Below I have listed the 18 ways we waste time in our 20s and how we might possibly avoid all this useless expenditure so that we never squander a second of the precious time that our youth affords.

1. Working a sh*tty job to show your parents that you can support yourself.
“Wait and see how easy it will be once you are out on your own!” We’ve all heard our parents mutter these words before. But you showed them; you went and worked three minimum wage jobs to pay for rent and even managed to go to school part-time.
That is an accomplishment, but you could have sucked up your pride instead. You could have allowed your parents to pay for you and focused on your studies. Your grades would have been better and you would have been more interested in what you were studying. If you can have it easy then have it easy for as long as you can. When the time comes, you will have no choice but to support yourself.

2. Clubbing.
So exciting when you’re in your 20s…but gets boring real quick. Drinks are overpriced. Women are overpriced. And what do you get for all your time put in? A hangover and maybe an STD because you were too trashed to slip into a rubber.

3. Dating.
While dating in your 20s is important, it’s not actually beneficial until you’re 25 or older. That means if you are dating for the first 5 years of your 20s, then you are simply wasting precious time. The chances of you meeting the love of your life at such a young age are slim to none. If you do meet a person that you believe is the love of your life before 25 and get married, then statistically speaking, you should get yourself a lawyer as well for the upcoming divorce. Go out and meet women. Talk to them, hang out with them. Save serious relationships for when you have the mental capacity for them.

4. Shopping for mid-priced clothing.
I hate mid-priced clothing. If you are going to buy jeans or a shirt, then buy something that is properly made and will last you a long time. Sure, it’ll cost you a bit more, but in the long run you will save money — plus you’ll look great. If you can’t afford expensive clothing, then buy cheap clothing — go vintage. Vintage clothing has already lasted several decades and is likely to last at least another. Anything in between is poorly made junk with a well-marketed brand tag. You will waste money (which takes time to make) and waste time shopping because the soles of your shoes only last 30 days.

5. Facebooking.
I have wasted more time than I would like to admit staring at my Facebook page. Just staring — expecting something to happen. Social media platforms are meant for socializing; if you have no one specific to chat or to socialize with, then do something else.

6. Instagramming.
If you can tell me how taking a photo of your dinner before you eat it is not a waste of time then I will be happy to delete number 6.

7. Eating crap food.
You’ll feel like sh*t. You’ll look like sh*t. And you’ll have to sh*t. Then you’ll have to spend hours doing cardio to make sure that you don’t look like a walrus. Eating healthy will have you feeling and looking better, making you more productive and more efficient. Plus, as an added bonus, you’ll be adding years to your life — gaining time instead of wasting it.

8. Stressing.
We spend too much time in our 20s worrying about stupid things that we shortly after realize were stupid. We stress about work, about school, about our girlfriends or boyfriends, we stress about the problems we are having with our friends and about whatever else the world throws at us. Most of what we stress over is taken off our shoulders by time itself and without us having to intervene ourselves. If you are stressed now, whatever is causing that stress will be forgotten in a week or two. So why bother stressing over it in the first place?

9. Moping around after a breakup.
You broke up. Whether or not you were in love doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are single and should be focusing on better prospects instead of honing in on the past. It didn’t work; sh*t happens. You’ll find something better — until then, do you.

10. Forcing yourself to sleep with a rebound.
Rebound sex is rarely any good. Unless he or she is jaw-droppingly beautiful or looks like the ride of your life, then don’t do it. Having sex with someone because you feel like you must is silly. You are wasting time, money, energy and possibly your health to sleep with a 5. Do something more productive that will keep your mind off things instead. After you have bad sex with someone in whom you were never interested in the first place, your mind will make you believe that the relationship you just got out of was better than it actually was.
11. Pretending like you know yourself.

You don’t know yourself in your 20s. You can’t possibly know yourself at that age because you continue to grow and change well into your 30s. Even if you do have a decent grasp of who you are at the moment, understand that you will be very different in 5 years. Be open-minded to suggestions and don’t be cocky. Eventually you will realize how little you know about yourself and the world and you will be playing catch-up with your tail between your legs.

12. Watching TV.
I love a good TV show just as much as the next 20-some odd-year-old guy — but TV can, and often does, become an addiction. Limit the time you spend on your couch.

13. Video Games.
It’s the same rules for watching TV. A little bit won’t hurt you, but too much will make your life boring. You will want to do something that makes you feel alive. My general outlook on life is: if it doesn’t benefit you more than everything else you could be doing instead, then don’t do it.

14. Being shy and introverted.

You have to come out of your shell sooner or later. The longer you wait, the more you will be missing out on. The world is filled with interesting people that can make a real difference in your personal and work life. There’s no reason to be shy — it’s silly. You’ll either come to this conclusion now, in ten years, in thirty or when you’re 99 years old — but you will arrive at this exact conclusion.
15. Believing there is only one person out there for you.
You fall in love and believe that you have found the one. Things go south and you are heartbroken. You don’t know what to do with yourself and instead of moving on with your life, you focus on that “one that got away.” If she/he got away, then let them go away. There are plenty of fish in the sea and believe me, they have more than enough love to go around.

16. Pretending like you don’t hate your job.

If you don’t hate your job, great. But if you do, then stop pretending like you don’t. Sometimes we have no choice but to work sh*tty jobs that make us hate our lives — c’est la vie. However, if you despise what you do then do your best to get outta there ASAP. Don’t lie to yourself by saying that you “don’t mind” what you do. You hate it. You should hate it. Find something that suits you better.

