Girlfriends are hard to keep happy no matter what.  As a young entrepreneur with very little income, it’s even harder to keep the boss happy.

Kim and I got into one of our worsts fights last week.  I don’t even know what started it; all I know is that it was the first time I felt her disdain, frustration, and anger with my career choice.  She has been the most understanding, wonderful person this past year and a half, but everyone reaches a breaking point.

At the climax of the fight, I realized what a terrible boyfriend I had been.  I made a promise to her and myself that I would not only make more time for her, but that I would use my time efficiently to make her happy.

You see, I have to approach this how I approach my company.  In my company, I can’t spend all my time doing C level work or just working for the sake of work; I have to efficiently use my time in the most productive way possible.  My job is to keep the company moving forward, not just surviving in one place.   Likewise, my job is to keep our relationship moving forward, and not just surviving in one place.

Here is how you can keep your girlfriend happy as an entrepreneur:

1. Wake up early

Such a simple piece of advice, but just so hard to execute.  Sleeping in late is the vice of the entrepreneur; we love to wake up late and stay up all night (usually past 3am) working on our projects.

A few things you can do to get your ass out of bed: set three alarms so that if the first one doesn’t work, the next two will; place the alarm away from your bed so that you have to stand up to turn it off; schedule early morning phone call meetings so that you’re forced to wake up early.

It’s a known fact that girlfriends love to go out at night.  Wake up early, work your ass off until the evening, and spend the night making her happy.  Trust me, this small piece of advice is going to do wonders for your relationship.

2. Don’t fall victim to cuddling

Man this is difficult! If cuddling was an Olympic sport, my girlfriend would win the gold medal.

Cuddling is like C-level work:  It’s the useless, pointless emails that you send; it’s the 2-hour long team meetings that are completely unnecessary.  You know why cuddling is a trap?  It’s because girls love to do it, but it doesn’t count as “doing fun stuff together” or “spending quality time together.”

Girlfriends want to be taken out; they want to engage in active activities with you.  Therefore, cut the unnecessary afternoon cuddling sessions and spend them either “spending quality time together” or working hard so that you can take her out in the evening.

3. Plan activities that don’t cost a lot of money and that don’t take up the whole day

Not everything costs money fellas.  Take your girlfriend out to a picnic, to a matinee movie, to the museum, or teach her how to play the guitar, skate, or surf.  All of these don’t cost a cent or cost very little.

Make her feel special and plan out these fun days that don’t cost a lot of money.  It takes up less time than cuddling, and it will count towards “spending quality time together.”

4. Plan out a relationship schedule much like how you plan out your business schedule

Yes, I know this sounds kind of weird, but it really does help.  My girlfriend and I now schedule a week of fun!

For example, check out this coming week:

• Monday: I’m taking her skating at Mile Square Park
• Tuesday: Movie Matinee (we’re watching Slumdog Millionaire)
• Friday: Disneyland fireworks
• Saturday: Picnic at the park

You know how much the above is going to cost me?  $30 - the cost of two matinee movie tickets, cheese, crackers, and wine.  By planning out the week, you do a couple of things:

1. You optimized your time so that every moment that you’re spending with her is not idle time; rather, it’s fun quality time
2. She can’t rationally complain that you guys don’t do anything fun together anymore because the proof will be in your calendar!

5. Don’t take out your stress on her

I’ve been guilty of this.  Entrepreneurship can be stressful, and people take their stress out on the people that they love the most.  What’s the best way to maintain your level of stress?  For me, it’s following steps 1-4 above.

Waking up early and cutting out cuddling time optimizes my time to do work and keep pushing my company forward.  Planning activities that don’t cost a lot of money and planning everything out a week in advance keeps my time as productive as possible and it means the time I spend with my girlfriend is always “quality fun time.”

By following steps 1-4, I have been able to achieve 5, which leads to a happy, healthy relationship.

I hope this helps and please share your tips in the comments section!