few interesting places
in your community. If it turns out that your chosen spot is a dud, get creative and come up with a few
quick ideas to finish off your date. Most will give you a lot of slack if little things go wrong. Just keep the
conversation interesting and the venue won’t be such a killer.

Attend a local film or music festival – It’s a rare individual who won’t enjoy a local festival at least a bit.
This is a pretty safe bet for anybody but the most boring of people.

Meet up for a drink – This is one of the safest, and therefore one of the most-used first date ideas. You
can make things a bit more adventurous by visiting a jazz club or finding a bar that will teach you to
make new drinks. Of course, you could always go and grab some bottled water.

Visit a new restaurant – There’s a bit of risk in eating at a new restaurant because you can’t be sure of
the quality but this first date idea still makes the “safe” list because it’s not hugely risky.

Eat in – Do you already have great cooking skills? If so, break ’em out for an early dinner! You might
want to check for possible food allergies before you start sharing your iron chef skills though.

Phone it in – Oh yeah, the date that consists entirely of talking into a small electronic device. This one is
for all you cyber dating pros out there looking for first date ideas like you planned on doing something
other than talking on your phone.All jokes aside, there are some benefits to phoning in. Sure, you don’t
get to see your date’s face while you’re talking, but that also means that you don’t have to get dressed
up or worry about what your face looks like. See? Might not be a bad idea.

Want to know the secret of making a person fall in love with you?

Things to keep in mind on your first date

So now I guess you have sufficient ideas on where to go on your first date. Still, I would like to remind
you some of the important things that you need to keep in mind if you want your first date to be
perfect!

Don’t be late. This is a common rule but a lot of people still fail to do so. No one likes to spend their
timing waiting and being late is simply disrespectful. Give yourself enough time to prepare and try to
arrive the location 10-15 mins earlier. If you are running late, make sure you give your date a call or text
so they can go to a cafe or find somewhere to sit while waiting for you.

Don’t get over-dressed. I know how that feel, you want to look perfect for your date and try very hard to
dress up to impress them. However, it’s best to dress according to the event you are going to. Imagine if
you guys are going for pinic and you are in suit or high heels, that would be super awkward for both of
you. I am pretty sure you won’t impress him/her for this.
Don’t talk about past relationship. Either asking or talking about them are a big “NO-NO”. This is
something very personal to ask on a first date because you are not sure whether your date is
comfortable to talk about it. Talking about your ex might also leave your date an impression that you
still haven’t moved on yet.

Don’t get too drunk. If you can’t control yourself when you are drunk, I am pretty sure you know what to
do. Also, it’s always nice to stay a sharp mind to remember all the things that happened on your first
dates so you guys can start to build on memories and topics to talk about on your next date.

Do offer to split the bill. If you are a guy and you feel comfortable to pay the bill, that’s very nice of you.
But for ladies, don’t just sit there and expect people to pay for your meal, it’s always nice to offer help
on the bill! It shows that you are friendly and considerable person. Of course, if the guy insist to pay, just
let them do the job and don’t argue over it.

Don’t focus on talking about yourself. Who doesn’t love to understood? Dates are supposed to be
chances for you guys to know more about each other before getting into a relationship (or friendship,
oops) So if you can’t help to blablabla about yourself, you will leave an impression of you not interested
in your dates. Always remember it’s not a stand-up comedy, it’s a CONVERSAION. Try to ask your dates
about their interests, jobs and hobbies, nothing too serious and personal!

15 Tips to Restart the Exercise Habit (and

How to Keep It)
It’s okay, you can finally admit it. It’s been two months since you’ve seen the inside of the gym. Getting
sick, family crisis, overtime at work and school papers that needed to get finished all kept you for
exercising. Now, the question is: how do you start again?

Once you have an exercise habit, it becomes automatic. You just go to the gym, there is no force
involved. But after a month, two months or possibly a year off, it can be hard to get started again. Here
are some tips to climb back on that treadmill after you’ve fallen off.

Don’t Break the Habit – The easiest way to keep things going is simply not to stop. Avoid long breaks in
exercising or rebuilding the habit will take some effort. This may be advice a little too late for some
people. But if you have an exercise habit going, don’t drop it at the first sign of trouble.

Reward Showing Up – Woody Allen once said that, “Half of life is showing up.” I’d argue that 90% of
making a habit is just making the effort to get there. You can worry about your weight, amount of laps
you run or the amount you can bench press later.

Commit for Thirty Days – Make a commitment to go every day (even just for 20 minutes) for one month.
This will solidify the exercise habit. By making a commitment you also take pressure off yourself in the
first weeks back of deciding whether to go.
Make it Fun – If you don’t enjoy yourself at the gym, it is going to be hard to keep it a habit. There are
thousands of ways you can move your body and exercise, so don’t give up if you’ve decided lifting
weights or doing crunches isn’t for you. Many large fitness centers will offer a range of programs that
can suit your tastes.

Schedule During Quiet Hours – Don’t put exercise time in a place where it will easily be pushed aside by
something more important. Right after work or first thing in the morning are often good places to put it.
Lunch-hour workouts might be too easy to skip if work demands start mounting.

Get a Buddy – Grab a friend to join you. Having a social aspect to exercising can boost your commitment
to the exercise habit.

X Your Calendar – One person I know has the habit of drawing a red “X” through any day on the calendar
he goes to the gym. The benefit of this is it quickly shows how long it has been since you’ve gone to the
gym. Keeping a steady amount of X’s on your calendar is an easy way to motivate yourself.

Enjoyment Before Effort – After you finish any work out, ask yourself what parts you enjoyed and what
parts you did not. As a rule, the enjoyable aspects of your workout will get done and the rest will be
avoided. By focusing on how you can make workouts more enjoyable, you can make sure you want to
keep going to the gym.

Create a Ritual – Your workout routine should become so ingrained that it becomes a ritual. This means
that the time of day, place or cue automatically starts you towards grabbing your bag and heading out. If
your workout times are completely random, it will be harder to benefit from the momentum of a ritual.

Stress Relief – What do you do when your stressed? Chances are it isn’t running. But exercise can be a
great way to relieve stress, releasing endorphin which will improve your mood. The next time you feel
stressed or tired, try doing an exercise you enjoy. When stress relief is linked to exercise, it is easy to
regain the habit even after a leave of absence.

Measure Fitness – Weight isn’t always the best number to track. Increase in muscle can offset decreases
in fat so the scale doesn’t change even if your body is. But fitness improvements are a great way to stay
motivated. Recording simple numbers such as the number of push-ups, sit-ups or speed you can run can
help you see that the exercise is making you stronger and faster.

Habits First, Equipment Later – Fancy equipment doesn’t create a habit for exercise. Despite this, some
people still believe that buying a thousand dollar machine will make up for their inactivity. It won’t. Start
building the exercise habit first, only afterwards should you worry about having a personal gym.

Isolate Your Weakness – If falling off the exercise wagon is a common occurrence for you, find out why.
Do you not enjoy exercising? Is it a lack of time? Is it feeling self-conscious at the gym? Is it a lack of
fitness know-how? As soon as you can isolate your weakness, you can make steps to improve the
situation.

Start Small – Trying to run fifteen miles your first workout isn’t a good way to build a habit. Work below
your capacity for the first few weeks to build the habit. Otherwise you might scare yourself off after a
brutal workout.
Go for Yourself, Not to Impress – Going to the gym with the only goal of looking great is like starting a
business with only the goal to make money. The effort can’t justify the results. But if you go to the gym
to push yourself, gain energy and have a good time, then you can keep going even when results are
slow.