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Have a Successful First Date by Planning the Same Date Every Time


Dating, of course, is a delicate dance with many unknown factors at any given moment.

That’s why if you want to eliminate risk and focus on your connection to this person you’re meeting for the first time, you should take every first date on the same date.

By always going to the same place (and if you want to take it up a notch, ordering the same thing), you do not need to rely on any unknowns to color your perception of your new suitor—maybe we bonded over the bad service? Was I in love or was the fried chicken just really good? Was I spiteful that they suggested a place in their neighborhood?

Going with this method also eliminates the back-and-forth texts of “Where should we go?” “What do you like?” and “What’s convenient for both of us?” All you have to do is take initiative and say “I know a good spot. We’re going here.”

Of course, if you want to be even more scientific (or as some coworkers have said, “sociopathic”), you can get an extra-controlled sample by having a multi-date regimen. That’s right, I used to* have a patented three-date system: 1) Same ice cream place—nice and casual, low stakes, and if they don’t like this ice cream then they are not worthy of a second date. 2) Same Italian restaurant—central location, you know you are willing to spend at least an hour with them, and pasta is agreeable enough. 3) Dinner at my place—and if you are wondering, yes I cooked the same meal every time.

So there you have it: no thinking, no uncertainty. Just see how different people react in the same situation to understand their true character. And maybe don’t let them know that you’ve taken several dozen other dates there, too.

*Yes I am, in fact, in a happy long-term monogamous relationship, so further proof that this system works.


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