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This is a guest blog post by Damien Riley of Postcards from the Funny Farm: Daily posts on psychology, inspiration, and blogging.

We all want love to be easy and sweet but alas, sometimes it takes a little homework. When two people try and live together, there are conflicts on the shallow levels, like what you will eat, as well as the deep levels like one person wanting to be heard and the other not wanting to listen. Even blogging for dollars can be tough with a wife and kids at home. But victory is possible!

Because I have tried it, I can say that love homework is well worth the effort.

Whatever your issues are, you can help your relationship by accepting you both are no perfect and then trying some “love homework” through your week. This work makes the home a lot more happy.  One such “assignment” you both can do to help your relationship is a list of wants. This is the first in a series on love homework. These assignments have paid big dividends in my love life! Chelle’s blog is the perfect place for me to share what my wife and I learned in couples classes several years ago.

Here’s the first love homework assignment:

Each of you should write a list of 5 things one wants done to them. ie; “an evening walk holding hands,” -or- “a cheap little gift for under $5.” These things should not be too complicated, you should never be demanding in a relationship when it comes to things you want on these lists. Once the lists are exchanged, each partner has one week’s time to grant at least one of the requests on the list.

My wife and I tried this and we got a lot out of it. I think you will find, as we did, that love homework such as this helps you grow in the appreciation of your partner. Every step toward that end is a very good thing. Try this out, make your list and ask your partner to make theirs. Remember there is no right or wrong thing to ask for. Check back and let us know how it went. I’ll be posting more love homework throughout the summer so make sure you don’t miss any by subscribing to the feed. Until then, all you romantic gents and/or desperate housewives out there: do your love homework.