Most people realize too late in life that their twenties could be used to make their future decades more successful. And I never wanted to be one of those people that looked back and wondered ‘what if?’
Because I had a dream and nothing to hold me back. And for me, if you can, you should. And whilst I believe you can be successful at any age, I also think it’s important to create an opportunity and get a head start…
Soak up all the information you can
Knowledge is power. There’s no denying it. And don’t you want to be the powerful woman in the room who knows her stuff?
But not only that, self-improvement is essential if you’re looking to get ahead. Just think, your whole life has been about learning up to this point. And it shouldn’t end here.
Every day, of every week I spend one hour of self-improvement/studying time as a rule, whether I’m squeezing it in on my commute or reading just before bed!
This is your time to mold yourself into the woman you want to become.
Don’t stress out about the time
When I turned 20 I thought I had time on my side. And then all of a sudden I was 25, which left me panicking that time was running out. All my friends had done internships and were jumping into jobs. And I felt like I had done nothing.
But then I realized there’s no right path. And whilst time does go by quickly, you can become the master of it by slowing it all down and always setting goals for yourself.
The beauty of your early twenties is that you have the time to figure it all out. You don’t have to dive into a career straight away as long as you are doing something valuable with your time.
But you’ve got to remember to take your time. Think and think again before you do something. Because remember slow and steady wins the race. There’s no rush.
Save what you can when you can
One of the biggest stresses of life is money, and trust me, I’ve been there. Being financially independent for the first time in my life was scary and it was hard. But just like anything it’s a learning curve and helps you mature.
Being realistic about what you can save makes all the difference. Especially when you’re just starting off with your career. You have to be wise and see what you can afford to save – and if it’s pennies, remember it’s a start.
Be fluent in another language
I bet you’ve been told by now how learning a language will make you stand out on your CV. Not only that, but it will help you stand out in your career.
Everything is international these days and you’ll probably meet a lot of international clients. So being able to speak their language when you meet them might work in your company’s favor.
Because in truth, these things do matter.
Step up your game and invest
If you would have said to me five years ago that I’d be investing I’d have probably have laughed. To me, the whole thing looked and seemed too complicated to even begin to wrap my head around.
But taking the time to understand it changed everything. Because you’re essentially letting your money make money. So clue yourself up about investing and start small with tools like MoneyBox, for example.
Establish a routine
Creating and maintaining a routine for yourself now will help you so much later on. Because you would have already done the hard work of breaking bad habits and setting positive ones instead. The one thing that helped me change my life was my Getting Stuff Done planner, I can’t go anywhere without it now because my routine depends on it.
Your 30s are the more serious part of your life. And it’s where things really do become next level. And by getting into a routine you’ll be ensuring that you are organized and even energized, which will make you more productive.
Gain as much experience as possible
Now is your time to test out the waters and find out what you want to do. Once you know your industry your twenties should be all about gaining as much experience as you can in that field.
For me, I took an unpaid internship for six months because I was so eager to learn and ready to break into the industry. It’s a slow starter, but it’s worth it – especially when it landed me a job afterward!
