They always say your 20s are for running around, living your life to the fullest and having the least amount of responsibility. But with the bad economy, media pressure and fierce competition everywhere, it feels like being in your 20s is much more challenging than it used to be 30 years ago!
So here are some tips to help you not completely crash during the “best years of your life”:
1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Taking six engineering courses, taking part in 10 different clubs, going out every night and not expecting anything to fall apart? Yeah, welcome to the real world!
2. Sometimes, something’s gotta give!
There will come times when everything starts piling up, and one field of your life will have to suffer a bit. So just accept the fact that not everything will go according to plan all the time.
3. Prioritize.
Start with the most urgent and most important things to do, and leave the least urgent and least important things for later. That way, if you can’t be on top of everything, at least the important things won’t suffer.
4. Always keep lists and little post-its!
With all the technology and distractions that surround us every day, our generation has the attention span of a one-year-old and the memory of a goldfish (which is a complete myth, by the way). Therefore listing our tasks every day and keeping post-its to remind us of what needs to be done at the moment cab be great saviors.
5. Maintain good relationships.
With your family, friends, classmates, coworkers, etc. – when the pressure from everything starts to get to you, having a good support system with good people around you can be the only thing that gets you through the day.
6. Accept the fact that some days you will only get two hours of sleep (or no sleep at all).
Whether you didn’t plan your day well or you really just have that many things to do, there will be days when sleep deprivation is inevitable. Therefore, it’s better to make peace with that fact from now and learn important time management skills.
7. Coffee is your best friend, but don’t overdo it.
Because if you already drink 3-5 cups of coffee a day, no amount on earth will be able to wake you up when you really need to.
8. Try to relax on your days off.
I get the appeal of going out and partying all night long when you don’t have to work/study the morning after, but sometimes you need to relax a bit to properly recharge for the week. Stay in, take a bath, read a book, sleep all day if you want to, and just try to shut down for a day.
9. Power through.
There are days when you have to attend classes in the morning, work in the afternoon, attend more classes in the evening, and go to a family gathering at night you promised your mama you would go to.
On days like these, you have two options: either curl up in a fetus position, cry, and pretend you’ve got nothing to do, or just power through and get things done. You may wanna die at the end of the day, but you will have a sense of relief and pride that you successfully survived that day.
10. Keep in mind the consequences of your actions.
The reason why we act so carelessly sometimes is because we don’t think about the consequences of our actions. But keeping in mind that you will fail the course if you miss that quiz will surely make you reconsider getting out of bed.
11. Learn some basic chores and a few recipes.
They will come in handy when your mum is away, or when you wanna eat pasta at 3 am (trust me, it happens).
12. Take responsibility.
If you make a mistake, own up to it. It’s a lot easier than to have to argue your way around a situation, and people will respect you a lot more for it. Besides, you won’t die of embarrassment, I promise.
13. Back up.
I’m gonna spare you the details of the heart attack I have when an important file (or a Seinfeld episode) gets accidentally deleted from my laptop. Backing up your files will save you that heart attack, the drama that follows, and the time it will take you to recreate/re-download this file.
14. De-clutter every season.
I have this tradition of emptying everything in my desk, closet, and dresser with the beginning of each of the four seasons. I get rid of what I don’t need anymore, and reorganize everything I’m keeping, preferably in a new way. This will help keep things fairly organized until the next big de-clutter.
15. Hit the snooze button less.
I might have broken the world record when I hit the snooze button almost 20 times to stay in bed for an hour and a half. But getting up as soon as your alarm goes off will give you more time to get ready and refocus yourself in the morning.
16. Have some cash on you, always.
You never know when a cop will stop you and fine you 150 LE for driving at 118 kmph (when you were actually driving at 160 kmph).
17. Keep a candy bar (or some dates) near at all times.
With all the running around we do, you never know when your energy levels will start to drop. Therefore, a quick sugar fix is needed every now and then.
18. Pick your outfit the night before.
I used to do this before special occasions only, but now I do it almost every night. It doesn’t have to be anything special, but this will save you lot of time in the morning (more time than I’m proud to admit to) deciding what to wear each day.
19. Don’t follow the mainstream.
No matter how appealing it seems, it’s never fulfilling to do just what everyone else is doing. Focus on what you really want and need, and act accordingly.
20. Don’t always go against the mainstream, either.
Just opposing what everyone else is saying or doing for the sole sake of opposing will not necessarily make you grow as a person.
WE SAID THIS: Don’t miss 24 Things I Learned in My 24 Years.