Find More Time to Socialize: 8 Time-Savers for a Better Social Life

Prioritizing People and Place

Organize group activities like book clubs, pub meets, or potluck suppers. "This way, you can catch up with many friends at once," says Alice. You'll also give your friends the pleasure of each other's company, and maybe make a few new friends yourself. Another bonus of group outings: You eliminate the problem of the endless rescheduler -- that maddening person who always cancels at the last minute. Set the date once, and anyone who gets "held up at work" will have to wait until the next time.

As any single person knows, finding time to date can be incredibly difficult -- so many frogs, so little time! If you're planning a date with someone you're not sure about, like a man you met through an Internet dating site, or that guy your Aunt Sally insists is your soul mate, there's no way to ensure that the chemistry will be in sync or the conversation sparkling. But Lynn Harris, author of Breakup Girl to the Rescue! A Superhero's Guide to Love and Lack Thereof, says you can avoid that wasted-evening feeling by doing something you wanted to do anyway -- like seeing that film everyone's talking about or that museum exhibit you've wanted to get to. "That way, there's no way you'll come home and say, 'Well, that date was a complete waste of my precious time.' Unless, of course, you hated the film," says Harris.

Stuck in a traffic jam or doctor's waiting room? Stack advises carrying a box of pretty note cards in your bag at all times, along with your address book or PDA. So even when you're at the DMV, you'll be able to use that time to connect.

Don't feel like you have to have lunch or a drink with anyone who asks. "In my business, I get hit up 20 times a month with people saying 'I want to pick your brain. I want to take you out to lunch,'" says Stack. "But you can't say yes to everyone, because then you'll never say yes to yourself." The more time you spend with that acquaintance whose company you don't particularly enjoy, the less time you'll have for the people who really matter.

Originally published on FitnessMagazine.com, August 2006.