When it comes to casual dating, it’s important to be honest and open with your partner. This can help you both understand each other’s needs and keep your relationship on track.
However, it’s also important to communicate your own personal boundaries. This can help you both feel comfortable and safe when it comes to sexual activity.
1. Be Honest
While casual dating can be fun and exciting, it’s important to be honest with your partner about what you want from this relationship. This will help prevent you from getting hurt in the long run, says Lovehoney scientific advisor and social psychologist Dr. Justin Lehmiller.
For example, if you want to hook up more often or get intimate with your partner and they’re not willing to do so, it’s time to break the news to them. Be respectful and tell them so – but be sure to listen to them and try to accommodate their wishes instead of forcing your own.
Similarly, if you start to feel a little envious of your casual partner’s other relationships (or their friends), be honest and tell them. This can be a difficult conversation to have, but it’s necessary for you both to understand what it is that you want from this relationship and how it might affect them.
One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they’re in casual dating is not communicating their needs or expectations. This can cause a lot of conflict and confusion, especially if you’re not clear about what you’re looking for in this relationship and what you expect from it.
Once you’ve established this, it’s important to check in with each other regularly about how you’re both feeling and what your mutual expectations are. This will help you stay on the same page and ensure that everyone’s needs are being met, says Tallon-Hicks.
Ultimately, a casual relationship isn’t meant to last forever – but it should be something that works for you both. It can take a while for casual relationships to grow into more serious ones, but if it’s not working, it’s best to walk away and find a new way to spend your time that works for both of you.
2. Set Some Limits
A casual relationship can be a great way to have fun without any of the emotional investment and commitment involved in a traditional, long-term relationship. It also provides the opportunity to learn more about yourself, your likes and dislikes, and what you may need in future relationships.
Whether you’re dating someone casually or have a committed relationship, it is important to communicate your needs clearly and respectfully. That means setting clear boundaries, limiting your communication outside of dates, and being respectful of your partner’s feelings.
The key to a successful casual relationship is to make sure that your partner is comfortable with the way things are, says Gopman. For example, if your partner only sees you once or twice a week and they don’t really like it, you need to respect their wishes and find another way to spend time with them.
If you’re a man, it is important to set some limits on how much time you spend with your casual partner and what types of hangouts you’re willing to have. Limiting your hangouts and chatting to a few dates a week can help keep things light and fun, which is essential for a casual relationship.
This will make it easier to maintain a low level of pressure and keep things light, allowing you to enjoy the experience more fully. It’s also a good idea to prioritize fun hangouts over romantic ones, which will give you the opportunity to stay open and honest with your partner.
If you’re not happy with your casual relationship and want it to change, let your partner know right away. Explain that you’re ready for a more serious relationship and ask them what they think about the idea. Be respectful of their feelings, and if they’re not open to discussing this with you, don’t hesitate to walk away from the relationship.
3. Be Respectful
If you’re looking for a relationship, but want to avoid the drama of traditional dating, casual relationships are a great way to try new things and explore your sexuality without being tied down by any commitments. However, it’s important to make sure you and your partner are on the same page from the start.
According to Yana Tallon-Hicks, a couples and relationship therapist and author of Hot and Unbothered: How to Think About, Talk About, and Have the Sex You Really Want, there are a few key things you should know before you take your casual dating to the next level. One of them is how to communicate your needs and boundaries in casual dating as a man.
You should also be respectful of your partner’s privacy. It’s not okay to tell your date everything you are thinking and feeling about them, especially if you are dating multiple people at once.
Additionally, it’s not a good idea to ask about your partner’s other partners or listen to them talk about them. It could cause your partner to feel jealous, angry, or even sad.
This can be especially tricky if you’re in a casual relationship with your partner and are starting to catch feelings for them, says Dr. Balestrieri, an expert on healthy relationships.
The best thing to do is to let them know how you feel and how you would like things to be handled. If you’re not happy with the way things are going, don’t stay in it!
These tips will help you keep your casual relationship on the right track. Whether you’re still trying to figure out if this is the right path for you or if you have already decided it’s not, these tips will help you navigate your relationship smoothly and safely.
4. Be Open
When you’re dating casually, it’s a good idea to be open about what your goals are. You don’t want to waste time on people who don’t share your expectations. Plus, it helps keep things light and fun, which can be a huge benefit for some people.
It’s also important to be open about your feelings. Being honest about your desires can help you and your partner avoid falling into traps that could hurt both of you, suggests eharmony relationship expert and therapist Minaa B.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in casual dating is to overly trust your casual partner and be too reliant on them. You don’t want to be relying on them for the same kinds of things you might in a serious relationship, like helping you paint your house or picking you up from the airport.
Being too reliant on someone can lead to insecurities, neediness, and jealousy. Those are negative emotions that will negatively impact your relationship and your overall happiness, according to eharmony’s Tallon-Hicks.
You don’t want to be too available, either — it can seem desperate or unattractive to some people. You should value your own time and be able to have fun with other people without feeling pressured to do so by your casual partner.
Another mistake you can make is to overly bring your casual partner into your social circle. This can feel romantic in a traditional relationship, but it’s not an appropriate thing to do in a casual one, warns Tallon-Hicks.
Even though bringing someone into your social circle isn’t an entirely bad thing, it can be a sign that you’re thinking about making this relationship more serious. If you’re not sure if this is the right thing for you, consider checking in with your casual partner to see where they stand on this issue and then working together to resolve it.
5. Be Flexible
A casual relationship can be a fun way to get to know someone without the pressure of committing to anything. However, it is important to set boundaries and communicate your needs clearly with your partner to avoid misunderstandings or hurt feelings.
When it comes to casual dating as a man, one thing you may want to consider is being flexible with your partner. This means that you might have to work around their schedule a lot or understand when things don’t go as planned, such as when the sitter cancels on them or when one of their kids falls ill.
It’s also important to be open and honest with your partner about the kind of casual relationship you both are looking for, says licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist Nicole L. Gonzalez, who tells Allure that it’s essential to figure out what you really want before setting any boundaries.
Having an idea of what you want and don’t want in your relationship will help you determine the best ways to set your boundaries, says Jackson. It will also allow you to weed out people who aren’t a good fit for you, she adds.
You don’t want to have a casual relationship with someone who is not compatible with your values or intentions, so it’s a good idea to be clear about what you’re looking for in casual dating as a man and stick to it. It will save you a lot of time and stress by not having to deal with relationships that don’t work out, and it will ensure that you are able to focus on the right people.
If you aren’t sure how to start a conversation with your casual partner about your needs, then it is a good idea to make an appointment with them and talk to them about it in a private and neutral location. Having this conversation will let you know whether or not they are on the same page as you and if it’s time to move on.
