“Please have your agenda items in by Sunday at 4:00pm.”

Meeting Room

“Thank you kindly for the reminder. If you could have YOUR agenda items in by the same time, that would be great!”

Sounds similar to something we’d hear at work right? That’s actually a couple of texts sent between my husband and me. Why do we need agenda items? Each week we hold a marriage board meeting.

We got the idea from a friend a few months ago and decided to give it a try. We discuss everything from schedule changes for the upcoming week, budget and bill updates, and checking in on our family goals.

When we first talked about starting our board meetings, I was like “Really? Do we need this?” Why yes we do! It’s a great way to check in with your spouse/family. Any concerns can easily be addressed at this time. I believe we may have missed one meeting since we started and boy that was a hard week! Long and messy! The most unorganized week on record. I find myself looking forward to our Sunday meetings. It’s helps us lay out a plan for the week. It actually gives the week a direction.

Here’s how to hold a marriage board meeting:

Set an agreed upon time to meet each week
- Hopefully it will be a standing appointment. that happens at the same time, same place each week. Most of the time we meet on Sunday evenings, there are some weeks it will happen on Monday or even on a Saturday.
Find a quiet time and place
- i.e. after the little one’s bedtime
Synchronize your calendar
- What’s going on this week? Who’s picking up mini-me and when? When will date night happen this week? What are we doing during our “48 hours”?
Give your full attention to the speaker.
- No playing angry birds or “ahem” writing blog posts during your meetings. Gotta get better at that.
Discuss family goals
- Does your family have a mission statement? Annual goals? Goals can be divided into the following areas: marriage, social, financial, personal, family, educational, spiritual, and professional
Define your parenting plan/philosophy
- Super important to check-in on this one! Discipline issues? Development updates?
Check in with each other.
- This is your partner after all. You should feel comfortable to share any concerns, celebrations and appreciation to and for your spouse.