Despite being 26, my life is in a bit of a mess. 

I’m not afraid to admit it — while I am legally an adult, I feel like an imposter because I’ve yet to overcome stuff that most adults do on their own, like scheduling (and actually going alone) for their dentist appointment.

Being an adult, there’s always something else that you need to handle no matter how much you’ve done — and then you just feel like taking a nap from being way too overwhelmed with adulting s**t. 

But there’s only so many naps I can take before facing up to the reality that I’ve got big girl stuff to do. 

I am four more years from hitting the big 3-0, I really need to start to get my life together. 

Building a routine

One of the first steps I took to transform my life is to set a daily routine. 

After watching tons of “how to adult” YouTube videos, I found out that rising early and having a hearty breakfast is the secret to productivity for many successful people. 

While waking up early and eating breakfast doesn’t sound like something groundbreaking, it was indeed quite a big change for someone like me who usually doesn’t wake up in time for breakfast and only eats lunch and dinner. 

In an attempt to start my day right, I ordered a couple of boxes of cereals, milk and tea from foodpanda’s pandamart the day before to make breakfast prep easier. 

In case you didn’t know, pandamart delivers in as fast as 30 minutes, 24/7 — that makes it even easier for people to get their s**t together conveniently as they don't have to plan around other store’s typical 10am to 10pm operating hours. 

Here’s what I ordered: 

My order even came with a free and super cute pandamart-exclusive Pau-Pau cereal bowl, which is available when you purchase two Nestlé cereal products on pandamart from now till Sept. 25. 

Pro tip: when purchasing this deal, be sure to add the Pau-Pau cereal bowl listing to your cart (if not, you won’t get it)! It’s listed as S$29.90 on the app, but it will be free of charge at the check-out page as long as two Nestlé cereals are part of your pandamart order. 

Keeping my surroundings clean and organised

Maintaining cleanliness and orderliness in your bedroom and work from home desk (or your entire house for that matter) is another surefire way to make you feel like you have your s**t together. 

Like what they say: tidy room, tidy mind. 

After searching high and low in my house, I realised we were running low on cleaning supplies. 

I decided to get these Dettol products from pandamart because 1) they were on sale, and 2) they will be delivered directly to my doorstep without having to physically go out to buy and lug these heavy products home.

I spring cleaned my room by vigorously mopping and disinfecting every surface and threw out tons of rubbish including unimportant receipts, empty mint tubes, old candles and myself. 

Then, I used Dettol multi surface cleaner and wipes to rid the surfaces of nasties. 

The thrill of adulting, indeed. 

Eating healthy 

Of course, what’s taking care of yourself without watching what you eat? 

In a bid to get my life (and my body shape) together, I decided to opt for a healthier lunch. 

Sticking to a budget of S$15 to S$20, I chose to get my lunch delivered via foodpanda. 

I ordered some sushi and miso soup from Maki-San because the bundle was 30% off under foodpanda’s Feel The Thrill deals. 

There was also Common Grill by Collin’s going at a 50% discount for several items on the menu, but I was craving sushi more. 

If you’re looking to order in your meals, you’d be glad to know that foodpanda is currently offering mega discounts of up to 50% off food delivery at selected restaurants under the “Feel The Thrill” tile on foodpanda until Sept. 25 only. 

Soon after lunch, I craved ice cream. 

Determined to choose a healthier option, I decided to order in some low-fat frozen yoghurt instead. 

(Before you scold me in the comments section for being gluttonous, let me clarify that I shared this with my entire family.)

I ordered 1 litre of delicious froyo from Smooy, a restaurant certified under foodpanda’s Green Label, a programme dedicated to identifying the most sustainable brands on the platform. 

When a restaurant is Green Label-certified, it means they're considered as one of the most sustainable brands on foodpanda, and have efforts in the following areas: conscious food (uses locally sourced ingredients, for example), sustainable packaging, waste reduction, food waste, social welfare, carbon reduction, awareness and education, and power supply. 

foodpanda developed these criteria in partnership with WWF PACT SG and Zero Waste SG audited the restaurants making sure that the most impactful guidelines were applied. This means that while you’re feasting on your meal, you’re doing so in an environmentally-friendly way! 

At the end of the day, remember to love yourself 

After a busy day, it’s important to take some time for yourself. 

I did a DIY mini spa with the Biore pore strip pack and eye masks I got from Watsons, which are available on foodpanda shops.

Upon scrolling through the plethora of shops available, I found more stuff from LUSH and Yves Rocher that would make my spa day more luxurious, but decided against it as I’m trying to get my s**t together (finances included). 

Perhaps I’ll save those for a splurge day. 

It was extremely convenient to have my beauty products delivered to my doorstep in an hour. 

Make adulting more convenient with foodpanda 

While I obviously didn’t suddenly become a successful adult overnight, I felt like I had better control of my life simply by waking up early and finishing tasks that I would normally complete in the afternoon. 

This resulted in me having more free time and energy to do more things, especially since I had a good breakfast to fuel my day. 

If you want to take the first step towards getting your s**t together, start small by taking care of yourself and your surroundings — clean up your room, eat healthier and perhaps try out a self-care day a few times a month. 

For days when you’re just too unmotivated to get out of bed to buy food or home essentials, foodpanda will always be here to help. 

With foodpanda’s exclusive offers in the month of September, you can: 

• Get up to 50% off food delivery orders on selected restaurants from now till Sep. 25, 2022
• Get 30% off pick-up for selected restaurants with no min. order and no discount cap till Sep. 25 2022
• Get a free pandamart-exclusive Pau-Pau cereal bowl with every purchase of two Nestlé cereals on pandamart from now till Sep. 25, 2022

This sponsored article by foodpanda allowed this writer to realise she needs to stop being a bum. 

Top Photo by Pim Chu on Unsplash