If you’re overwhelmed by your hectic schedule and would rather use your free time to sleep than date, that’s OK. People take breaks. Sometimes people take very long breaks (stares in mirror).

But you should be taking time off for yourself, not for others. You don’t have to spare hypothetical women the pain of dealing with your schedule. There might be some excellent potential partners out there who are just as busy or like to do their own thing. People with packed schedules can make excellent significant others.

Thanks to apps, which are available 24 hours a day, dating can feel like something you have to be doing all the time – that if you’re not swiping and messaging like it’s a full-time job, you’re not doing it right. But that’s not true. If you have time to read the column and listen to the podcast (those episodes are 22 minutes, right?), you have time to swipe on a few faces and send some messages. You can set small goals and tell friends you want help with the search.

Really, your experience sounds pretty typical (in a good way). Many of our letter writers date a lot and then take time off. They feel like they’re not making any progress with their love lives, and then, all of a sudden, they do.

As you continue the process, think about whether you might benefit from choosing an app that only gives you a few options a day. I’m not endorsing any specific platforms here, but I do know that some dating apps limit your choices. That might be better for the man on the go.

– Meredith

Readers? Too busy to date? Should I start setting up letter writers?