These are 20 things you need to master before you turn 40

These are 20 things you need to master before you turn 40These are 20 things you need to master before you turn 40No one ever really feels like a grown-up. But if youre approaching 40, well, you are one.And its high time you refined some crucial life skills, from staying healthy to saving money.Below, weve listed 20 skills you should master before you enter your 40s.NegotiatingIf the thought of getting into a debate with your boss over how much money you deserve makes you nauseated, youre bedrngnis alone. It helps to both research and practice, as much as you can stand.If youre negotiating your salary, the best strategy both for getting what you want and totenstill coming off as friendly is toask for a rangeincluding and above your target number. For example, if youre aiming for a $100,000 salary, youd suggest a $100,000 to $120,000 salary.Another trick is to frame your proposal in terms ofwhat youre giving the other partieas opposed to what theyre losing. So instead of saying, I wan t $10,000 for my car, youd say, Ill give you my car for $10,000.Establishing a regular sleep scheduleWe know its hard to hear, but its helpful to wake up at the same time every day - even on weekends. If you oversleep for even a few days,experts sayyou risk resetting your body clock to a different cycle, so youll start getting tired later in the day.On a related note Experts alsoadvise against hitting snoozeand going back to sleep when your alarm goes off in the morning. Instead, hit the snooze button once and use the time until your alarm goes off again to turn on a lamp and do some light stretching.Making small talk at partiesChances are good that, if youre feeling awkward about chatting with a bunch of impressive people youve never met, other people are feeling the same way.But as Marjorie Gubelmann, CEO of Vie Luxe,told Oprah.com Even if you wont know anyone and youre feeling intimidated, you must go.Do not stay home. So many people are afraid that no one will talk to them and theyll leave feeling awful - but has that ever happened to you?One solid way toimprove your small-talk skills- and alleviate some of the pressure you feel - is simply to demonstrate interest in your conversation partner. Ask the person questions, let them talk about themselves, and allow them to teach you something.Finding and sticking to an exercise routine you enjoyA professor of behavioral medicine toldThe New York Timesthat research suggests people who dislike or feel inept at their workouts are unlikely to continue. So experiment and find an activity you really love, whether thats spinning, Zumba, or weightlifting.Remember In your 30s, you startlosing muscle mass, so its especially important to exercise at this time.Finding your career sweet spotBrian Fetherstonhaugh, worldwide chief talent officer at The Ogilvy Group,writes on TIME.com Your career sweet spot is the intersection of three things what youre good at, what you love to do, and what the world values.He says you sh ould use your 30s to test out hypotheses, like whether youre skilled enough in one area to make a career of it.Saving for retirementYour golden years are inching ever closer - and youll want to be prepared to enjoy them.As Business InsidersLauren Lyons Cole reported, by the time youre 40, you should have saved about three times your annual salary.Investing your money can grow your savings exponentially - without you having to do much of anything. In fact, Lyons Cole, who is a CFP, reported that missing out on stock market growth spurts is actuallyriskier than not investing at all.Investing in relationshipsOn aReddit threadabout lingering regrets people have from their 30s, multiple people posted about not spending enough time with their family.For example,mustlovecash writesthat they regret not spending more time with my parents walking, talking, travelling while they were still young enough to actively enjoy it and ever, ever choosing work time or personal time over spending ti me with my wife and children. Children grow quickly, and leave home quickly, and the spouse who remains with you will again become the closest and most important person in your life.Indeed, according to the Harvard Study of Adult Development,good relationshipskeep us not only happy, but healthy as well. Interestingly, the study found that quality of relationships is more meaningful than quantity once you hit 30.Saying no to peopleTheres an entireQuora threaddedicated to learning how to say no, whereEva Glasrud writes, we routinely overestimate the cost of saying no.According to Glasrud, the best way to muster up the confidence to turn down a request is to recognize that there are some things you can never have back. Your time, your health, your virtue, your life.Dont mess around with those things. Its fine for people to ask - most likely, in their mind, theyre trying to help introduce you to a great person or opportunity or meaningful cause. And its just as fine for you to say no.I n some cases, you can evensay no to your boss- sort of. According to national workdistributions-mix expert Lynn Taylor, if your boss presents you with a new assignment and youre already overloaded, you might respond withI would be happy to do that project, but what that could mean is that whatever other project youre working on will have to be put off until tomorrow, because I was actually going to spend the next three hours finishing that proposal. Would you like me to put that off?Keeping a clutter-free homeIf youre looking to start de-cluttering, theres a whole movement to support you, inspired by Marie Kondos The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The process starts with a tidying marathon, in which you keep only those items that spark joy - and get rid of everything else.As Business InsidersErin Brodwin reported, clutter can be a source of stress for some individuals and families. Then again, people tend to be more creative in messy environments - so if you arent feeling mot ivated to re-organize your entire office space this second, thats probably okay, too.Writing on Quora, Vishwa Sharan