Life Skills You Need to Learn Before You Graduate

College is a great place to train for a career, learn how to live on your own, develop yourself socially, and figure out what you want to accomplish in life. But as for the day-to-day responsibilities that you'll face as soon as you graduate, most American colleges are behind in life skills education. After the excitement and nerves wear off just after graduation, you might find yourself extremely overwhelmed as you try to adapt to life after college: waking up early everyday, sitting in rush hour traffic, working at a boring job with difficult people, paying bills, finding insurance, and trying to keep your spirits and your health up, too. Even if you live close to home or around good friends, the first year after graduation is a truly difficult period of transition, but you can prepare yourself while you're still in college.

The most important life skills you need to learn to survive in the real world from day one include taxes, bills, and prioritizing and organizing your schedule. If you haven't had to fill out a tax form before, you can find tax tools and calculators to introduce you to the system, as well as the IRS website, which has printable forms you can practice filling out and information about tax laws. As for your bills, you'll discover that you have lots of statements to keep track of, which may include rent, utilities, car payments, car insurance, health insurance if you have to find it on your own, cell phone, and eventually college loans, plus all of your weekly expenses for food, entertainment, clothing, etc. Add all of your regular bills' due dates to your smart phone calendar or favorite online calendar, and figure out which paychecks should be used for which bills, and set up alerts to remind you to pay them on time. Always pay your bills on time, even if you have to sacrifice a night out with friends or take-out for a week: paying late or not paying at all will severely damage your credit and your ability to get loans for years in the future. Also create a budget for other expenses by recording everything you spend, and then identifying where you need to cut back.

You're going to have to be more strict with your schedule after graduation, but coming up with a daily routine the first couple of months will help you find a balance that works for you. Remember to make time for sleep, exercise, and social time with friends or pursuing hobbies to look after your physical, mental and emotional health as well.