Doing 11 Basic Tasks On An Annual Basis Literally Makes Your Entire Life Exponentially Better
Daria Voronchuk | Shutterstock Adulthood can feel like a never-ending hamster wheel of chasing after tasks. No matter how organized you are, there will always be urgent tasks to take care of, followed by cleaning and bills and chores. It can be exhausting and you start to wonder if adult life is every going to be fun.
Doing a few basic tasks on an annual basis can help. Choose a date for each one of these yearly check-ins and commit to one thing at a time. Cross it off your to-do list for the rest of the year and celebrate how capable you are. Having each one behind you will make your life so much better.
Here are 11 grown up things you only need to do once a year to be a functioning adult
1. A deep, intense detail cleaning of your home
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Being a functioning adult often feels like an uphill battle, especially when it comes to household management. No matter how much time you spend washing dishes and doing laundry, there will always be more to do. If you're overwhelmed by this continuous chore loop, you're not alone. Give yourself some grace, then, and change your approach.
You only need to do the type of deep clean, the one where you wash all the walls and take a toothbrush to the corners of every cabinet, once a year to be a functioning adult. Carving out time to scrub baseboards, dust light fixtures, and polish appliances cuts down on day-to-day cleaning and sets you up for success in other areas of your life.
Instead, focus on the daily tasks like dishes, laundry, floor and dust. Prioritize a thorough cleaning of the bathroom and removing clutter once a week, at least, for maximum contentment.
Clutter limits your brain's ability to process information. The more chaotic the environment, the harder it is to focus. Committing to an annual deep clean helps you stay organized and gives your brain a blank slate to its best work.
2. Purging and resetting your closet
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For many people, spring cleaning is an aspirational activity. They have every intention of overhauling their belongings but they don't follow through. They don't know where to start, so they don't start at all.
Getting a fresh start doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing affair. Once you release yourself from spring cleaning's impossible standards, you're free to focus on the grown up things you only need to do once a year, like cleaning out your closet.
Culling your wardrobe involves asking tough questions and being fully honest with yourself. If you haven't worn something within the past year, will you realistically ever wear it again? Do you really want to fill your precious closet space with clothes that don't fit?
It's not easy to take an emotional inventory of your clothes and let go of things you still love, but you deserve a wardrobe that works for this version of you, in this moment, instead of clinging onto the past. Doing this annually will have a lot of benefits in your life.
3. Organizing your junk drawer
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It doesn't matter if you live in a studio apartment or a house in the suburbs, every adult has a junk drawer, and that junk drawer is packed so full you can barely even open it. Taking an "out of sight, out of mind" approach to your junk drawer might work for a little while, but you can't ignore it forever. The good news is that you only need to organize your junk drawer once a year to be a functioning adult.
"When you assign a home to all your belongings, putting them away is quick and easy. The problem happens when you don't know where to put your things, and they start piling up around your home," professional organizer Diane Quintana revealed.
The junk drawer often becomes the solution to those random piles. You can stay ahead of that well-contained clutter by going through it once a year and getting rid of things you don't really need, like half-melted birthday candles and old receipts.
"The best way to organize your home is to find a way that works best for you," Quinanta explained. "When you tweak organizing strategies to fit you and your personality, the organizing sticks."
4. Getting a check-up
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Going to the doctor when you're healthy seems like a waste of time, but scheduling a well-visit is one of those grown-up things you only need to do once a year. Getting ahead of the issues that might arise during that visit can prevent little issues from becoming big ones.
As Dr. Doctor Michael Fedewa Jr., DO explained, "When we meet for annual physicals, it creates a health baseline and strengthens the patient-physician relationship, which is important to maximize your wellness." He concluded, "If we know you when you're well, we're going to be ready to provide the best care when you're sick, and we may be able to prevent some illness altogether."
An annual physical is an essential for any self-care practice. Even though getting your vital signs checked isn't as restorative as a bubble bath, prioritizing your health is part of showing up for yourself.
5. Asking your boss for feedback
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While many companies will arrange a yearly review for every employee, that doesn't always happen, so you may have to take matters into your own hands.
Asking your boss for feedback is a proactive way to make sure you're on track with your career. Requesting a review is a grown up thing you only need to do once a year, but its impact will be long-lasting if you plan them well and react thoughtfully.
