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I looked at her and then looked at the dinner bill.

She looked me straight in the eyes and smiled.

Again, I looked at her and then looked at the invoice.

Still, no reply.

It definitely wasn't my best moment, but it was not hers either.

Apparently, as I discovered afterwards, I had fallen into a trap known as"the meal plan." The meal plan, if you're unfamiliar with it, is when girls go on dates with guys just to get a free meal. It was obviously quite popular with attractive college girls, a classification she certainly fell into.

When I first heard about the"meal plan," I did a mental rewind as I scrolled back through all the dates I had gone until there: all 37 dates to be exact. How could women take advantage of me like that?

As I matured in my online dating, however, I understood that this was really a reaction for what men do to women.

There are 3 major levers in our lives which, if we pull them properly, can change everything. Our career, our health, and our relationships are the difference between depression and elation.

I learned this first hand because in the past five years I went through the excruciatingly painful and draining process of pulling all three levers at once.

I quit the career I had been building for over 7 years and I left my 10-year connection with my girlfriend that I believed I was going to marry.

All of a sudden I was a career and dating novice. I was scarred. And then, for some unknown reason, my ambitious gene activated and a small voice in my head said,"you are going to give up? No, no you are not. You are going to kick online dating's ass!"

I began to channel my misery into anger, and my anger into determination. I began to approach online dating just like one big experiment. I started creating what I predicted,"The Process."

In this blog post I'll take you through the entire process I chose to learn online dating. From optimizing your profile, A/B analyzing your descriptions, beginning meaningful conversations, and even crafting interesting dates.

We'll discuss how to streamline the online dating process so that you can not only get dates, but maybe find the love of your life (with minimal stress).

Now, before I get into it, I should preface that based on your context, your culture, and your own comfort, your process may need to be different than the below. However, the important takeaway here is to pull back the feelings that come from relationship and treat it like an experiment.

If you approach it with the mindset of,"I'm going to go meet interesting people and do interesting things," you will be more inclined to enjoy the procedure. And, if you're diligent, you might end up finding that special person.

UPDATE: As of 2019 I have been with my new girlfriend, who I met on OkCupid, for 4 years and we have moved in together. So maybe these strategies are not all that crazy, but perhaps they are, I'll leave it for you to judge.

Notice: You can also hear the Modern Dating Show podcast, where my friend Trevor and I cover a lot of these strategies as we browse the present struggles and embarrassments of his own relationship trip (and answer listener questions).

STEP 1 -- Decide what you're looking for The absolute most frequent mistake I see both guys and gals making when it comes to online dating is they don't define their goal clearly. Deep down inside, most of us know whether we're searching for a serious relationship or just to have fun.

The more common scenario that I've discovered is that both men and women who are looking for a meaningful relationship are maximizing their dating for fun instead.

I remember how one day when my coworker, Maddy, heard about my success with online dating, she asked me to assist her with her OKCupid profile. She's an incredibly smart and capable woman and she's' really beautiful, a true 10 out of 10, so I was confused why she'd need my help.

In less than 5 seconds I saw the problem.

The photos I saw in her profile looked like they belonged more on thechive.com rather than on any dating site.

Basically, in order to maximize for getting dates, Maddy had chosen to only include her most provocative photographs.

Now I would like to be clear, there is nothing wrong with girls having"promiscuous" photos online. The problem, in the event of dating, is the arrangement of a relationship and what you contribute with.

Our brains have evolved over centuries to pick up on visual cues much faster than written clues. In actuality, they have found that men who are even walking with their girlfriend, will reflexively look if an attractive woman walks by activating their conscious brain.

Because dating profiles conceal most information aside from the profile photo before a user clicks, resulting in provocative photos sets a bad first impression.

So, while it's totally fine to have sexy photos up in your instagram, leading together on your online dating profile is sending signals that may be attracting the wrong sort of guy. Additionally, there are plenty of classy ways to possess interesting pictures that speak to more than just the unconscious brain.

Online dating pictures can be both classy and intriguing So, although Maddy was attempting to find a relationship, her photos were only sending signals that she is searching for"fun." Understandably, she had a line of douchebag men filling up her inbox.

Listen to The Modern Dating Show Episode 4 For men, we tend to have the opposite problem.

Every guy who has done online dating will testify to the battle of getting a girl to swipe directly on their profile, let alone to make them participate in a conversation.

