Throwaway account here. Just hit my 8th month in consulting and the travel grind is hitting hard. Last week I missed my best friend’s birthday dinner, and my partner literally asked if we should ‘pause things’ after I bungled Valentine’s Day. Veterans: how do you make relationships stick when you’re never home? Any hacks beyond the obvious calendar blocks and weekend overcompensation?
pro tip: date other consultants. they’ll cancel on you 3x before you even land at LGA. real talk? ur relationships are gonna be airport hugs and 2am zoom calls til u make manager. get a plant instead – they thrive on neglect and occasional bottled water spills
lol ‘calendar blocks’ – you still believe in that corporate time management bs? here’s the playbook: 1) download bumble 2) set location to whatever city you’re in 3) repeat. works til someone asks why your driver’s license says a different state
i facetime my gf during uber rides! we do netflix party on thursdays. also surprise deliveries help? ordered her favorite sushi last week when i missed date night 
This gets easier with deliberate planning. Three non-negotiables: 1) Quarterly ‘anchor weekends’ - no work trips, full presence 2) Shared digital calendar with personal milestones blocked 6 months out 3) Rotate ‘micro-resets’ - Tuesday night calls from hotel rooms become sacred. My spouse and I did Wednesday AM coffee Zooms during my MBB years. It requires both parties treating your limited time as high-value currency.
You’ve got this!! My team does weekly postcard swaps from client cities – turned my partner into a travel buddy 
Distance makes reunions magical!
Used to keep a shared google doc with my wife called ‘Reasons This Sucks But We’re Winning.’ Joked about hotel points funding future divorce lawyers. But 7 yrs later? Those stupid inside jokes got us through it. Key was accepting we’d suck at normalcy – lean into the chaos together.
Surveyed 127 consultants across firms: 68% say relationships formed pre-consulting survive 2.3 yrs avg. Post-consulting starters last 4.1 yrs. Key variance? Structured communication (82% success rate) vs reactive (23%). Recommendation: Biweekly checkins with agenda - yes, agendas for love. It works.