17. Spending money on things you don’t need.
Money is time and time is money. If you are wasting one then, ipso facto, you are wasting the other. How many of you can say that you spent your money wisely in your 20s? I sure as hell hadn’t. A savings account? Savings of what? I’d spend my money before I even made it. If you don’t need it, then don’t buy it. If you do need it, then find somewhere cheaper to buy it. Don’t use credit cards if you don’t have to unless it’s purely to build up credit and to put money in the bank for a rainy day. It’s guaranteed to rain sooner or later.

18. Being afraid to love them.
We are afraid of opening up and letting people in. We don’t want to be hurt; we don’t want to be vulnerable. Love is a beautiful thing — a thing that is not easy to understand without the pain that so often accompanies it. You may get hurt, but as long as you can accept your experience for what it is and continue to live your life, you’ll be better off for it. The worst thing you could do is to not allow yourself to love when you know you could if you’d break down your barriers. Love does not come often take it when you can get it and don’t waste time shying away from it.

It’s only been two years since I was 24.

It’s far too soon for us to know if I’m even qualified to give advice, so I just want to highlight some differences.

What most 24-year olds worry about:

• How often they can hit snooze again.
• What to have for breakfast.
• What to wear.
• Which classes they can skip.
• Which exams they can postpone to the next semester.
• What to have for lunch.
• How few hours of work their conscience will let them get away with.
• Which classes will look best on their resumé.
• Which internships will look best on their resumé.
• What tool, gadget, gimmick or piece of decor to buy next.
• How much vacation they can squeeze into the next 3 months.
• What to have for dinner.
• What to watch on Netflix.
• Who to watch Netflix with.
• Whether they’ve hooked up with enough people, especially compared to their friends.
• How they can hook up with more people, especially compared to their friends.
• Where to go on Thursday night.
• Where to go on Friday night.
• Where to go on Saturday night.
• How much they can drink before work might get weird tomorrow.
• Which job will pay the most.
• Which job will look the best.
• Which job their parents will like the best.
• Why life is so hard.

What I worry about:

• What can I do today that will make every tomorrow easier.
• What kind of work doesn’t feel like work.
• How can I distribute my classes the best way over two years to have the most time to do work that doesn’t feel like work.
• Which projects will help me not need a job faster.
• How can I build a life that lets me travel whenever I want, wherever I want.
• Who might be wife material.
• Whether I’m considering too many girls as wife material.
• Why life is so amazing.

Most 24-year olds worry about stupid short-term shit that they won’t even remember two weeks from now, let alone when they’re 30. Or 40.

They don’t make decisions. They let everyone else do it for them. Their friends, their parents, their peers, their advisors, their bosses and future bosses.

That’s a recipe for a really long list of regrets.

I try to only worry about the stuff I would worry about if I was 30 right now. Or 40.

I make my own decisions. And I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks about them.

So far it’s kept me sane, out of trouble and, surprisingly, happier than most of the 24-year olds I know.

But maybe, that’s not so surprising after all.

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” ~Mark Twain

1. Plan

Dedicate a little amount of your day to plan for future. What do you want to do tomorrow, few weeks later, next year and 20 years from now. Its okay even if you don't have a clearer picture. Just start writing things down.

2. Execute

Start working towards your goals slowly. Start saving for that trip you have been planning. Enroll in that course you have always been interested in. Jump into the sport you have always admired.

3. Keep fit physically and mentally

Start exercising. Keep your body fit. Fill your mind with positive thoughts. Feed that brain something new everyday. Try and have stimulating conversations with people of all age groups.

4. Find your strengths and weaknesses

Get to know your strengths. Exercise them to the point that everybody recognizes you for them. Get to know your weaknesses. Improve in those areas. You don't want to regret in the future thinking If only I had worked on my weaknesses...

5. Find your passion

This one thing keeps you going even when the routine motives like money, recognition and power fail. This is the one thing you will never get tired of.

6. Have some me time

At the beginning/end of each day do something you really enjoy. make yourself happy. Treat yourself now and then with those cool clothes, yummy food or that hottest bike in the showroom

7. Save money

Save for the rainy day. We may not see warnings of financial troubles coming. Having some money that will make you feel secure is not bad.

8. Wherever you go, Don't burn the bridges

We may not get along with everybody in the world. And you never know when your paths might cross again. Sometimes not being on bad terms can aslo be an advantage.

(All the great things are already discussed.Here I point some that I feel are also the vital ones)
I see 24 years old young people banged up,
Mentally and emotionally,
Literally and metaphorically.
They have metamorphosed into a quockerwodger (puppet) with not an iota of a notion that their hands clasp their own strings.
Many of them complain about scarcity of time which leads to an unbalance in life.
Getting late to bed , instead of sleep , brain is clouded with all the deadlines that have to be met , waking up with swollen eyes , skipping meals which ultimately leads to tattered hearts , broken relationships , an average professional life , incomplete assignments , probability of a demotion , fear of losing job with that crippling feeling that you are a way to “INDECISIVE” and “INCOMPETANT” to survive in this world.

WHEW! Wasn’t that stressful?
RELAX
Let go everything . Its your life , ain’t any battlefield. Time once lost can never be retrieved .
Your life has so many cracks and crevices. “MOISTURIZE IT”

Even machines need lubrication so as to avoid any wear and tear of their parts and give efficient output.

• List down all your problems: write down all the problems that are worrying you.