Men, this is entirely your own fault.

I've seen men spend hours talking about the numbers of their favorite sports team, which player has what stats, who's health is suffering, as well as how financial reports will effect the team's chances.

However, when it comes to online dating, men tend to slap a few pictures in their profile and then start swiping like orangutans until their fingers develop calluses.

Men, stop.

Before you begin creating or re-creating your dating profile, stop and think about what you are trying to achieve.

Are you trying to date a lot of people?

Or are you trying to find a meaningful relationship?

And"both" isn't an answer.

"If you try to appeal to everyone, you will interest no one."

The techniques I'll outline below work for desired outcome, but the choices you make will vastly affect your"conversion" rate.

For instance, the first time I mastered everything in this procedure, I started going on a lot of dates (3--4 per week, weekly ), but I still felt incredibly unfulfilled.

I just realized months after that, while it is good to go on a great deal of dates and get practice relationship (recall I had been off the dating scene for 10 years), it was even more important to be sure I had been dating the perfect folks.

Fortunately I realized this before I had been the victim of some more"meal programs ."

STEP 2 -- A/B Test your online dating profile pictures and descriptions According to a study from Princeton, it is estimated that in any relationship, whether its social or work, we make up our mind about whether we like the person in less than one second.

The single biggest flaw in online dating is that the first impression you make is based solely on your profile image.

They do not get to hear you speak. They do not get to shake your hand. They do not get to smell you (it is a thing).

All you get is 1 picture and there's a 99% chance it's the wrong one.

If a person is approaching online dating as an experiment, naturally the first thing to check is the profile picture. I first started this process in a very unscientific way...

One hundred, and I mean 100% of these said that my first picture wasn't my best.

It was interesting feedback, but I was not certain how I could test numerous pictures considering that I could only put one as the default option.

The response: testing across apps.

I created profiles on Hinge, OKCupid, CoffeeMeetsBagel, along with the dreaded Tindr.

I kept my profile description the same on each profile, but I put up another profile image on each. I rotated the pictures across profiles until I could find a big enough sample size and make sure that the platform wasn't effecting results.

Four of my real dating profile pictures Sure enough, the profile picture which I thought was my best was always the one with the least games.

Interestingly enough, a film that I didn't read much into, pic B, was actually a massive turn off for pretty much 100 percent of women.

I was shocked when I found out this, because the two women in that photo are really good friends of mineso that I never would have made this connection.

Sometimes your photos can be your greatest blind spot.

To totally test out this idea, I actually enrolled a couple of friends (both men and women) to the experiment and had them change out their profile pictures.

This is a super simple optimization that can look like a pain now, but it will save you from dozens, if not hundreds, of missed matches.

This is the 20% of work which will get you that 80% improvement in results, so please rotate your photos and rotate them frequently.

Top Tip: If you would like to speed this process up, you can really ask your matches exactly what they think of your pictures. If a conversation with a match was not going well, I decided to get some"user comments" by asking her why she swiped right and which of my photos she believed was best. (I also used this technique to ask recruiters why I was not getting jobs.)

Descriptions are negotiable In highschool I had a history teacher, Mr. Hernandez, who gave me perhaps the worst piece of advice I've ever received:"just be yourself" Now, a part of this error may be my fault, since I took his advice very literally. I began to speak my mind, dress how I wanted to dress, and behave how I wished to act.

This turned out to be a horrible idea.

Without any filter or idea behind my actions, I rubbed over a few people the wrong way.

Now that I have matured a bit, I've come to realize that there is a difference between being your total self and being yourself.

Whether we like to admit it or not, we are never our total selves except when we're by ourselves.

Seth Godin has a great podcast on"signals," which you can listen to here. In the podcast, he explains that we knowingly choose which signals to give to other men and women. A man wearing a button up top, for instance, is not necessarily wealthy, but the button up shirt is putting out the signal that he is wealthy.

Much like someone who wears all black and an anarchy necklace is indicating she doesn't want to follow society's rules, the man in the button up shirt is signaling that he is okay with subsequent convention.

In college I met a woman at a party who immediately caught my attention. She was wearing a summer dress, flower earrings, and looked really cute. I approached her and we instantly hit off. We spent the whole party dancing and flirting.

We made plans to have a lunch date in the college cafeteria after that week.

