5 Ways to 'Adult' Better

We all want to be the best version of ourselves and kill it in all aspects of life. We want a clean house, promotions at work, a strict workout schedule, time to read, healthy meals prepared daily etc. but instead feel like you're never good enough in any aspect of life. 

It's something that seems like a big joke and can get tiring hearing about but it is true that 'adulting' can be extremely difficult at times. It feels like when many areas of life are going well, there is always one part struggling along or taking a backseat. You might be receiving praise and admiration at work but all those extra hours mean you haven't gotten your butt to the gym in a week and have been sustaining yourself on a diet of coffee and frozen meals.

In this article, I am going to be touching on 5 simple yet effective strategies for 'adulting' better and achieving your goals.



1. Prioritise 
First and foremost figure out what is important to you and then go from there. We need to set in our sights exactly what it is we want to achieve and what portions of our life we want to dedicate to changing. Here are a few examples of issues you might be experiencing and the related priorities you might want to put in place as a result. Weight loss - exercise routine and diet. Saving money - meal prepping to reduce the amount spent on takeaway. Working on your relationship - allocating time to date nights and planning out fun activities to do together. By identifying the key areas of your life you want to improve, you can start to prioritise the tasks that need to take up your time.

2. Stick to a budget 
There is no single more important factor of living your best adult life than being in control of your finances. Your relationship with money largely determines a lot of other aspects in your life such as; how you can contribute to relationships, affording high-quality fresh produce to increase your health, having the means to invest in a personal development endeavour such as a painting class or yoga retreat etc. So it is hugely important to GET ON TOP of your finances. Set a budget and stick to it, leaving a clear picture of how much you want to save and towards what. I like to have a clear timeline for how much I want to add to my personal savings and the current holiday or 'thing' I'm saving for. This is exactly how I can afford designer items to add to my high-end capsule wardrobe project.

3. Take Control of Your Relationships 
This aspect of adulting has 2 parts; Maintaining Relationships This might look like calling your mum to catch up instead of waiting for her to reach out to you all the time or making time for dinner with a friend you hardly see. Relationships are like any part of our lives where they require effort and if we never allocate the time, to begin with, they will easily fall by the wayside. Evaluating Relationships While it's important to put time and effort into maintaining your relationships, it is also important to weed out any friendships you might have that are no longer serving you. As established above, it takes time and effort to prioritise relationships in your life so you definitely don't have time to waste on toxic ones. Start to notice how people make you feel when you hang around them; do they light you up or leave you feeling drained? I know it might seem like a superficial thing to consider but also ask the question 'how much does this person contribute to the relationship?' and it could mean financially, emotionally, physically etc. How many time do you pick up the bill compared to them? Are they always relying on you emotionally to solve their problems or do they only have negative things to say when you talk to them? How many favours do they ask you and how much time do you spend running around for them? While there is nothing wrong with giving money, time and favours in relationships - they become toxic when they are one-sided, and you are doing all the giving.

4. Have Self-Care Days 
These are days dedicated solely to going to the dentist, finally going to the dentist, treating yourself to a massage, booking the chiropractor appointment and making sure you've had your cancer skin check lately. Keep a checklist of your health as you would usually conduct a project to-do list at work! Not forgetting mental health here, this day could also be where you finally slot in time to read or go on a hike. Anything you can think of that will be beneficial for your health - add it to an ongoing list that you can refer to when planning out your future self-care days. Besides visiting the chiropractor, you can also explore alternative treatment options as part of your self-care routine. Indeed, growing up or ‘adulting’ can be challenging, and almost always, the tendency to relegate crucial aspects of your health increases. Keep in mind that as you get older, your body may experience some musculoskeletal issues. More often than not, the spine is most affected, explaining why some adults suffer back and waist pains. Stress makes this condition even worse. Therefore, factor in this pseudoscientific treatment into your schedule whenever you have your self-care days.

5. Get Organised 
The biggest thing that helps my mental health is ensuring I am organised and on top of things. I LOVE a useful checklist and thrive when a process is in place, so I incorporate this organisation into every aspect of my life. It is my systems that generate the most success for me out of all my habits because organisation is the key to being efficient, productive and producing results.

A few examples of how organisation might work for you could be some of the methods I have implemented;
- I have a study schedule and a weekly checklist of things to do for Uni so that I stay on top of coursework and assignments.
- I have a monthly list of appointments I like to make so that I am always on top of things. These usually include; massage, chiro, nails, hair, waxing etc.
- I also think it's important to track your goals so I have a process in place where I track my progress and review my goals monthly to see if I'm on track.
- Having a list of books you want to read or movies you want to watch and working your way through them all.
- Pulling together a meal plan for the week and from that writing a grocery list of everything you need so that you only have to do the one grocery shop.

I hope this has been a helpful post in bringing to your awareness to essential aspects of 'adulting' that make like much more manageable. I hope that you will be prioritising, sticking to a budget, taking control of your relationships, having self-care days and being super organised.