Two of them , say , disappear ;
About two of them are those where nothing can be done , so its no use worrying ;
And two perhaps can be settled , then why worry ?

• Wake an hour before: Now you have extra 60 minutes (3600 seconds) to your life completely in your hands. Pursue any of your hobby. Let the artist inside you reflect in the colors of the canvas , let the dancer in you reflect by the swaying of your body , let the singer in you reflect in the vocals you sing out , let the musician in you reflect in the every chord you strike. If you don’t have anything amongst these , put on your shoes , go for a walk and see how inch by inch your muscles get toned.

• Meet new people: Everyday try meeting new people , converse with them. This doesn’t mean holding the arm of any pedestrian , forcing them to speak to you.You could be accused of “Eve teasing” and who knows maybe you sue me (*On a lighter note ).

Jokes apart , try going to a coffee shop or any such place accompanied by your loneliness (your best buddy ) . Find yourself another soul like you who is seated alone or join any group of friends giggling .Polish your conversation skills or maybe go to a park , sit with that group of old people who discuss all the current affairs. You will fell socially uplifted which ultimately makes you feel a strong pillar of confidence under construction within you.

• Call your old , school time friends : Don’t get too much engrossed in framing new friends , do remember the old ones who had always been there through thick and thin .Call your old friends you haven’t conversed with for a while. Arrange a movie or a special date for you partner or else call them and tell them how much special they are to you and their importance in your life.

With friends talk of the good olden days , share a laugh and see the castle of stress on fire.

• Measure your life:Life needs frequent calibration . It needs to be measured . After every week scan yourself and check if you have raised your bar or not.For example :If you are on a weight loss routine , check your weight and see is it receding or still the same.If there are no improvements , infuse some changes in the work out schedule.Life needs frequent calibration. Let the performance of the current week be the standard or the reference. Make sure the succeeding week give more efficient output than the reference.

• Be more than your self : We are the thinkers of our thoughts. We are not our thoughts.Train your mind to focus only on positive , inspiring and enlightening thoughts. Read inspiring novels , autobiographies of influential people.You will feel peace in the moment of stress , joy in the time of sadness and energy during the time of fatigue.

• Visit old age homes or orphanages : Let you each day be a compressed version of your whole life . For god’s sake don’t be a zombie passing your life . Be a human living a life.

Last Sunday I visited an old age home . I sat with all the residents of that place . I tried the landing of my bad humor to be smooth and believe me it was (to a certain extent) . we danced , sang some old melodies and when I saw their lit up faces and their innocent , selfless and genuine smiles , I felt contented .We had a small tea party. Life is short .We need blessings more than money.

Chuck animosity , Promote love.
Blessings.

Austerity means to eliminate the comforts and cushions in your life that you have learned to snuggle into and lose wakefulness. - David Deida, The Way of the Superior Man

March 7th, 2013.

The warm luminescent glow of my desk lamp softly illuminated the room. After a long silence, I said:

“Are you sure you want to do this man? What are your reasons?”

“Well, I’m not doing anything anyway. I’ve heard it can be a good, fresh start. I need it.”

My cousin and I were sitting at my dinner room table one night after I came home during Spring Break. He had been contemplating joining the military for quite some time.

He had fallen into the whirlpool of failure after flunking his college engineering courses. The school kicked him out because they didn’t think he’d be a good fit for the program. Depressed, he retreated into a shell of emptiness - anime, junk food, video games, on repeat for days and weeks on end.

The military was his ticket out of mundane mediocrity and he knew it.

I could sense the sincerity in his voice. He wanted to ask my advice on if he should follow up with the recruiter.

I told him “It’s better to try and say ‘that sucked’, instead of sit back wondering ‘what if’ while doing the same bullshit everyday.”

A couple of days later, he completed his army entrance form, got the necessary requirements, and 2 months later, he was shipped off to basic training.

When I saw him a year later, he was a changed man.

He was disciplined, he was exact, and he exuded pride and self-esteem.

Multiply this over thousands of people, thousands of families, and most people who enter the armed forces come out in better shape than when they first started.

Why is that?

Despite this looking like an undercover recruitment for the American military, I tell this story to illustrate a point.

There are many things in this world that will make you soft as a human being, especially if you’re a man.

In today’s world, we tend to suffer from not too little - but too much.

The average first-world human being right now lives 10x the life of a king 1,000 years ago.

Too much food, too much TV, too much Internet, too much access, too much comfort.

Basic training, the military, or any form of training designed to create elite warriors center around deprivation.

Instead of having loosey-goosey rules of conduct, there are hard line boundaries that prevent laxity.

In bed by a certain time. Up by a certain time. Certain windows of time to eat. Certain windows of time to shower. No Internet access.

All of these are made to circumvent and corral the natural human tendency towards laziness and apathy.

This is known as self-discipline, but it’s something more.

Most people who fail basic training don’t fail because they’re “inferior”. They fail because they’re not used to the deprivation.

My cousin grew up in a country where there was not much to go around, so this forced him to “tighten up”.

When he came to America, he was saturated in all the indulgence we have here, and he quickly fell apart.

The military tightened him back up. It was coming full circle in a sense.

As a 24-year-old, the real danger is not being uncomfortable, but being too comfortable.

It is all too easy to think you’ve “made it”, especially when you’ve finished college and get your first job. This is where a lot of people hit “cruise control” and just zone out.

For most people, that’s fine. But if you’re reading this, you want something more.

