14 Healthy Habits to Start in Your 20s to Invest in Yourself

Credit to image used in pin goes to Dave Dugdale. Changes were made to the original image.

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Your 20s are such a weird time. It’s this decade of increased responsibilities and less restrictions.

So while you have obligations to your work, payments, and certain relationships, you’re not always showing yourself the same respect. You show up for others but then forget that you are your most important asset.

And that’s why I think it’s so good to read over different healthy habits to start in your 20s, and figure out what will best serve you. It’s a time to make the right lifestyle choices so that you can hit your 30s and never feel left behind.

So scroll and read over these good habits to develop in your 20s and see what you can adopt this month.

Create a Self-Care Menu

Daily rhythms can either work for your or against you. They either keep you overwhelmed and unfocused, or rested and organized. And one of the best ways to make sure you’re actually taking care of yourself is to create a self-care menu.

It’s a great way to be intentional and make sure your needs aren’t getting overlooked on a daily basis. That you’re finding ways to work them in, and not getting to the end of the week wondering what happened.

Here are some activities you can put on your self-care menu:

• Solo coffee house + journaling date.
• Take up one new hobby every month and see what sticks.
• Take a 30 minute walk.
• Use an app like Waterful to keep track of your daily water intake.
• Create a weekly ritual with friends like dinner parties, spa nights, pizza and movie parties, picnics, a book club, road trips, farmers market runs, etc.
• Wake up 1 hour earlier to go after a goal you’ve been putting off.
• Start incorporating 1-2 healthy dinner ideas a week that look really good.
• Find enjoyable weekly outings like going to art galleries or walking through historic neighborhoods.

Have a Money Date Night With Yourself

Make some tea or good coffee, light a candle, enjoy some dark chocolate, and do some financial wellness.

Creating a budget is necessary self-care. Your 20s aren’t just a time for adopting good eating and fitness habits. It’s also a time for developing as a person and becoming responsible with your money.

I promise you, this will pay you in dividends by the time you get into your 30s (no pun intended). While other people you know will be deeply in debt and stressed out, you’ll always have money in the bank.

Stack Habits With Fun Rituals

Make productivity a vibe, not a chore.

So light a candle before journaling, make a matcha before studying, listen to an amazing podcast and walk in a beautiful location (not your neighborhood), put on French music as you clean the kitchen, or get dressed up to take care of errands.

Find ways to romanticize your life and make good habits more enjoyable.

Find Ways to Get Active That You Legit Enjoy

Getting into fitness doesn’t mean you need to hit the gym and or start jogging on a daily basis.

Sometimes it’s just taking relaxing morning walks with a friend, calm bike rides, a fun sport, or early morning pilates.

Don’t feel pressured to start getting fit with intense exercises that’ll have you burned out in under a week. Just listen to your body and figure out what works for you and what you can stay consistent in.

Start Creatively Curating Healthy Foods

People in their 20s know they need to adopt a more healthy diet, but here’s a way to make it a bit more enjoyable.

Start taking note of what you’re regularly taking in over the course of a week. Ignore things like cake at a friend’s birthday party or a spontaneous coffee date. Only write down things you’re predictably eating.

Then look over what you would be willing to sub in for certain unhealthy snacks or meals. But only make them tasty substitutes. So if you like having toast, don’t go for whole wheat over white bread if you hate whole wheat. Try sourdough instead.

Or if you don’t like Greek yogurt, don’t sub that in for ice cream just because some influencer said it was a good idea. Try dark chocolate chips and pomegranate seeds, or dark chocolate and dates.

Test and see what works best for you until you have a majority healthy diet that’s serving your health.

Learning Instead of Scrolling

One of the best ways to unplug and digitally detox is to sub in learning.

So instead of doomscrolling, start learning a language on Duolingo, pick a historic period that interests you and start listening to podcasts and reading books on it, or read a financial book on investing.

It’s an amazing way to invest in yourself now so that you can continue growing as a person.

Other Miscellaneous Healthy Habits for Your 20s

Here are some more ideas on healthy habits to adopt in your 20s. You have a few years to test things out and understand what works for you, so try these habits out and see how they improve your life.

• Movement Snacks: Quick stretches or 5-minute pilate sessions between work from home or study tasks.
• Treat Grocery Shopping as a Form of Self-Care: Use pretty reusable grocery bags, do farmers’ market hauls, and buy rainbow foods.
• Desk Picnic Lunches: Have an aesthetic bento box or bowl instead of takeout.
• Do a Digital Morning Reset: Make coffee and read a chapter in a book before scrolling.
• Invest in Experiences, Not Things: Take pottery classes, weekend trips, or do cooking nights with friends instead of shopping on Pinterest.
• Learn the “No” Habit: Choose self-care over draining plans. Self-respect is a healthy habit.
• Micro-Journaling: Start a 3 lines a day habit; it’s not overwhelming and can increase over time.

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