I got to the cafeteria early and chose to save us a booth seat. As I was waiting, a girl walked up to me and smiled. I looked up and saw a cute girl dressed in black, wearing black eyeshadow and an anarchy necklace around her neck.

Initially I did not even recognize her, but after a few baffled blinks with my eyes I realized it was my date.

She sat down and we started talking.

I was that man.

I didn't really care what she dressed like, but as we picked up our conversation we soon realized that we had practically nothing in common. The outfit she had used as a sign at the party didn't match her personality in any way. We ended the date cordially and proceeded on. Choosing your signals is good, but picking false signals not so much.

The same goes for your online dating profile description.

You don't need to lie, but you also don't want to be your total self. You need to tell them about how you collect vintage records, you do not need to tell them about the way you cry every time a U2 tune comes on. You need to tell them about how you volunteer at the animal shelter, you do not want to tell them about how you ran over your cat.

First impressions matter.

Crafting a fantastic description is perhaps the toughest and personal bit of improving your online dating profile.

There's absolutely no right answer, but there are some wrong answers.

The first step to getting a great dating profile description is using a very clear structure.

I break down a relationship profile description into 3 components: Headline: A short sentence someone can read quickly.

Intro Paragraph: A little longer description that provides some colour to your interests and personality.

Call to Action: A desired action you want them to take. Online dating is inherently awkward, so help the other person by letting them know something you can talk about. Ladies this is particularly true for you. If you do not want men messaging you"hey" or"wanna f*ck?" Then give them some fuel to start the conversation with.

The Headline

Unfortunately, people tend to surf internet dating programs the way they surf social media sites: quickly and without much thought. It could be, in fact, that mobile devices have trained us to surf everything in a similar manner.

Due to this, I think the headline is perhaps the most crucial bit of your description and you should try different variations until you find one that works for you. After a lot of testing I found that this one worked best for me: The objective of the headline is to provide a fast snapshot of what's unique about you. Having a headline that's authentic, interesting, and brief acts like a stop sign for the individual who's scrolling through the dozens of profiles on their cell phone. It is likely that they'll laugh at the question.

As any solid content marketer knows, terrific content is all about respecting the medium that you're producing the content for. By way of example, if I went into a girl in a bar and said,"Outdoorsy, curious, ambitious, active," she will definitely get up and leave.

The reverse Visit this site is true for online relationship, however.

You need your headline to be fluff free. Keep it to a 3--6 words, or one sentence, and make certain it is quintessentially you.

The Intro Paragraph After that initial curiosity is peaked, you can begin paving a path towards them getting to know you a little bit more.

This isn't the time to write a book about yourself. After all, this is only your 3rd touch point with this person, your picture and headline being the first two.

The intro paragraph provides a small amount of colour and perhaps some talking points that you can discuss in conversation (again, ladies, this is extremely important to add if you want to have more meaningful conversations).

The intro paragraph that worked best for me was: "I love being outdoors as much as possible! Some of my favorite things are surfing, climbing, and playing volleyball. I'm a creative at heart but I really like learning about new and businesses ideas. I am into photography, layout, and Tim Ferriss.

My ideal Saturday is playing volleyball at the beach with friends. My perfect Sunday is reading a good book at Promenade cafe" This paragraph outlines a couple of basic hobbies and activities I enjoy and some non-standard things like business, design, and Tim Ferriss that might peak curiosity.

The most important thing to remember about this section is to prevent the generic activities that could apply to pretty much anyone.

"I like hanging out with friends, watching films, binging on Netflix, and going on hikes."

While I'm sure there are people in the world who don't like watching movies or hanging out with friends, probably 95% or more of the folks in your area enjoy both those things too.

Rather than attempting to fit in, attempt to stand out.

Try to balance your description between things most people like, so it's possible to discover common ground, but also things which are uniquely you.

For example in my description above: -- Many people like being outdoors and photography.

-- Some people like surfing, climbing, and volleyball.

-- But very few people like learning about businesses or Tim Ferriss.

This is optional, although it certainly helps. In marketing, a call to action (CTA) is the action that you want the user to take after they have viewed your content.

In relationship, you basically want the person to message you. This seems like a no brainer, but I've found that a lot of people, both guys and girls, have been rejected so many times that they finally become discouraged from making first contact.

