How Do Your Adulting Skills Measure Up?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
6 min
How Do Your Adulting Skills Measure Up?
Image: 10'000 Hours / DigitalVision / Getty Images

About This Quiz

"Adulting" is a  neologism that came about in the last decade to describe the various skill sets that go into functioning successfully in the adult world. While professional skills address how you make a living and personal or soft skills address your relationships, "adulting" covers the whole enchilada. If you pay your bills on time, eat five fruits and vegetables per day, visit your grandma, pay attention to your boo, keep your home clean and fit in three workouts or more every week, you're adulting. Indeed, if you do all that and you're an engaged member of your community, civic-minded, a friend who shows up for his or her friends and a good parent, you're adulting on a very high level indeed!

Of course, all of this depends on a certain degree of luck. If you're disabled, sick, poor, or facing mental health issues, the elements of adulting can be harder. Most people figure out workarounds and hacks that work for them, which is all the more impressive - and for the rest of us, of course, true adulting means knowing not to judge unwisely. We can only evaluate our own progress, goals and limits. Once we take those things into account, then we can truly say whether we're adulting well or not!

Ultimately, some people are great at adulting, and others are less so. Indeed, one of the things you learn, sometime between the ages of 5 and 15, is that absolutely nobody has it entirely together. Everyone lets things fall through the cracks and anyone who seems like they don't is probably outsourcing a lot of the work to babysitters, housekeepers, personal trainers, or agreeable relatives. Still, some of us get closer than others. Are you one of them? Let's find out!

When do you usually file taxes?
Jan. 1
February or March
By April 15
I have never done this!

Advertisement

When did you last call your mom (or if she's not in your life, whoever is in the most comparable role) just to say hi?
Today
This week
This month
Never

Advertisement

What did you have for breakfast today?
Special protein smoothie I made on Sunday and put into Tupperware containers for each day.
Cereal, juice, yogurt, tea
Juice and a pastry
Nothing

Advertisement

How much is in your rainy day fund - that is, not the money you save for retirement but for emergency expenses?
Enough to be off work without pay for several weeks, if I have to
Enough to fix a cracked tooth, I think!
Enough to mend a broken shoe
Nothing

Advertisement

Do you shop for health insurance or just take the first thing the boss or broker tells you to get?
I shop all year to keep an eye on expenses and coverage quality.
I check out my options.
I ask a few questions before signing up.
I do what they tell me.

Advertisement

Have you got an up-to-date passport and driver's license?
Of course
I think so.
I have one or the ​other.
No

Advertisement

Do you read a proper legacy newspaper at least once a week?
Of course, several
Yes, one
No, but I check their websites every so often.
I don't read the news.

Advertisement

If a person had to do surgery on someone on your kitchen countertops right now without prep time, how dangerous would it be?
It's basically a clean room in there.
It would probably be OK.
The person might get an infection.
The person would die of a superbug.

Advertisement

Do you know your neighbors?
Of course! I don't always like them, though.
I know some of them.
I recognize them, so I can at least tell if there are strangers around.
I have no idea what they even look like.

Advertisement

A button has come off. What do you do?
I will sew it back on. It is now on forever.
I will sew it on. It'll last a few months.
I will take it to the dry cleaner who will mend it.
I will live without that button forever.

Advertisement

Whether or not you wear one for work, do you own a plain dark suit?
Yes
I have a blazer and dark slacks that work.
I have a blazer.
No, that's corporate noise to me.

Advertisement

What's the current state of your bathroom?
Immaculate
Clean
Acceptable
Health hazard

Advertisement

If you had to go to a funeral tomorrow, do you have something appropriate that you could wear?
Yes, I have a black dress, or a suit with a black tie.
I have a mostly black thing I could put on.
I have a black coat I could wear over dark clothes.
I have nothing both black and smart.

Advertisement

Do you volunteer?
Yes, I mentor some local kids and give money to charity.
I give some money.
I volunteer a few times a year.
I can barely keep myself alive.

Advertisement

There are 192 countries in the world. Roughly how many could you find on a map?
More than 180
More than 100
More than 50
Fewer than 50

Advertisement

Civics means the government works, what positions are involved, how laws are passed, etc. Do you have a good grasp on it ?
I know all of this very well and regularly contact my representatives, including at the local level. I vote in all elections.
I know this at the federal level and sometimes contact my representatives at that level. I vote in most elections.
I know it and I vote.
I don't really know any of this and I don't vote.

Advertisement

How many of the following can you make: A cup of tea, boiled egg, healthy pasta dish, souffle?
All of them
All but the souffle
Egg and tea
Just tea

Advertisement

If you needed to produce proof of residency at your current address, how long would it take you to locate the correct document?
Less than a minute. I know exactly where it is.
A few minutes. I know which box or drawer it is in.
Less than a hour. I know what room it is in.
I probably couldn't find it.

Advertisement

Who pays your bills?
Me and (if applicable) my boo
My boo and I pay most of them but our family sometimes gifts us treat money.
I pay most of them but my family has bailed me out sometimes.
Parental/guardian support is the only reason I don't starve.

Advertisement

Do you have a will?
Yes, it is with a lawyer and updated since my last change of parental/marital status.
Yes, I made one years ago but it is way out of date.
No, but I have read an article about it so I have a plan.
No, but I don't have any stuff either, so it works out.

Advertisement

Have you been able to modify your relationship with your parents since you became an adult?
Yes, they see me as mature and sometimes come to me for advice.
Yes, they definitely no longer see me as a kid.
A little, though I'll always be their little girl/boy.
No, they think I'm ridiculous.

Advertisement

Are you paying any of your debts ahead of schedule?
I have no debts thanks to good planning and great luck.
Yes, I am ahead on a few.
I'm keeping up.
I'm way behind.

Advertisement

How often are you late for work?
Almost never
Twice a month
Weekly
Daily

Advertisement

If you have a period or a partner who has periods, do you know when the next one is due and what items should probably be on hand ahead of it?
Yes, given the biology involved, it's easy to keep track.
Pretty much, yes.
I have a general idea.
No idea!

Advertisement

Do you have a first aid kit in the house?
Obviously, I do and I know CPR.
Yes, it's quite extensive.
I have basics like painkillers, disinfectant and Band-Aids.
I barely have toilet paper - but that's OK. If you cut yourself in my place, you're getting tetanus no matter what you put on it.

Advertisement

Have you ever kept a plant, pet, or child alive for more than six months?
Yes, I have a big garden and I even have kids AND pets!
Plants and pets, yes. There are no kids yet.
Plants, yes. I haven't tried the others.
I have never done any of these.

Advertisement

Do you get an annual checkup with a doctor?
Yes, I go to the GP as well as any required specialists, like an OBGYN or cardiologist.
Yes, I see the GP and they make me see specialists if I have to.
I see my GP roughly annually.
I do not remember the last time I saw a doctor.

Advertisement

How judgmental are you?
Very when it matters, and not at all when it doesn't
More than I should be
About average
Less than I should be

Advertisement

Do you put up with nonsense from people?
Nope
Sometimes
Often
Constantly

Advertisement

Are you good at letting things go that don't matter in the big scheme of things?
Yes, very good
I'm OK.
I struggle, but I am trying.
I don't even bother trying.

Advertisement

You Got: