“I just finished university, what do I do now?”. Welcome to the next chapter of your life. The time after university can be very confusing and disorganised for us graduates. The Growing Graduate is here to help with that. I, James, was in a very similar situation and would have loved to have had some form of advice and guidance. So, here you go!
Your 3-4 years at university will have been independent, living away from your family. Doing what you want, when you want. For me, it was a time of huge personal growth. To return home to your parents after university can really shake things up. Your entire way of living is changed.
For me, this meant moving back into a 6-person family in a semi-detached house. This was dangerous because originally leaving home, I was a very different person. In that house, I’d established many negative habits. And that’s just the start of the battle.
In this situation, there are two things you should immediately focus on.
Re-establish positive habits and routines
Independence was awesome. We could establish habits and routines to correlate with our new personal identities. You may have decided to start waking up early or chose how to start your mornings. You might have started a daily reading or running habit.
Whatever positive habits you decided to form while away, it’s important to re-establish them. This brings a sense of normality back to your world. The stronger you reform the habit, the better. It’s all too easy to fall into a passive role and let family life take control. But, it’s important to keep up these previous routines. They’ll help you maintain your sense of self and help you work towards your goals.
A new environment presents opportunities for change and growth. Let’s take a morning routine as an example. First, consider that two environments mean your exact routine ordering will change. It just happens. Say your morning routine went something like this at uni:
- Wake Up, 6 AM
- Drink Water
- Open Window
- Make Bed
- Brush Teeth
- Shower
- Meditate
- Get ready for the day
The layout of your home or living space is often responsible for the order you complete a routine. It’s easier to open a window when it’s right next to your bed, but not so much if you have to walk across the room and around a desk.
Now that you’ve moved environments, your habits and routines will naturally change. This is the perfect time to add new things to your routine. In your new bedroom, you may have a mirror but your window isn’t easily accessible. Having a mirror opens the possibility of daily affirmations, so your routine might become:
- Wake Up, 6 AM
- Drink Water
- Make Bed
- Affirmations
- Brush Teeth
- Shower
- Meditate
- Get ready for the day
This is a very simple example to help explain the point. You can shift existing habits and create new habits, sparked by this new home environment.
Further, if there were any practices such as working out that you established while at uni, ensure you continue to do these while at home. It might be worth taking 15 minutes to write out a list of all the habits and activities you want to re-establish or create now that you’ve moved.
Set a medium to long-term moving out goal
One of the best things that helps with order and clarity after graduating has been setting goals. Short, medium and even long-term goals can help with providing direction. These help you progress towards where you want to be. What goals you set is up to you, but I’d recommend you check out the post on goal-setting for assistance in this process.
One integral goal that I’m sure you’re aware of is moving out. Set a date you want to move out by, and how much money you need to save to achieve that goal. You can do all the planning about where to move and looking for places once you’re close to achieving that goal. For now, the important thing is to set a goal and start working towards it. If you haven’t already, you can read more about creating a moving out plan here.
Don’t expect to move out immediately – it will likely take several months at least. And that’s if you hustle and have consistent income. Part of achieving the goal will be figuring out what sources of income you want, which to focus on, and optimising how much you can earn.
My choice was to focus on passive income and online revenue streams, but I wouldn’t recommend this. It takes a long time and a lot of work upfront. If you’re happy to live at home with your parents for 6-12 months, then you can consider it. But I would strongly suggest searching for a job, even if it’s part-time or temporary. Use this to save up money and move out quicker.
What now?
This post is a kind of introduction to graduate life. It should provide a very basic overview of things to do after graduating. From here, you can go and learn about what you want to do with your life, or start to form a moving out plan. Of course, a lot of the other content on this site will be of use to you. Do check some of our other posts out if you’re looking to improve your life.
Thanks for reading.
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