Your dreams, your goals, your aspirations lie on the other side of discomfort. And this discomfort is something you need to introduce into your life every day.

How do you provide this discomfort, this deprivation in a culture that celebrates the opposite?

Taking a cold shower can provide that discomfort.

Running extremely tight margins where you live way under your means can provide that discomfort.

Waking up at 4:30 am can provide that discomfort.

Moving out of your parents’ house can provide that discomfort.

Starting a side business can provide that discomfort.

Fasting a day a week can provide that discomfort.

Is it fun? No. But you have to realize that humans thrive on deprivation and scarcity to a degree.

When we have too much money, too much sex, too much food, too much indulgence, we lose that biting edge.

And that edge is necessary to survive in a world where there’s a whole bunch of sharks swimming around looking for fresh blood.

If you can develop that edge and carry that with you into the rest of your life, you will become unconquerable.

Rule yourself or you will be ruled by the world.

1) Take care of your Health : You must have heard it a hundred times before, and here it comes yet another time! Don't ever think that you will take care of it later. Humans are lazy beings. If you don't start taking care of your health now nothing in this world can motivate you in your later years to do the same.

2) Update yourself : Keep yourself up-to-date of some current affairs. keep a track of what's going on in the world. You may not like it, but it is necessary. If you are on a train journey and someone is talking about Net Neutrality, you would not want to be taken by surprise and keep nodding your head.

3) Feed your mind : Well this is just the extension of the previous point. Feed your mind with knowledge (as well as news). This knowledge can be anything - music, academics, business, politics, poetry, movies, just anything. But be aware of where you take them from. Don't believe in whatever is there on the internet. Do some research and then conclude whether it should be registered or eradicated.

4) Read : Make this your habit. Read whatever fascinates you. Read not just to gain knowledge but to build up your own opinion and imagination. I know many people find these really boring, so start with just single paragraph a day and slowly you will again momentum.

5) Meditate : In today's world of distraction, this is the only tool to keep oneself focused on his job. It has been proved by research that twenty minutes of meditation is equivalent to two hours of sleep. Its like homeopathy; takes time to act but is worthy in the long run.But its a complex process and you really need a very strong determination to practice it.

6) Write : Start writing. You don't posses the skill, no problem, neither do I. Just go on scribbling what comes into your head. Prepare a draft; and check if you can organize it further.

7) If you can do none of the above just keep on questioning/answering in Quora just the way you did.

Go all in.

I spent so much of my 24th year deciding what to do.

Wishy-washy. On the fence.

Worried that I’d make the wrong choice. (Ironically.. concerned that I’d waste time).

We are complex individuals, there are many things we want to experience and accomplish in life.

I want to travel the world.
I want to build a business.

I found it’s difficult to do these at the same time, and to do them well.

You see we can do anything we want in our lives. We just can’t have it all at once.

Twenty-four is young. Life is long. You’ve got time.

These are the things that I realised.

You can do something for three years, then do something else completely different the next three years.

There is plenty of time.

But act with urgency.

Contradictory?

There is enough time to do everything you want, but you have to decide and commit, then move with urgency.

Because every minute counts.

If you squander your time, you’ll wake up in five years unhappy with where you are.

The secret to investing your time is binary.

When you decide—go all in.

