10 Practical Life Skills for Adults

Adulting is hard and no one wants to do it every single day. Some days I wake up bargaining ways to get out of my responsibilities. I think everyone has a shirt or coffee mug that says they can’t adult today. So yes, adulting is hard but do you know what’s harder? Not adulting. 

No, it’s true. When you try to go through life without practical life skills odds are everything will be a little more complicated, expensive, and frustrating. You might even end up isolating friends and family. 

So what are the most practical life skills for adults? Why do you need to learn them before your big brave life? How can you improve in these daily life skills even if you have already been an adult for a long time?

Let’s dig into all the details and start adulting together. 

Why Should You Learn Practical Life Skills

If reading an article about practical life skills for adults sounds like the most boring thing you could do with the next five minutes I don’t blame you. Like I said, even I don’t want to be an adult every day. Sometimes we all want to blow off our responsibilities and be lazy. 

That being said, sometimes sticking to beneficial daily life skills for adults can help you avoid further trouble and lots more work down the road. 

For example, if you don’t know how to cook you are going to waste a lot of money eating out all the time. When you don’t know how to clean you may lose your security deposit when it’s time to move out of your rental. If you can’t budget you will end up in debt and if you don’t manage your time well people will get sick of waiting on you to show up and stop inviting you to have fun with them. 

For these reasons, adulting skills come in handy and are actually the key to having more freedom and fun in your life! 

So now that you have a reason to start learning basic living skills for adults it’s time to find out the top 10 practical skills for adults you need to know or improve on. 

1: Basic Grooming

Ok, the first adulting skill you should have down is basic grooming. That’s right, I said it. 

As an adult, you need to keep up with basic grooming like brushing your teeth and keeping your hair tidy. You need to take showers regularly and keep your clothes clean and presentable. 

I’m sure most of my readers are well groomed but sometimes you see teens and young adults who are very lax in this department. Also, sometimes we all get a little behind in nail clipping, eyebrow plucking, leg shaving, and keeping our hair presentable. It happens. 

Basic grooming is an important adulting skill though. Why? Because if you want people to take you seriously, if you want to get a job, and if you want people to be attracted to you instead of repelled you have to make a good first impression. Also, basic grooming is generally good for your health. For example, brushing your teeth will help you avoid serious dental issues. 

2: Cleaning Your Space

Right after basic grooming, another one of the practical life skills for adults you should master is keeping your space and possessions clean. 

You need to know how to clean the toilet, the shower, the kitchen, and your car. You also need to know how to do your own laundry. Beyond that, you should be aware of deep cleaning and home maintenance tasks that don’t need done quite as often but still need to be done. 

Why is knowing how to clean and keeping up with it so important? For so many reasons! 

Cleaning is one of the most important adulting skills because a clean home helps you stay healthy physically and even mentally. It’s been proven that clutter and mess causes anxiety and depression. Keeping your home clean also helps you have a better social life, knowing you can have friends over whenever you want. 

And finally, unless you want to lose your security deposit because you trashed your rental you are going to want to keep up with the cleaning. This goes for you homeowners too. Everything lasts longer when it’s kept clean. 

3: Feeding Yourself 

Now that you are clean and your space is clean you are probably hungry. Is it time to order DoorDash, grab takeout, or go to a restaurant? Is there another option?

There is! Cooking at home is one of the most practical adulting skills out there. It may sound hard at first but cooking at home can be a lot of fun and it can also save you tons of money. 

The average restaurant upcharges at least 28% for the convenience and service they offer. Some upcharge as much as 70% of the actual cost of the food. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve compared the cost of cooking something at home versus the cost at a restaurant and found that what it would have cost for one plate can actually buy the same food for my whole family, sometimes even more. 

Even simple cooking like packing a non-cook lunch can save you tons of money! Imagine this. If you don’t buy a $10 lunch every day you work you could save over $200 a month and if you start making coffee at home you could save at least $100 more every month. 

Learning to cook at home is an important adulting skill because not only will you save a lot of time and money, you will also eat much more healthily. Even the healthy options in restaurants usually include more oil, butter, salt, and sugar than you would normally cook with. On top of that, eating fast food means you are eating loads of processed foods with weird chemicals and preservatives. 

Last but not least cooking is one of the most important daily life skills because it makes you more resilient. When you know how to cook you are less dependent on businesses being open, your car running, and your pocketbook always having extra cash in it. When you know how to cook you can make food for yourself out of very simple ingredients when times are hard.

4: Keep to a Budget

Speaking of your pocketbook, the next of the big adulting life skills is the ability to stick to a budget. Now I’ve never been a big record keeping, micromanaging budgeter but I do know how much I make each month and I spend less than that. It really can be that simple.

When you want something more expensive save up for it instead of opting for payments where you end up paying much more than the actual cost of the product by the time you pay it off. Instead try to save up for big purchases and always pay off your credit card at the end of the month. 

Living within a budget may not seem fun but it is one of the practical life skills for adults for a reason. It will save you a lot of heartache and stress. In the end, focusing on saving instead of spending will allow you to have more fun! Developing a healthy savings account is the whole reason my husband and I have been able to go on lots of cool trips! 

5: Be on Time

Do you want to be fired from your job? Do you want your friends to stop inviting you places? Does it thrill you to miss the first part of the movie?

If none of that sounds good but all of it sounds like your personal experience then it’s time to learn another one of the important adulting life skills. Being on time. 

It is so important to be on time because it will affect all of those aspects of your life and more. When you are habitually late you miss good and important things. Showing up late for work or events shows people that you do not value them or the event enough to make it a priority and they will feel that you are not trustworthy. 

So what can you do if you are a habitually late person? How can you change when it seems like there is never enough time? 