I have heard countless stories of girls who have paired with a man who they really enjoy, but the man never messages them. When I ask them why they do not message first, they say that they don't know what to say or they don't want to seem desperate. Butobviously you don't want everyone to message you, so make your call to action specific.

On OkCupid they have a single section that states: Again, as with all this information, when in doubt just check it out. Try having a call to action and see whether your conversations improve. When they don't, simply delete it.

The attractiveness of dating programs is that rather than having 1--5 chances to make a connection, as you would if you went to a pub for instance, you have thousands of chances and"do-overs" to play with.

STEP 3 -- Making initial talking and contact

where online dating falls flat on its face compared to"in real life" relationship is when it has to do with the conversation. Having to talk online as your initial conversation is a massive limitation when you're trying to start a new relationship.

For starters, it is a very unnatural way of communicating, since it's been proven that we receive 55% of our communication from non-verbal (or in this case non-typed) communication.

It makes sense then that when you take countless people and put them in an unnatural communication environment you get some fairly unnatural conversations.

While it may be fun to play around with bizarre conversation openers, if you are serious about finding a good relationship through online dating, then it is a fantastic idea to research your results a little bit. This gave me the opportunity to begin testing different conversation openers and see patterns that I just would not have been able to see if I didn't have a high match rate.

Listen to The Modern Dating Show Episode 6 I'll spare you some of the terrible thoughts I had, but in the spirit of good fun, let us test how well you can judge a fantastic opener from a poor one. For bonus points, try to order them from most effective to least effective.

A) "Hey! How's it going?"

B) "Hey! C) "Question: Batman or Superman?" (or any other variation of this sort of question). How did you like X book?" (based on a book they listed in their profile) I'll allow you to think about it for a second.

(I will add some distance before the answer below. Scroll as soon as you're ready.)

Scroll for the answer Scroll for the answer Scroll for the answer Scroll for the response Scroll for the answer Scroll for the response And the answer is...

If you guessed D, you chose the best answer! (If you guessed C, you chose the worst response.)

In order of best to worst, the replies are D, B, A, C (D being best).

There are pluses and minuses to some conversation starter. While I found that the absolute best conversations resulting from"Hey! How did you like X book," that clearly depends if they've put a book in their profile.

You can modify this to ask about some other part of their profile, like a picture or a location in their own pictures.

The reason I guess that the book one works best though is because a) it shows you actually read their profile and b) it shows that you read.

If I may use the book opener to start a conversation I usually also extend it to,"Hey! How did you like x publication? I'm currently reading'Losing my Virginity' by Richard Branson and highly recommend it!" (This is how I opened the dialogue with my now-long-term girlfriend).

Pretty much every conversation I started with this opener felt much more natural and moved beyond a few messages.

The second best choice,"Hey! Works almost as well, but it is obviously limited to Sundays, Mondays, or Tuesdays.

(It would be strange if you used this on a Friday). Have any fun plans for the weekend?" This worked pretty well, but not nearly as well. I suspect it's because it sounds too much like I'm about to ask her on a date or it puts her on the spot to think of something interesting.

The Do's & Don'ts of Online Conversation Now that you've made contact and the other person has responded, it's time to have a dialogue. Every dialog changes, but there are a few guidelines that I'll put in here as suggestions.

First, some online dating suggestions for guys: DON'T attempt to be interesting by being obnoxiously weird. I can not tell you the number of messages my female friends have shown me that sound objectively psychotic. The sad thing is that I know that the man is just nervous and trying to think of something interesting to say. Just have a regular conversation like you would with a friend.

DO attempt to talk about things she is interested in but also add your own thoughts. One of the most common complaints I've heard from female friends is they feel like they're being interviewed. Make certain that you ask questions, but that you also share things about yourself in equal measure.

DON'T make comments about her appearance or body. Regardless of how well intentioned you are, it will be perceived in the wrong way. Saying things like,"you're so beautiful! You've got a cute smile! You're..." will only result in a polite"thank you" and won't create meaningful conversation.

Now, a few online dating suggestions for girls: DO be nice and help direct the conversation. Even when I've tried to be friendly and nice, I've still received quite curt or standoff-ish answers. No matter how much men pretend that they don't care about the conversation, they do. And they normally don't have any clue what they are doing, so offer them some help and guide the dialogue in a positive direction.

DON'T answer questions without asking some of your own. If you are tired of discussions feeling such as interviews, then be certain that you ask the man about things he is interested in also. It takes two to tango.