According to career coach Kendall Berg, you should use performance reviews as an opportunity to go over all of your past accomplishments and outline your expectations for the future.
"Step one, you're going to talk about the biggest impact that you had over the course of the year," she said. "The second thing you're going to do is talk about one area of growth. This is not something that you did wrong, this is something that you're working on."
Actively seeking feedback is a way to take your professional development into your own hands. It shows just how committed you are to continuous improvement.
6. Unsubscribe from unused subscriptions
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Out of all the grown up things in your life that need tending to, your inbox is probably low on your list, but you only need to manage your online subscriptions once a year to be a functioning adult. Just as keeping your desk clear helps you focus on the work in front of you, organizing your email account makes you more efficient, too.
Similarly, look through your banking registers and see what other subscriptions aren't worth the money. This can include apps, monthly goodie boxes and even streaming services.
Devote one day a year to go through all your subscriptions and decide what to keep and what to quit. Decluttering your online life does more than just decrease your digital footprint, it also saves you from wasting time and money on resources you don't actually use.
7. Hold a 'state of the union' with your spouse
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It can be a little too easy to take a marriage or relationships for granted. Even the most loving couples can lose sight of things that keep their partnership going in a positive direction. Weekly date nights are helpful, but they're easy to rush through. You and your spouse deserve to sit together, undisturbed, and assess your relationship on a deeper level.
Having a state of the union conversation is psychologist Dr. John Gottman's technique for reconnecting with your partner, reflecting on your relationship, and redefining your goals for the future. Start your state of the union by sharing five things you appreciate about each other. Acknowledge the ways your relationship is working well, then, talk about your concerns.
Processing the harder parts of your relationship can bring you and your partner closer, as long as you stay attuned to one another. Listen without getting defensive. Respond to each concern with empathy and understanding. Recognize your partner's experience and turn toward their needs.
Close out your state of the union by sharing one thing your partner can do to help you feel loved and appreciated, and pledge to do the same for them.
8. Revise your budget
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Most aspects of adulthood are out of your control. You probably don't get to decide where most of your hard-earned money goes (housing, food and insurance being the main resource drains), but revising your budget is one of the key grown up things you only need to do once a year to be a functioning adult. Doing this yearly can provide a sense of agency and a solid foundation for all your financial planning needs.
One of the best approaches to budgeting is to practice "active management," not a passive approach where you wait until a crisis to figure out where you went wrong with your money. Instead, keep an eye on what you're doing all year long, making weekly checkups on your accounts and credit. But commit to annual major budget re-thinks and reviews. This combination can help make your entire life better.
9. Update your resume
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Updating your resume is a grown up thing you only need to do once a year to be a functioning adult. Even if you're not actively job hunting, you should treat your resume like a living document.
In addition to being handy in a crisis or when a fantastic opportunity arises, updating your resume yearly also gives you a sense of what you need to do to stay relevant. Are there skills that could help you advance? Then maybe take a class to get better at that in the next year. Haven't gotten a promotion in a few years? Maybe this is the year you figure out why and start making changes to help you advance.
10. Do a 'mental health audit'
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You do an annual budget, you do an annual resume update. Now you need to take care of one of the most important investments in your future: your mental and emotional health.
Your life will be way better if you aside time at least once a year to turn inward and take inventory of your mental health. Consider the ways you show up for yourself. What's working for you? What do you need to work on? Being a functional adult can drain your energy, and knowing what nourishes you is the best way to refuel.
Maintaining your mental health can feel overwhelming. Instead of putting pressure on yourself to solve everything at once, find one small thing to focus on. You don't have to overhaul your entire life, but you do have to listen to your needs and honor them as best you can.
11. Start a new tradition
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Most of the grown up things you need to do to be a functioning adult aren't especially fun. Even though managing logistics is an overarching theme of adulthood, you need more than a streamlined organizational system to feel fulfilled.
Break out of your routine and establish a new tradition to share with the people you love most. Your tradition doesn't have to be fancy or expensive, it just has to bring you joy.
Banish your winter blues yearly by holding dance parties in your living room. Celebrate spring with a picnic. Gather your friends together and let them know how much they mean to you eery summer. Life is too short to keep your love quiet.
Alexandra Blogier, MFA, is a staff writer who covers psychology, social issues, relationships, self-help topics, and human interest stories.