Simply put you need to create a margin. You need to assume that it’s going to take you at least 10 more minutes than you expect to get ready and 10 more minutes than you expect to travel to the place you are going. You need to set your alarm clock to something really obnoxious if you have a hard time waking up. Set out your clothes the night before, simplify your grooming routine, and know the route. 

Do whatever it takes to be ready on time and you will notice a lot of improvement in your life! 

6: Communicate Clearly 

The next way you employ your adulting skills to show respect for others and improve your reputation is to communicate clearly and in a relatively timely manner. 

While we don’t need to tied to our phones every second of the day we should check it for messages at least a couple times a day and reply as honestly as we can, even if the answer is no. Ghosting and answering days later should not be part of any adult’s life. It shows disrespect for the people who are trying to get ahold of you and leaves them hanging. 

If you can’t come to something you are invited to let them know. If you are running late let them know. And if you don’t want to answer a question tell them you aren’t comfortable giving out that information or you would rather not talk about it. It is always more polite to answer than to leave someone wondering what is going on. 

Another part of clear communication is listening. Learn how to be a good listener and take time to listen. This helps you avoid misunderstandings and makes people want to be around you. 

Finally, especially for work, try to follow spelling and grammar rules to the best of your ability. It makes you look smarter and more conscientious. It will also help you communicate more clearly, without misunderstandings.

7: Get Your Rest

When you get down to it all these practical life skills for adults are about being intentional with your time and how you present yourself to the world. That being said, one of the most important things you can be intentional about is your rest. Too many adults think they can burn the candle at both ends and others think they can stay up super late playing video games or browsing the internet but both these habits will lead to burnout and lackluster performance at work. 

Instead, try to stick to a good sleep routine. Practice sleep hygiene by winding down without screens for at least half an hour. Go to bed at the same time every night. Try to avoid exercise, sugar, and eating anything within 2-4 hours before going to sleep. 

It may seem unnecessary and annoying to prioritize sleep but I promise it’s worth it. When you go to bed at a reasonable hour you can wake up and join the rest of the world on time. Sleeping enough also helps your immune system as well as your mental performance which will definately pay off at work as well as every other part of your life. 

Beyond sleep make sure you take time for recreation, time with family, relaxation, exercise, and creative hobbies that will refresh you. All of it is part of the work-life balance that keeps you from burning out. 

8: Work Hard

What if you like to play hard and you get plenty of sleep but you don’t really like to work? Avoiding work like the plague or doing the absolute bare minimum at your job are definitely not adulting skills. In fact, avoiding work and hating every second you have to work is just going to make your life harder. 

A long time ago a young man who had been working hard digging a trench in the hottest part of the day in the hottest part of summer said to me; “I like hard work. It keeps me strong.” 

While it didn’t sound ingenious at the time I have come to appreciate that phrase and I quote it often. Hard work is good for you in so many ways. It keeps you physically and mentally strong and it fosters self-esteem to be a productive member of society. When you work hard you do the best you can and the better you get at whatever you do the more fun you will have doing it. 

On the other hand, when you try to avoid work or give it as little of your energy as possible you will find yourself with financial problems, relationship problems, and a never-ending string of jobs you hate. 

Trust me, I clean houses as my main source of income. It’s not always fun and it’s usually kind of hard but I get what I give and because I do my best I’ve had the same great clients for over 10 years and I actually enjoy my job. 

9: Always Have Good Manners

Now that we have covered all the practical life skills for adults that seem obvious let’s talk about a couple of less obvious adulting skills.

One of the basic living skills for adults I often see people missing is having good manners. Why is having good manners part of adulting? Well think about it, children often embarrass their parents or cause trouble because they do rude things without thinking. When you grown up you should be able to read situations and people better and act appropriately. That means having good manners is a big indicator of emotional maturity. 

What are some good manners that you should add to your adulting skills? Well, firstly you will of course want to say please and thank you. You will also want to try your best to send cards for special occasions and bring something to parties if asked to. 

But good manners go beyond those basic things. Good manners also include taking time to listen without interrupting, not just talking about yourself, and showing empathy to those who are having difficult times. Manners also include cleaning up after yourself, waiting your turn in line, and not taking more than you need in any situation. 

When you have good manners you show that you are aware of the feelings of those around you and that you respect their wants and needs just as much as your own. Good manners are one of those adulting skills that will take you places because when people like you doors open. 

10: Look for Ways to Help Others

Lastly, and this goes along with good manners, you are going to want to look for ways to help others. When you are always looking for ways to help others you are showing that you really are grown up. You have moved past selfishness and you want to see how you can contribute some good to the world. 

You can look for ways to help others in what you do for work. When you are at work you can accept the humble assignments and be willing to train others. Your efforts might not be noticed every time but you will build a reputation as someone that will do the work and do it well.

Outside of work, you should look for opportunities to help around the house. Your family members deserve your help with the housework because you live in the house too. Even if they don’t ask for help you can always ask them what you could do to contribute. 

Be willing to help a friend. Friends who aren’t just there for the good times are friends who are truly cherished for a lifetime. Be that for someone. 

And finally, look for ways that you can serve others with your unique talents and abilities. Volunteer with your able body and mind. Create beautiful art to share with the world. Teach others something valuable that you know how to do. You will always find more happiness when you give! 

Adulting Skills Will Take You Far! 

It may seem really hard to be an adult all the time. I totally understand how you feel. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve looked around the room hoping there was a more adulty person than me to take care of things but the fact is we all have to grow up sometimes. 

When you apply these practical life skills for adults to your daily life you will enjoy a happy simple life with fewer complications. You will find that everything actually gets a lot easier. You will save money, improve your relationships, advance in work, and avoid the stress of procrastination and avoidance. And more than that, it will be easier to define your value and be proud of yourself!

I promise it’s better than it sounds so start adulting today!