Becoming an adult comes with an avalanche of different responsibilities, like juggling your work or school and spending time with loved ones. Bills, household chores, money management, medical and dental check-ups—all of these things can add up and perhaps even make you dread the idea of “adulting.”
But like many things, adulting is something that you can get better at with constant practice and by building skills like time management and financial discipline. One thing that can help you achieve both is to observe a proper routine for transforming these tasks from looming chores into easy habits.
To that end, here’s how you can set up such a routine and really get into the groove of being an independent and reliable young adult:
1) List Down Your Responsibilities
Build the foundations of your routine by writing all the tasks that you need to do, both for your personal and professional life. Try to brainstorm and think of every task first before trying to edit and organize.
If it seems overwhelming, try to think of tasks in order of frequency. For example, what tasks do you need done every day? This may include chores like making the bed, cooking, and updating your expense tracker. Then you can move on to tasks you do every week—doing the laundry, grocery shopping, sweeping, and mopping the floors.
Finally, think about your monthly tasks—paying bills, deep cleaning appliances, creating your budget for the month. You can start organizing once you think you’ve written down everything you need to do.
2) Save Time and Pay Bills Online
Gone are the days when you had to go to a physical payment center to pay your bills. Nowadays, you can pay for utility bills online, saving you both time and energy. E-wallets and mobile banking apps are often connected with multiple companies, allowing you to pay all of your bills in one convenient place. Some companies also have their own online payment portals or apps, which would make it easy for you to complete your online bills payment through an e-wallet like Maya.
3) Automate Other Payments
Many payments can also be automated, allowing you to pay for everything on time without having to put it in your to-do list. This is most useful for your credit card bills, as you can pay for everything without accumulating interest or late penalty fees. Explore your options and set up your automations before moving on to your other tasks.
4) Batch Similar Tasks Together
Categorizing your tasks and grouping them accordingly streamlines the process of getting everything done. It also helps build momentum, which makes the entire routine feel smoother and more doable.
For example, you could group up cleaning chores together and perform a single deep-clean once a week, or schedule all of your appointments for one day to make the most out of your time and commute.
5) Choose a Dedicated Day for “Adulting” Tasks
Once everything is categorized, set aside a particular day and time for each type of task in your to-do list. This is to make sure you have time to complete everything without getting overwhelmed.
For instance, you can set aside a few hours every 1st of the month to organize and pay your bills, double check your automations before the payments’ due dates, and set up your budget so that you can start saving. You can also turn every Sunday into your “home maintenance” day to accomplish all of your house chores for the week. Soon enough, following this routine will become like second nature to you.
6) Use a Calendar or Reminder App
When you’re still getting used to a routine, it’s easy to forget to do things you promised yourself you would do on a particular day. Apps like your phone’s default calendar and notes apps are simple yet useful tools that can remind you when it’s time to do upcoming tasks. Remember to schedule appointments, due dates for bills, medical checkups, and social events so that you’re constantly on track on what you need to do for the upcoming week or month.
7) Check in With Yourself
You don’t have to get your routine completely right on the first try. After the first week or month of following the schedule you’ve made, try to reflect on the experience. Did you have any tasks that you forgot to include? Was the schedule too rushed or stressful? Are there any tasks that you can simplify or streamline? From there, you can adjust your routine until you find one that perfectly suits your current schedule and lifestyle.
Turn Your Adulting Tasks into Consistent Habits
Keeping up with all your adulting tasks only feels overwhelming right now because you’re not used to doing them yet. Routines become easier with repetition, and over time, tasks such as paying your bills every month or planning your meals every weekend will start to feel natural.
For now, there’s no shame in needing reminders or checklists to stay on the right track. Focus on building your rhythm and adjusting everything to your liking, and soon enough, you’ll find that adulting isn’t so hard after all.