You should practice developing these 10 skills at this age which would be very much helpful in your professional and personal development. Remember one thing 'Success comes from the mastery of a core set of skills that can be applied to any position, field or company'.
1. Sales skills. Sales is the basis of all business success. You are always selling, even if your role does not include sales in the job description. You sell during marketing activities, team meetings, customer service, product management, conferences, business development, engineering, user experience and more. A solid foundation in how to sell can give you a wide advantage over your colleagues and competitors.
No sales experience? No worries! If you've worked in retail or fundraising, or convinced a neighbor to let you babysit, you already have the sales foundation you need. For a great primer on how to use sales to your advantage, check out "To Sell is Human," by bestselling author Daniel H. Pink.
2. Transferable skills. Transferable skills give you the ability to see your past experience in a new light. That experience can be as varied as volunteer work, to a full-time job, to your weekend hobby to a waitressing gig. During each experience, you acquired skills that can be applied to your career success.
For example, as a waitress, you likely learned critical people skills, such as crisis communication, customer service and teamwork. That interpersonal expertise can be applied to your next job in public relations, and indeed, should be highlighted in your cover letter and résumé when applying for the job.
3. The ability to ask. The ability to ask is the easiest, most underutilized skill to catapult your career. The old adage is true: "If you don't ask, you don't receive." Many careerists don't ask to pitch their idea, for a raise or promotion, a bigger sales deal or to take on more responsibility. When this happens -- or doesn't happen, rather -- you're far less likely to find challenge, meaning and reward in your work.
If the thought of asking makes you break out in hives, try practicing in non-work related contexts. At the farmer's market, you could ask a vendor for a lower price on the asparagus; at home, you could ask your partner to attend dance lessons; on the street, you could ask a stranger, "how are you?" The more you put yourself in uncomfortable situations, the more likely you'll decide they're not that uncomfortable after all.
4. The ability to code. You don't need to know how to build the next Facebook, but a basic understanding of how the Web works and how software and apps are built can be a game-changing advantage. An increasing number of positions require technical knowledge, but even if your job never requires you to be technical, you should know what's happening under the hood. The knowledge will help you interface with development and engineering teams, as well as hold more realistic expectations.
Try doing small side projects to familiarize yourself with programming concepts, like building a blog. Or choose one of the many free online classes out there, like Codecademy.
5. Communication skills. Both written and oral communication skills are basic, but that doesn't mean they're not difficult to master! Think about ways to challenge yourself and tweak how you write an email or behave in a meeting.
For example, don't hit "send" immediately after composing a note. Instead, give yourself a beat or two, then reread the email, make edits and then hit "send." Or during your next team meeting, resist talking about your idea or opinion right off the bat. Instead, count to five, and if you still feel like you have something relevant to contribute, speak up. On the flip side, if you're shy, challenge yourself to say what you're thinking, instead of remaining silent.
6. Interpersonal skills. The ability to be a team player is so fundamental to your work that there are few better things to focus on. Interpersonal skills are just a fancy way of saying how you get along, relate and communicate with others. Employers hire people with domain expertise, of course, but mostly they hire people they like and can get along with.
Think about how to become more likable. You might try mimicking the body language of the people you're talking with, repeating their ideas and opinions back to them and really listening. But keep in mind that all the tips and tricks in the world won't help if you don't have genuine interest in and empathy for your fellow team member.
7. Project management skills. Can you see the big picture and break it down into small, manageable and action-oriented steps? Then you have undeniable value. Many employees consider themselves "idea people" but don't have the ability to execute on those ideas. If you have the ability to prioritize and get things done, you'll be able to lead a team in no time.
If you find project management difficult, try taking a project that's already complete and work backward. What are the tasks and assignments it took to complete that goal? Write them down in detail to get a better picture of a the project road map.
8. The ability to be a self-starter. Do you have an entrepreneurial drive? Apply it to the workplace. Employers increasingly value folks who can take initiative and own a project from start to finish. As a creative self-starter, you should take calculated risks, brainstorm new ideas and execute with precision.
If you're not sure of what problems you should help solve, start by looking for the roadblocks your co-workers repeatedly run into or issues your customers continually face. Still stuck? Simply ask your boss for a side project to work on when your normal responsibilities are complete.
9. The ability to be curious. To really stand out in a company, you should always be looking to improve, both individually and company-wide. Hone your inquisitive thinking skills by asking questions like "why?" and "how?" to your employers, your customers and yourself. Everyone will appreciate your interest and thirst for knowledge.
While it may be difficult to open up initially and admit you don't know it all, curiosity helps strengthen self-confidence. As a result, you will learn new ideas and job skills that will stay with you throughout your career.
10. The ability to drive results. Through it all, you should know what your goals are and how you are going to achieve them. This skill requires you to synthesize many of your other skills and layer on an intense passion and focus. Results-driven individuals are metrics-oriented and can quantify outcomes to motivate themselves and their teams, all while contributing to the bottom line.
Write out your personal and career goals to keep your eye on the prize, and try forming a partnership with a friend to hold you accountable, help you stay driven and keep you on track.
As you cultivate and master these core 10 skills, you'll create the career you want -- for now and for the future.

I see most people are focusing on how to improve yourself. The entire Answer Wiki at the top is a list of purely selfish pursuits.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with improving your skills and investing time in yourself; I feel that people are missing out on the most important time investment you could possibly have: other people.

In particular, your grandparents, whom many people in their early 20’s fail to pay much mind to, oblivious to the fact that they won’t be around forever.

I just came home from a visit to my grandmother, who’s 89-years old now. At first, I was hesistant to go, since I have a couple of deadlines for my study. Then, I reminded myself that I should not take her for granted and that I don’t want to have regret for not having spent more time with her. So, I went.

As we were sipping coffee, a question popped up in my head, and I blurted out:

“Grandma, back in 1969, did you watch the Moon landing live on television?”

She was silent for a bit. Then, something magical happened. Her eyes lit up as she remembered that moment that was so, so long ago.

“Yes, yes I did.” she said.

I let silence hang between us, not wanting to intrude on her memory. Then, I continued:

“I heard a story from someone who watched it live”, I said, “and he went into his backyard after the landing to look up at the Moon. He said it was amazing and fascinating to look up at the Moon with the knowledge that there were people walking on it, right at that very moment.”

She told me she had done the same. How they had all gathered to watch Neil Armstrong take that first step. Even now, almost 50 years later, she could remember it as if it happened only yesterday.

Later on, I showed her a picture that I had seen here on Quora, of a Holocaust-survivor who went skydiving for his 85th-birthday. That put another smile on her face.

I try to imagine the life my grandma has lived. I try to listen and learn from her. And in those moments, I sometimes make her relive happy memories and add something bright to her day.

This is, in my opinion, what you should be most concerned about as a 24-year old and spend time on. Not just with your grandparents, but also with the rest of your family, friends or random strangers. Spend more time with people. Learn from them.

You can always spend time on yourself. But you never know when a person might disappear from your life.

You are in that period of life when you need to work very hard on

1) Your physical & mental health : Just make jogging, yoga and little weight training part of your life. You don't need six pack abs. Just be fit enough and settle on a routine that you can follow for rest of your life.

2) Education & Career : This one is tricky as it depends on current financial situation of you and your family. If you are in dire need of money to support your family by all means get a job as soon as possible. Otherwise, I will advise you to explore your interests. Think about things you love to do and if you can make a career out of it. Do you like programming? or do you like photography? or you like to cook food? Try different things and find out where your passion lies...and then find ways to make a career doing that. If you need further education, get it.

