Graduating college and turning 22-years old has made me realize that I am an adult. Like an actual adult who needs a job and should probably be eating vegetables rather than ice cream for dinner. Because I am young and driven and have goals, I'd like to reach in the near future: I have decided to reevaluate my life and my habits.
Here are a few things I have started doing that you'd like to try if you also want to get your life together:
Budgeting
GiphyI work 20-hour a week at my part-time job, making about $12 an hour at a small business in Seattle. I love my job and really do not want to have to find another because of financial issues. I also love food and buying unnecessary things I don't need. Budgeting has helped me look at my finances as a whole and figure out how much I need to allocate to rent, groceries, gas, etc. Being in charge of your finances is super important especially when you're a college student or recent graduate still looking for work. This has helped me to stay on track with my payments and to actually see where my money is going. I've spent so much money on coffee in the last month when I could've used that money towards a vacation next year.
Wake up early
GiphyI'm not a morning person at all, but the one day I actually woke up at 6 a.m., I felt amazing. I finally had time to get my thoughts together, stretch, and have an actual breakfast before I needed to get to any meetings. Compared to my usual 'wake up 10 minutes before I need to get anywhere so I barely have enough time to brush my teeth', you start to see how changing one small habit can make a huge impact on your day and your mood. To wake up early, I recommend you start going to bed earlier and setting your alarm 10 minutes earlier every morning.
Say 'thank you' instead of 'sorry'
GiphyI am guilty of always saying 'sorry' even when it is completely unnecessary. Instead, try saying 'thank you!' For instance, if I am late to turn in an article, I would say thank you for being patient with me rather than saying sorry. It helps for others to not feel sorry for you and instead feel appreciated. It also makes people a little annoyed if you keep apologizing since they tend to have higher expectations of you.
Track your mood
GiphyI like to use an app called Daylio to help track my mood. It's super simple and compiles the data for you throughout the month. You can even look back and see how your mood differentiates depending on the activities you do that day. As someone who suffers from depression and anxiety, this has helped me to better understand my emotions and to better prepare myself to handle them. You can always use a journal to track your mood and include a few bullet points of how your day went. It's really helpful to have the ability to look back on your day and see what made an effect. If you're trying to get your life together, I definitely recommend you to adopt this habit.
Schedule a doctors appointment
GiphyI've never felt like an actual adult until I had to schedule my own doctors appointment. Taking care of your health is extremely important and who doesn't know your body better than yourself. My brother took 3 weeks to see a doctor only to find out he had a virus that could've been cured in a few days. Don't be like him. If you feel like you need to see a doctor then you probably should. Colleges and universities all have clinics on their campuses and accept a variety of insurance plans. You can even schedule appointments online nowadays so you don't even have to talk to someone!
Adulting is difficult and you'll make a lot of mistakes when you're first starting out. Changing your habits is a great starting point and will help you be successful in the future. Hopefully, this mini guide helps you in figuring out how to get your life together and I wish you the best of luck!
