From the Labs: The Thursday Night Purge

Before giving this tip, I do have to qualify it quite a bit. I am using religious preferences that eliminate 98% of the match pool. So, a lot of my matches are long-distance. And I'd imagine that a lot of candidates also aren't willing to do the long-distance thing. So... I don't get that many matches. And I do run the eHarmony Blog script. (And didn't notice this pattern until I started running it.)

Now, having said that, I've noticed an unusual distribution scheme.

Almost all of my new matches come on Fridays. A few more come on the weekend. It's rare that I get a new match on a weekday.

It's an interesting pattern. And I'm exploiting it. And, actually, saving myself a lot of effort.

Basically, if a person isn't responding to communication, or looks like they might be a "scam" or "dead" profile... I'll give them until Thursday night to get their act together.

But, on Thursday night... it's time to clear the dead wood. They're keeping me from getting new matches. So, when Friday rolls around, and my list is almost empty... eHarmony usually does a good job of bringing in more suitable replacements.

So, if you're noticing the same pattern that I have... give the Thursday Night Purge a try. And let me know how it works for you.

It's a good feeling to know that the undesirables can be replaced so easily...

Maryann Says:

Scott wrote: It's a good feeling to know that the undesirables can be replaced so easily...

Boy, oh boy, ain’t that the truth! Life gets better when we take control! When you have plenty of other matches in the works, even really great matches that close don’t hurt so much. In fact, sometimes I don’t even have time or interest in looking back at his “About Me” introduction to see which one he is. Who cares? He’s gone. I’m moving on.

Here is my experience with managing matches. After reading Scott’s blog and the Discussion Board, I decided I’d just give in and initiate communication. If guys want me to chase them, fine. It fits my personality anyway. I go after what I want. If that intimidates a match, he probably couldn’t handle me anyway.

So, for the past week I have promptly dealt with each match as it came in. I initiate communication, put on hold to test whether it is an active profile, or close. By dealing with every match, I consistently get seven new matches a day. If I have even one “new” match, I can’t get any more.

My match settings are pretty open. Because I commute every week in two directions, I can seriously consider matches up to three hours away. Also, I have a wide range of ages, am very open about religion, etc.

Having so many matches is empowering! Plus, it feels good to give even marginal matches a chance. I only close when it is clear it could NEVER work! My best date so far started out as a marginal match. He was way better than his profile!

Good luck,

Maryann