3) Staying away from distractions like love & romance : It is a big waste of time. If you are someone who gives importance to how you utilize your time in best way, after 7-8 years you will regret wasting your time in love & romance. Better focus on making friends who will be there when you need them and look forward to creating experiences that last a lifetime.

Remeber that you don't need a huge amount of money or a gf/bf to be happy and successful. All you need is a job you enjoy, money good enough to live a decent life, few friends who like to spend their time with you, and a good health to enjoy all that.

24 is right time to make decision on how you plan . Planning can enable you to run your life , rather than your life running you .

When I was 24 long time ago I was advised these by one of my manager

1) Don't get into syndrome of I know everything .
Knowledge is vast , seek to learn , learn to apply and you will not get bored of the life . This has proved valuable . 24 is age to pick something up as life long passion . There are things one must do ( like your job ) but there are things one should do ( should jobs are the ones that you determine ) . I had few should jobs that I marked for myself which helped me chalkout the course for years to come

2) Build the network .
School friends , college friends are present for emotional support , but for professional support system you should invest time in building the network. Seek the people through professional network like linked in try to meet them face to face , or follow them for professional input

3) Try to remain debt free
being debt free will give you incredible advantage in taking risks in future and you should strive hard to remain like that . Means to say you need to have better plan on spending and income .

investing time in life and health rather than running rat race is complete waste of years

When I was 24, I realized I missed some chances in life. Don't you do that.

Here's what I can tell you:

• Have a knack to learn: Keep learning whatever you feel like. There's no age to stop it, but that period is the best to accelerate a bit.
  
• Don't hound for money: Dude, this is just the start of your professional life, whatever you're into. Going after money kills the spirit of learning.
• Socialize more: Lets face it. Your college pals are now hard to get by, for their lives are busy too. Make new pals, network around and grow more contacts.
• Work: Put your efforts to full use. Slog if you should. There's no harm. Be it physical or intellectual.
• Fall in love: That should say it all.
• Be responsible: You ain't that nagging, irritating, carefree 20-year old college kid anymore. Care for others. (Although this might not totally fit into your "things-to-do" list)
• Stop thinking about time in the first place! That kills the fun of the time. :D

1. Don't waste your time running after GIRLS ( because very soon you gonna get married anyway) so there is no point in wasting time on girls .
2. Dont invest your time in attending PARTIES with frdz . Because the Same friends won't come to your rescue if your are not successful / in trouble / don't have money.
3. Do REALISE/ANALYSE in what /which you are good at . Invest your time on that and choose it as ur profession.
4. Set financial goals. Know how much you have to earn per day to reach that goal. So invest time to earn PASSIVE income.
5. You are no more a child. You have grown up . Dont waste time in chatting with friends unnecessarily , avoid facebook instagram twitter etc… save this time and invest the same in improving your SKILLS
6. Invest time to plan for the NEXT DAY
7. Work , earn and invest repeat the same process for 5 years. So u can Waste time to earn money.
8. Read books , invest time to associate with the people who is in your profession.
9. Avoid DEAMS like I will become an actor , politician , entrepreneur, model …. etc. Open your eyes , start your work.
10. Invest atleast 2minutes to think about your parents . Because they invested 24 years of their life

Answer to the Second part of the question

DON'T WORRY .. DAYS WILL PASS .. 2017 2018 2019 ….. change your attitude and attention towards the things.

There are no exact answers, as everyone is different. Here is a theory..
1. Llife is about gathering amazing experiences and emotions (e). Whatever floats your boat and eventually you will realize what really excites you
2. These experiences can be realized by spending 3 inputs. $s, Time (T) and health (H).
3. If any of these goes to 0, game over! so you have to balance them and it is possible to convert one into another. Taking a taxi instead of a bus converts $s to T. Taking courses and working converts T to $s. Going to a gym, converts T and $ to H. Going to a concert converts $ and T into e!
4. When you are young you have T and H but no $, midlife you have$ and H but no T. When your are senior citizen maybe you have no H but have a lot of T and $. and there are those that have a bunch of everything.
5.. think about where you are and decide what and how you will convert. If you think proactively about these things you will get the most e you can. good luck.

• Start thinking - How will i be in the next 5 years ( Not the Interview way :p)
• Self respect
• Stay motivated , be positive
• You can achieve greater heights during 24, all you need is “Strategic Planning “
• Save Money - Remember money is not everything, have it as your support
• Respect all
• Forgive
• Try to say “ No “
• Take care of your parents, support them in all the means. Participate in decision making and start to know the financial situations of your family
• Not a baby anymore
• Focus on what you try to acheive
• Think - “ What did i do all these years ? “ ( Many - Absolutely Nothing , including me )
• Be an Enterprenuer - Make your existing job ,a platform for your own business.
• Try to learn from failure - Fail as much as you can

Wow, in all honesty you had a lot of great feedback and answers. In truth, everyone is different. What one person believe will fullfill their dreams and goals doesn't necessary mean it will fill yours. What I realize is that, in order for you to obtain what it is that you want in life, you must set a goal. Without vision of where you want to be, you wonder aimlessly in life. I know a lot of people would always say, "well, I don't know what I want to do," and it's understandable, hence why you pose this question. So before we get into that, I want you to know that whatever it is in life that you want, it's possible to achieve. You are the dictator of your life and no one can force you to do the things that you don't want to do. You are the sole writer and actor of your life, if what it is in your life you feel inadequate, you can always change it and write anew. Success is only measured by the effort and determination that you set forth, never quit on your dreams. So, like many, we stand at a crossroad of "what it is that I want to do with my life?" For some, they dedicate their life to helping others and that becomes their sole purpose in life. While others want to make a mark in life, to obtain money and status and leave a legacy behind. There are many variations of lifestyle, and sadly to say, I can't tell you which is the right one for you. That is something only you can find for yourself. However, you can always perpare yourself for the future that you might expect. Like most of what Rashid has posted will get you towards the right direction.