DON'T make judgments too soon. In my experience women have a tendency to place a lot more thought in their text messages than men do. If a guy says something that seems weird or strange, give him the benefit of the doubt and don't read too much into it, chances are he did not either.

Now a suggestion for both parties: Try to move the conversation from online to in real life relatively quickly. Online dating is a excellent tool to meet someone, but it is just that. It's a tool, it is not actual dating.

My general recommendation for moving from online to in real life is either one long conversation or two short conversations. It should never take more than a week to set up a date. So, if you match with each other on a Monday, you should definitely have begun talking about using a date by Wednesday.

So yes, use the apps, but also get them off quickly. In real life is a good deal more fun too in case you know how to set up great dates...

Step 4 -- Making a date sequence that will make you smile more and sweat less After I had mastered the online portion of relationship, I soon realized that procuring the date is just half the battle. The second half of the battle, how well the date goes, is largely determined before you've even set out from your house.

As they say in real estate: location, location, location.

Where you have your date determines about 50--70% of the outcome of the date.

But first a question...

Where is the worst place to have a date?

As it happens, it's actually at the most frequently selected dating location: A sit-down restaurant.

Initially I was taking all my dates to restaurants for dinner. Boring, I know. But bear in mind, I was completely new to dating so I was only following what I'd seen in movies.

Most of them did not go well, but I was not certain why. After a dozen or so awkward (and expensive) dates, I decided that I should experiment with several other locations.

What happened next was totally mind blowing.

It was not that I was doing anything differently or that I had been picking better women to go on dates with, it

was merely a matter of context.

Here's why I think dinner dates don't work, it goes something like this: You meet a complete stranger outside a restaurant. You sit down at a table. You start speaking, then the waiter interrupts asking about drinks. You continue to talking. The waiter interrupts again to your food order. You're not ready to order because you have been talking. The waiter gives you"another moment." You look at the menu making remarks about the choices. The waiter comes back ten minutes later. You talk and talk. You then run out of things to discuss. What should you do next? You have to keep talking. Talk... Talk... Talk!

A dinner date provides no choices. It is a singular task that depends on you connecting with a complete stranger almost instantly.

This problem is exacerbated by the fact that many of us are getting worse at having in-person discussions.

Spending so much time online has improved our written communication skills, but it has also atrophied our inperson communication skills.

Therefore, if we are getting worse at getting in-person conversations, why would you bet your entire love life on the fact that you'll be able to have an amazing in-person conversation with a complete stranger? I had been holding on to a small ledge, about the size of a golf-ball, while the rest of my body dangled 30-feet above the ground like a giant cat toy. "O well," I thought,"this is going to be a good bonding experience."

As I let my fingers slip off the ledge I anticipated the sharp jolt of the rope in my climbing harness. But there was no jolt. I began falling for what felt like eternity.

As it happens, my climbing partner had let go of the rope just as I'd slipped off the ledge. She panicked and didn't grab the rope until I had fallen 15 feet to what I was sure was my upcoming death.

Eventually the rope finally stopped and I felt a massive jolt, both physically and emotionally.

My entire dating profession made a 180-degree turn when I began carrying my dates on fun activities rather than dinners. I'd take them to play tennis, rock climb, festivals, picnics at the beach, music shows, and everything in between.

A number of these activities worked better than others. But I found out that the most crucial elements to a great date place could be distilled into three categories: Walkability -- Do we need to sit together or can we walk around? When you're walking, your scenery is changing so that you can pick up new conversation topics as you go. "O look at that naked man on rollerblades!" (It is San Francisco after all).

Action -- Can we both do the action reasonably well? I've seen guys get this one fairly wrong. It is fun to teach someone something that you are passionate about, but make certain it's not too hard. Taking a woman rock

climbing? Make sure she is not scared of heights first.

Scalability -- Would the date increase or shrink in scale as needed? Having a terrific time? Great! No chemistry? No problem, how can we end the date sooner?

With these three criteria, I crafted a 3 date sequence which nearly doubled the number of successful dates I went on.

I know what you're thinking,"This man took women out to the same areas like it was some kind of regimented assembly line?"

No. This was my go-to sequence, but, based on interests, I would substitute unique activities to keep the dates intriguing. This was merely a template that simplified my decisions and reduced the cognitive load I was putting on my mind. Happy brain = Happy dates.

