15 Minute Mini-Date: Wikipedia Racing

Introducing: the Mini-Date

Too busy to go on a date this week? 

Sometimes life gets crazy and it’s hard to set aside time to connect with that special person in your life. And once you get off your weekly date routine, it's difficult to get back on it. Sometimes Matthew and I look at our schedule and realize we haven't been on an official date in a month. Other times, we look ahead on our calendar and cannot find a solid bit of time to set aside for a date that week.

We've come up with a solution. 

You may not have the time this week to go on a date, but you probably have 15 minutes at some point in the day, even if right before bed, to give devoted time to your spouse. But you are probably thinking it: how can you have a date in 15 minutes?

Here are some criteria we use to determine what constitutes a good date:

• giving undivided attention to the person you are with

• having fun and forgetting your stresses

• connecting with one another

• recognizing it as and calling it a date

The last one may seem irrelevant, but Matthew and I have found that we attach more importance to time we designate as a date than time we spend together otherwise, even if we are doing something fun. 

Enter the mini-date.

All of these things can be accomplished in 15 minutes, if need be. While it is preferable to dedicate more time to your dates on a regular basis (especially for the "forgetting your stresses" part), sometimes it is better to spend some intentional time together than no time at all. So, take the quarter of an hour and have fun!

---

Wikipedia Racing Mini-Date

Time: 15 min  |  Cost:  $  |  Location: Anywhere  |  Level:  Easy

Race through pages of the internet encyclopedia clicking on links to find the designated page. Whoever gets there first wins, but who can get there through the least degrees of separation?

Materials Needed:

Printable Instructions
Two Computers, Phones, or Tablets
Internet Access

Instructions:

1. Download the free printable below--including the instructions--and optionally print. Then get your devices ready.

2. Once you are alone and settled for your mini-date, go over the instructions with your date. Make sure you both understand the rules.

3. Decide where to start and where to end. In the side menu there is a button that will lead you to a random article. You may use that, or I like to start with the featured article of the day and end with something completely unrelated that we come up with together. For example: today's featured article is the Emmon's Rice Rat so we could start there and end at Lindsey Vonn, the ski racer. There are also plenty of ideas on the Wikipedia home page.

4. Ready, set, GO. From your starting page, click only on page links to find your way to the end page.

5. Whoever gets there first wins. Both of you reveal your browser history in the end to show how you got there. If you have time for a rematch--go for it!

6. Tweet your results to @makeadateofit #mini-date to share with the Make a Date of It community.

---

Who won? Tell us the Wikipedia paths you took on Twitter #minidate @makeadateofit

---

You May Also Be Interested In . . .