The first investment is your body and mind(i.e. Youself). When you exercise and take care of your health, you will feel good about yourself and you will portray great self-confidence within yourself. Your mind is a powerful tool! Develop it by reading books, watch and listen to motivational speakers. Develop a firm self-conscious mind. Why? Because you will, without a doubt experience many disappointments, many set-backs, and many hardship in life! Moments where the only thing you want to do is give up. But with a strong mind-set, you will persevere and find a solution to your problems. A saying I like to say is,"There is always a solution to any problem. Some problems just take longer than others."

The second investment is your families and friends. I know at times, family members can be very annoying, get on your nerves, or very negative about the things you want to do in life. One thing we have to understand is that family is the ultimate support pillars in our lives. Of course, many of us were raise differently, broken homes from divorce, mother/father left, domestic violence, and many others. But, there is always a family member that is always there for us, no matter what. Friends are the most important influencers in your life. They help you believe or disbelieve in yourself. You will meet a lot of friends, both good and bad, learn to discern from the two. There will be people, who will have the same like mind and goals as you and push you forward and there will be the negative "dream-stealer" friends that will tell you it's not possible. Do Not! And I repeat, do not let their negativity steal your dreams! Like Les Brown says," Leave the flakes alone! People who are seriously not serious!" Ultimately, cherish the ones you love, as though it's always the last moment when you see them. Forgive the people who have faulted you, who stepped out of your life, life is too short to live in constant anger, be happy. And leave those who don't want to accomplish anything in life alone, if you surround yourself with those type of people, you will become one of them yourself.

The third investment is finance. Become financially free, and it will be the greatest feeling you will ever feel. To be able to do anything you want in the world and not worried about money. After financial freedom, you will realize that money, is not important, it is what you can accomplish with it, i.e. Help your love ones, contribute to the development of society, nourish the less fortunate, spread educational awareness. One thing I can tell you is, money is abundant, you can make money doing anything in this world. The only thing is you have to put your mind, heart, and body into it in order for you to succeed in finance. Work for yourself and set yourself aside from others. "The bottom is where it's crowded, so always try to reach the top." Work smart and apply yourself! Don't ask what others can do for you, ask what you can do for others, then, the reward can be ten-folds.

In the end, I would want to say is, have fun, life is full of experiences. Invest your time now in the things that need to be invested in, so that you will have more time to do the things you want later in life. Enjoy the mystery and adventure of life. Don't live life comfortable, but live on the edge so there will always be excitement in life. Never know, you might learn something new here or there. Open yourself to new opportunities. Don't be afraid to fail and don't be afraid to leap forward, it's part of the excitement. Keep a journal of your adventures, it's amazing when you reflect back on what you wrote, sometimes you become who you wanted to be when you first started writing that journal. Also, invest time in writing a book and title it, "What you must do in life, in order to be Successful."(-Zig Ziglar) Also remember, "Success is not measured by what one person has compared to another, but it is what you have done with the skills and talents that have been given to you"(-Les Brown)
I know there is a lot of more points that I missed, but I'm sure you will find the answer to your questions in life. Also, get a coach/mentor who have already been successful in life to show you the way. Best way is duplicate a proven system. And I highly stress listen to motivational speakers! Some of the ones whom I listen to is, Eric Thomas, Zig Ziglar, Les Brown, and Brian Tracy. Good luck to your endeavors. Hope you find what it is you're looking for.

After reading so many career and life advice, I felt like I was in the self-help aisle of a bookstore (remember those?). Here's my advice:

1. Learn how to fail quickly
2. Learn how to recover and learn from failure
3. Rinse, repeat as necessary

The fact that you have access to Quora and time to ask this question, I'm going to assume that you're in the 1% of humanity has the means to fail and recover regularly. The ability to recover from failure is what separates the great from the competent.

You're also probably in the 99% of 24-year-olds that has no idea who they are and what they love and hate. If you're single and not in debt (relatively speaking) then risk it all. You have time on your side.

Ask out that person you've been eying. Learn to ride a unicycle. Buy a old Beetle. Learn to play the guitar. Travel to places far and near. Drink more. Eat more. Smoke more. Play more. Live more.

The short game is to enjoy life. The long game is to find out what's really important to you and what's not. When you know, then invest time into the first bucket and ignore the second bucket.

• Invest time in people - In your personal as well as professional circles.
• Your personal circle - these are the people who will be there with you through thick and thin. Invest time in them.
• Your professional circle - these people help you learn a lot and they are required for your professional growth at times.
• Invest in your health - Your health is your bandwagon for life. You need to invest time and energy to ensure your bandwagon is strong. Exercise helps you to get a head start to the day and it helps you in the long run. If a routine, monotonous structure gets to you - go join a group fitness class.
• Invest in knowledge - Read a lot. Learn a lot. Be up to date with the knowledge around you - grow academically, professionally, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
• Invest monetarily - Save money. Save it for those memories you want to make and save it for those memories which may go awry.

Investing in yourself would never ever be a bad decision.

