Photo by Brooke Cagle
So, you’re technically an adult: you pay your bills (sometimes late, but still), you own a plunger, and you’ve mastered the fine art of crying while doing your taxes.
And yet… you still don’t feel like an adult.
Welcome to the club. Adulthood doesn’t come with a guidebook—but it should, especially in our chaotic modern world. Most of us are winging it, overwhelmed by decision fatigue, forgotten home tasks, and the heavy mental load of trying to keep it all together.
But here’s the good news: feeling like an adult doesn’t mean having it all figured out. It means learning how to show up for yourself and your space, with a few life skills (and tools) in your back pocket.
Here are 7 real, practical things you can do right now to feel more like the adult you already are.
1. Create a Budget (That Doesn’t Make You Want to Cry)
Look, nobody dreams of spreadsheets. But knowing where your money’s going is one of the most empowering things you can do to feel like you’ve got your sh*t together. According to a 2025 survey by Intuit, nearly 61% of Gen Z feel anxious about their finances, often because they simply don’t have a clear picture of what’s coming in and going out (oh yeah, also the rising living costs, crushing debt, and general economic uncertainty, but we digress…). The good news is, 42% of people reported improvements in their quality of life after embracing financial wellness.
✅ Try this: Pick a simple method like the 50/30/20 rule (essentials/wants/savings), and track your expenses for one month. Or try a budgeting app that does the math for you. Being able to say, “I can’t afford that right now” is a power move, not a failure.
2. Embrace the DIY Life (YouTube Is Your New Best Friend)
Calling a plumber for a clogged drain? Sure, go ahead. But did you know you can probably fix it in 10 minutes with baking soda and vinegar? Adulthood is just a series of mini skill unlocks, and every task you tackle yourself not only saves your wallet, but also adds to your I’ve got this energy.
✅ Try this: Search for and learn a beginner DIY skill you’ve been avoiding, like changing your air filters, unclogging a sink, or patching drywall (yes, you can do this without becoming your dad). Bonus points if you bookmark some channels or even Instagram accounts to come back to when you’re faced with *that* random task (like ours!).
📌 Fun stat: According to a 2025 survey by Frontdoor, nearly every homeowner in the U.S. completed at least one DIY project last year, and 74% plan to start another this year. And they found that it’s not just about saving money—social media sparks creative ideas, while platforms like YouTube and Google provide the know-how to turn that inspo into reality.
So whether you’re figuring out how to mount shelves, repaint your walls, or Googling “how to fix a leaky faucet”, know that you’re not alone. You’ve got the entire internet, and tools like eeva, in your corner.
Photo by Vladimir Vladimirov
3. Make a Home Maintenance Calendar (So Nothing Explodes)
After you learn all those skills? Get them in the cal. Being an adult means realizing your house or apartment has seasons. And no, we’re not talking about holiday décor. We’re talking about checking your smoke detector batteries before they scream at 3 a.m.
✅ Try this: Set quarterly reminders for low-lift but crucial tasks: clean your dryer vent, descale your kettle, check for leaks, swap out filters. Use an app (hi eeva 👋) that turns all of this into a recurring schedule, so you never have to Google “how often should I…?” again.
4. Create a Weekly Meal Plan (So You Stop Impulse Ordering)
We love spontaneity, but not when it means having toast or ordering out three nights in a row. Having a few fallback meals that are cheap, quick, and at least semi-nutritious is *chef’s kiss* adult behaviour.
✅ Try this: Create a shortlist of 5 meals you can shop for, prep, and cook in under 30 minutes. Think: pasta with frozen veggies, quesadillas, or that one salad you actually like. Store the list in your phone, or better yet, drop it in eeva so your future self never goes hangry.
📌 According to a survey by Morning Consult, roughly 1 in 3 U.S. adults plan most or all of their meals for the week prior to grocery shopping. Millennials, higher-income consumers, urban dwellers, and those with children are even more likely to do so—at least 40% of each group said they plan all or most of their meals.
So, why not join them? Meal planning isn’t about perfection, it’s about making your week a little easier and a lot more delicious.
5. Actually Deal With Your Paperwork Pile
Yes, we’re going there. That stack of unopened mail, random manuals, and mystery forms is adulting kryptonite. But it turns out clearing it out is deeply satisfying.
✅ Try this: Block off one hour. Make three piles: Shred, Scan, and Action. Toss expired warranties. Pay or schedule bills. Set up digital backups for key docs like insurance and taxes (pro tip: add a “paperwork” day to your monthly routine in eeva so it never builds up again). When digitizing documents, be sure to name them in a way that makes it easy to search for later, because “File_02098384” isn’t going to help you when you’re frantically searching for the washing machine manual.
6. Build a “Sunday Reset” Ritual
No one’s asking you to become a productivity influencer. But a little Sunday prep (or honestly whatever day works best for you) can turn the beginning of the week from chaotic to calm. Studies show that routines reduce stress, boost focus, and create a stronger sense of control—aka, grown-up wellness magic.
✅ Try this: Pick 3 things to make your week easier: lay out outfits, plan your meals, reset your to-do list. Set the vibe as you do them, like with music, candles, tea, whatever works. Ritual > routine.
📌 Need inspo? We wrote a whole blog on the power of routines and how to actually stick to them.
Photo by Vanessa Loring
7. Share the Load (Because the Best Adults Delegate)
All of the above is great, but the ultimate adulting power move? Realizing you don’t have to do it all alone. Whether it’s splitting home tasks, outsourcing what you hate, or simply communicating your needs, managing the mental load with others is how adults stay sane.
✅ Try this: Start with a simple task audit. What are you doing that could be shared with others in your household? Use a tool like eeva to assign and rotate tasks so the mental and physical load doesn’t land on one person by default.
Livin’ solo? You still don’t have to carry everything alone. Check in with friends and family when you need support, whether that’s emotional backup or swapping home hacks that make life a little smoother. Even the most independent adults need a team.
📌 Researchers have found that unequal task-sharing is one of the top sources of household conflict and a major stressor on relationships. Collaboration = peace = you, and your people, thriving.
TL;DR: Adulting Isn’t a Destination. It’s a Skillset.
You’re not behind. You’re just figuring it out, like the rest of us! The trick is to stack up little wins: cook a meal, fix that squeaky doorhinge, plan your week, split the chores. Bit by bit, your life starts to feel more… yours.
And if you need help managing the chaos of grown-up life? That’s literally why eeva exists. We’re here to make managing your life easier, so you can do more of what matters (and less Googling “how to be an adult”).
Try eeva for free and see how much more doable adulting feels when you’ve got a plan—and a digital sidekick—to back you up.
Think someone could benefit from reading this?
Share it with ‘em!
Download eeva today!
Want more adulting tips?
If you liked this, you’ll love our monthly Adulting Digest! Receive tips, tricks, and eeva updates straight to your inbox to help make adulting easier.