So here's my ideal dating arrangement: Date #1 -- Off the Grid: Off the Grid is a gathering of food trucks each Friday by the San Francisco bay.

Why I like it: One of the difficulties of inviting someone out to dinner is that everybody has different food preferences. Then (if you're a guy) you've got to account for cost of food. Off the grid solves this since there are over 20 distinct kinds of (affordable) cuisine. Additionally, it lets you walk around, people watch, and get drinks. It is possible to extend the date by getting dessert or listening to the live bands. Feel like going all out?

Date #2 -- Variable: This date could change based on interests but I had a few go-tos, specifically: Little Italy, rock climbing, tennis, picnic on the shore.

Why I like it: What these actions had in common were the 3 variables: walkability, action, scalability. We could walk around Little Italy, grab cannolis, stay for drinks at Jack Karouac's favourite bar, or abort early. With both rock climbing and tennis we could alternate between activity and talking.

Why I like it: This date was especially important because if a girl had made it to date #3, it meant I actually liked her. Additionally, it meant we might take the connection to the bedroom. The Cal Academy night fulfilled all requirements, also it was a semi-formal event so we could both dress well for that special night. This was also my secret test because if a woman did not like science and facts it likely would not work out between us anyway. As an additional bonus, it was also a 20-min walk from my place, so that helped with the"scalability" of the night.

Listen to all the episodes of The Modern Dating Show These are merely three examples of how to take online dating offline and make a reasonably successful dating sequence. Here are a few tips on what to look for on each date as you try to create your own dating sequence: Date #1: Search for a casual environment that isn't intimidating. Dark bars or loud places don't make for great conversation. Make certain that you can reliably go to this place, so avoid places with long waits or where you need to make reservations. Make sure you can schedule the date for a weeknight (try to not book someone's weekend for a first date).

Date #2: You have broken the ice and you have both agreed to a second date, so have fun with this one! Choose an activity you'll both like that isn't too difficult. Avoid intimidating activities like karaoke, group sports, or water

skiing. Ideally choose an activity that has a cadence in which you alternate between doing something and speaking. Going on a 10 mile run is great for exercise, but it doesn't allow for conversation. Seeing a movie at a movie theater has similar limits.

Date #3: You both confirmed you like each other, it is time to bring it to the next level. Try to make this date a bit more special than the first two. It needs to be romantic, it should test how compatible you both really are, and it ought to confirm whether or not you want to keep on seeing each other long term. Following the excitement of dates one and two, there may be a lull in date 3, so be sure whatever you choose provides new intimacy to the relationship. By way of example, if I did not visit the Cal Academy I would go dancing instead.

STEP 5 -- Getting your Timing Right Perhaps among the most crucial pieces of the internet dating mystery that I see guys screw up again and again is timing. Assuming the guy is the one driving the relationship sequence (which is not always the case) there are a few questions you will need to ask: When should you ask her to go on a date? How long should you wait between date 1 and date 2? When should you sleep together?

Here I'll share my answers to these questions that I've found most helpful. But again, depending upon your context, your culture, and your own comfort your answers may vary. I will share my experience (as a heterosexual man living in San Francisco) and you can make whatever adjustments you deem appropriate. The important thing is to actually think about timing, as opposed to leaving it up to"feeling" Going from Online to Offline It's quite easy to let a great online conversation die out. You message her, she messages you, back and forth, forth and back. To be able to make sure I do not waste all my time with online conversations I found it was best to ask a girl to go on a date after about 2 days of messaging or roughly 20 minutes of continuous conversation.

Again, try not to linger at the safe-space of this digital world too long. It might feel like it's necessary, but it is very easy to waste a lot of time and momentum in the chat room.

Going from Date 1 to Date 2 When I was 25, working as"the new guy" at a tech startup, my desk was placed right behind the sales staff.

One thing I noticed is that every time they were ending a call they would ask,"okay so what does your calendar look like for next week? Busy? Okay how about the week then? O that's no great too. Okay how about the week after that?"

Regardless of what the prospect said, the salesperson would insist on at least"penciling" the next meeting to the calendar with the choice of cancelling if needed.

Once I took this technique and applied it to relationship, it led to some pretty incredible results. This rule is a bit contrarian, but it has worked really well: Always ask for the next date on the first date.