advises 30-somethings to develop hobbies. People forget that there is a beautiful life outside of their work, Sharan says, and its important to find non-work activities you can pursue for the rest of your life.If youre looking for ideas, check out this list ofhobbies that successful people practice in their spare time, from bridge (Bill Gates) to playing the ukulele (Warren Buffett).Making new friendsIn case you havent heard, its not so easy to find BFFs once youre off a college campus. That doesnt mean its impossible - in fact, there are plenty of science-backed strategies forforging friendships in adulthood.One way is simply to do activities you enjoy so that you meet a steady stream of people with similar interests. Another way is to make yourself a little bit vulnerable Exchanging confidences as a relationship progresses can make two people feel closer.As the lat e psychoanalyst Hedda Bolgartold Oprah.comwhen she was 103 years old and still practicing Its important to be part of a communityFailing - and getting back up againOver on Quora, Mragank Yadav says its important that 20-somethings learn how to fail, and more importantly, how to get back up again Failing comes naturally. Rising up again is something that needs to be inculcated.Yadavs insight applies just as well to people in their 30s.Take a tip from nowsuper-successful figures, like Paul Allen and Oprah Winfrey, all of whom learned from multiple professional failures.Managing stressLiving in a chronic state of stress and exhaustion can take its toll on you physically, mentally, and emotionally, and if brought on by work it can lead tojob burnout.You wont make it that far in your career if you dont pick up some strategies formanaging stress- even seemingly simple strategies like listening to music and exercising can help.Lifelong learningThe fact that it may have been a few years since youve set foot in a classroom doesnt mean you should stop learning.And dont limit yourself to subjects that would have an obvious impact on your career. After dropping out of college, Steve Jobs still audited the occasional class, and one course he took oncalligraphy was a huge influence on himand inspired the wonderful typography personal computers have today.Proper time management is a skill you should have down by the time you hit 30, saysBarry S. Saltzman, a business-strategy expert who is the CEO of Saltzman Enterprise Group.So for 39-year-olds, it should be a given.You may get away with being all over the place as an intern, but its not cute when youre leading the team and you cant get your own act together.Time is money, Saltzman points out, and no company will be happy with needlessly wasted money Learning by 30 what makes you efficient is important to professional development, and beyond that, improved efficiency makes you look a lot better in the eyes of your superio rs.CookingHave you ever truly figured out how to cook?asks Sachin Shubhamon a Quora thread about important things to do in your 20s.As in, maybe you can feed yourself and your family with spaghetti and omelets, but what would you serve at a fancy dinner party? Sign up for a course and learn at least one dish so you can impress guests with your culinary expertise.Knowing your personal valuesDont let other people define happiness and success for you. On Quora,Anna Lundberg writesThe number one priority at this stage 30 years old is getting clarity on what your priorities actually areA great way to do this is to define your personal values, getting to a list of your top three is ideal. Then ask yourself if these values are really reflected in your career and your lifestyle today. If not, you can go about setting goals that are aligned with those values, and then creating an action plan to achieve those goals.You can also take a tip from Stephen Covey, author of the bestseller The 7 Hab its of Highly Effective People, and craft apersonal mission statement. Its similar to a company mission statement, except its just for you.Covey wrote It focuses on what you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based.Selling yourselfOnce you understand your own career vision, you must figure out how you will explain it to others.Sharing that youre a copywriter or that you work in finance is fine and dandy, but it doesnt make you stand out or inspire people to want to ask you follow-up questions, says Michelle Ward, acreative career coachand coauthor of The Declaration of YouInstead, when people inquire about what you do, answer with your what, who, and how. Dont be afraid to mention what youre passionate about, the types of people you help, and what you do for them specifically, she says.When Ward introduces herself, she tells people that she offers dream-career guidance for creative women. T hat way, the person listening can connect with what Im saying or introduce me to any creative women they know who are looking for dream-career guidance, she says.Being happy with what you haveIf you are content with what you have, you will have a happier life,says Robert Walkeron a Quora thread about things to do at 30 to benefit yourself later on.Thats especially true in the relationships domain. The Gratitude Diaries author Janice Kaplan found that simply saying thank you to her husbandbreathed new life into their marriage. And psychologists have found that couples who express gratitude toward each other aremore likely to stay together.Forgiving yourself for your mistakesForgive yourself your mistakes. We all make plenty of them. Dont dwell on the errors of the past - learn from them, let them go, and move ahead, writes Liz Palmer in a since-deleted Quora post.In The Happiness Track, Emma Seppala, science director of Stanfords Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Educa tion, argues that self-compassion is akey component of success. If youre kind to yourself when you fail, you have a chance at learning from your mistakes and doing better next time.She recommends a simple strategy for exercising self-compassion Treat yourself as you would treat a colleague or friend who has failed.This article was originally published on Business Insider.