One of the worst things about dating is that you are putting yourself out there. You're opening yourself up to strangers and in return you are getting a lot of uncertainty.

No one likes uncertainty.

No one likes to check their phone every hour to determine if you've texted them or not. Nobody likes to wonder if

you like them or not. Surprisingly, most individuals do not mind if you do not like them, they just want to know.

So my suggestion is to quit playing games, both with another person and on your own.

If you like them, tell them you like them.

If you do not, have the respect to let them know you don't. (A gentle way to do this is by telling them that you aren't prepared to date at this time. I had a girl tell me and it was the easiest let down I have ever experienced and utilized it later myself too).

I must pause here for a single caveat: Yes, you should tell them you like them, but not always.

I see this a lot with both guys and girls who get very excited by the person they've just met and they then proceed to text them, call them, and watch them day after day after day.

Stop Chasing Shadows When I was thirteen years old, my grandfather gave me some advice that I still use to this day. He told me,"Girls are like shadows, the more you chase them, the more they run away. The more you run away, the more they pursue you."

If you discover someone who you want to be with really poorly, don't scare them away by being obsessive. If they like you as well, there is no need to chase them. Yes, you should actively try to establish a date, but there's no reason to go on dates every single night of the week.

Permit the relationship to have some breathing room. A fantastic way to judge if a relationship is going well is if you find yourself missing the other person and vice versa.

There's a lot of truth in the saying,"absence makes the heart grow fonder," and now there is even scientific evidence for it as well.

In several studies, anthropologists have discovered that many primates invest more effort into a relationships if the people in that relationship have been forced apart. What is interesting is that researchers at the Aalto University in Finland have recently confirmed that the same holds true in humans.

By data mining mobile phone records and comparing telephone patterns and length, the researchers at the university found that humans may also invest more effort into relationships when there is a probability of that relationship weakening.

I tried applying this research to dating in a relatively straightforward way and, to my surprise, it worked very well. It turns out that by simply allowing for some time to elapse between dates, paradoxically, makes the connection strengthen rather than weaken.

My cadence for dating that I found worked fairly well was the following: Date 1 -- Day 0 Date 2 -- 7 days after Date 1 Date 3 -- 14 days after Date 2

Date 4 -- variable This arrangement meant that I'd spread out the first 3 dates across a 1 month period. This allowed for enough time for the connection to mature and helped me make sure I did not suffocate my dates, which was particularly helpful when I was really into them.

Takeaways and Next Steps As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, these dating strategies helped me tremendously, but depending upon your context, your culture, and your comfort, your procedure may need to be different than the one above.

The important takeaway here is to pull back the emotions that come from dating. In fact, because dating is such an emotional activity (similar to job hunting), it is vital to have a system in place to help you navigate the ups and downs.

By engaging in online dating you're getting on a rollercoaster of emotions and, like on an actual rollercoaster, it would be foolish to simply hop on and continue. Making sure you have that lap belt secured and that you've been on a few less intense rides will help you enjoy the ride a whole lot more. As we frequently discuss about the podcast, when you let go of expectations and only make your goal just having fun with other human beings, online dating becomes something to look forward to rather than something to dread.

Similar to the help of world-class investors, you need to diversify your portfolio and decrease your chance of catastrophic failure. A way of doing this is by going on dates which aren't only sit-down dinners, so that no matter how your relationship partner behaves, at least you will have a good time doing something fun.

And, to minimize the risk, you should build both an outreach and dating sequence so you decrease the cognitive load of having to think of new dates constantly. Find a few activities you enjoy doing and then match the dates into these activities. This is also a wonderful way to filter out people who aren't compatible with you in the first place, which will save you time and money in the long run.

Naturally, irrespective of how well I did all of the above things, I had my share of terrible dates. The woman who used me as a meal program being just one of several.

Dating is a rollercoaster that will scare you, challenge you, and sometimes make you wish you had never gotten on. But remember, when you're feeling down and enjoy giving up on love altogether: "You are not as bad as they say you are, you are also not as good as you think you are."

Take each date as an opportunity to improve yourself. If you constantly work on your own, improving your conversations, your dates, and your relationship with other people, that investment will pay off far beyond online dating. Until then, strap in and enjoy the ride.

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And, if you have any more questions about dating, hear our podcast where you can submit your own dating questions and we'll answer them on the show.