Move to where you want to be. Find a job that you want to do but be planning career advancement. Find bargain entertainment (go enjoy yourself, but look for entertainment deals and put the difference between the discount price and the full price into savings and don't touch it). If your bank has a "keep the change" program, sign up for it. Don't worry about love, it will come. Make a clean slate with all of your friends and family, they are your most valuable asset. If you are forced to borrow money, don't become embarrassed about it; that usually causes one to shut down communication with the lender and the lender soon feels taken advantage of so keep that communication open. Pay back/off your debts. Work toward buying a home. Keep yourself healthy and your mind uncluttered; a 30-60 minute walk each day is enough to do that. Eat well. Avoid getting severely overweight, it puts an enormous strain on the body. Write good thoughts own when yo have them. Learn to carry on a conversation over the phone... in full sentences with appropriate enthusiasm and emotion in your voice. Vastly reduce dependency on texting... Call people; it makes a personal connection and prevents ambiguous or incomplete information from being passed.

I will just give my perspective ,

1. I really think the eternal goal of life is to live happily and peacefully.
   
2. What we do today will shape the future.
   
   So, if you are not sure of having 1 in future then you may proceed reading. Now most of the time we spend in future is divided between "family/friends" and "your career".
   
   I will take "career" aspect alone, so you need to spend some time now that will give you happiness in the future in the name of career (i used to call it "your calling"). So i really think finding your calling is a must that everyone should spend time on it. Every career has its own nature. For example some of them may be routine and some needs constant changes. Similarly some people like routine and some wont. So you need to identify what sort of person you are. When i said identify i really meant a research because it took me quite some time to identify myself as what sort of person i m.
   
   Begin with "Personality tests", i would strongly recommend to take "Myers Briggs personality test". If you are really a dig deep person then i would like to read some books like "Do what you are" and "what color is your parachute". We have spent reading some stuffs which we may never use in life for sake of marks so keep that in mind and read some books to completely understand you character in deep. Now reading alone wont be sufficient , you need to reflect on yourself. Trust me most of us have complete misunderstanding of ourselves. Some type of personality i don't want to be mine but it is mine and its really hard to accept that fact. Also not only you can understand yourself but you can understand people around you. This really helped me a lot.
   
   Now its really difficult to find the logic for understanding something related to heart (passion). Our heart switches between things quickly. Our value system changes every year but our nature stays the same. So its best to identify your career based on your nature.

Okay so here's the thing, the job/internship that I took at 24 years old is more or less the same job I'm doing now, at least the same industry. It's a pretty good one to be in (social media research), but not exactly my passion.

So know that the work you do now will have a big impact on the work you do in the future. Try to find the balance between sticking with something long if to see if you like it and have the ability to get better, and knowing that it isn't for you at all.

Also, don't worry about be PRODUCTIVE. Waste time, wander, explore, and generally fuck around. Most people never do this and they stay in something because they get hired to do it when they were twenty-whatever.

At the same time keep you overhead low. Rent cheap, live with your parents, have roommates. People may judge you, but they will probably also be complaining about a job they hate (to pay for their expensive crap). As I've gotten older the less fucks I give about what other think, and you might as well start caring less about what other think at 24 to get ahead.

tl;dr

1. tinker/explore/be curious
2. Keep expenses low
3. Don't give fucks / know your own truth and don't apologize for it

Few key investments of your time.

1.Invest with yourself: If you are planning for making big in Life, then you need to Invest time in learning and growing. This is the first and the most important step which you cannot skip in order to make it big in Life. There is saying "You don't get what you want, You get what you are". When you start growing then automatically you will meet the right people, you will recognize the opportunities around you, etc. You can see a whole new level of transformation in your Life.

2.Invest in Goal Setting: Let us take an example: Remove the goal posts in Soccer game & then see what happens. There won't be any excitement in the stadium. People will not come to the stadium nor they will be glued to the television, even the players wouldn't play the game. Why ?
By now I can feel that you discovered why Life isn't exciting.
Keep a goal for 1/3/5 years and then start your journey towards them.

3.Invest in Taking Action: no matter what you want, Action is required to reach your destination. First know what are the action steps that are required to take you towards your goal. Then focus on taking One step at a time to reach your goal. You can also act on Networking with people who help you reach towards your goal. (Remember if you want to go far you need a TEAM). Tracking your actions will help you improve your actions and reach to next level.

• Less selfies and more front camera photos. When you get older, looking at a bunch of selfies will be boring and unfulfilling.
• Less hangover and more daytime adventure. Partying is okay once in a while but spending your precious days with a hangover and sleeping through your weekend days are a true waste. Take advantage of your days and go for adventures.
• Less weekend work and more fun on Saturdays and Sundays.
• Less procrastination and more organization. This will save you so much of your precious time that you can use somewhere else in your life.
• Less reality shows and trash TV and more documentaries and educational programs even if it is just a game from which you can actually learn something.
• Less social media and online fun and more real life in-person fun. If you can meet up with your friends for a coffee then why just snapchat with them?
• Less spending money on stupid things you want and more savings and investments. Buy what you need.
• Less time with toxic people and more people who bring something positive to your life.

Two things:

1. Get VERY good at any one thing -

1. your job, photoshop, singing, dancing, whistling - so that if the worst happens, and you get kicked out of our job and house and friends are done using you, you can still earn your livelihood by freelancing... (even whistling will do- you can roam on roads asking couples to dedicate songs to each other and they will pay you- tried and tested)
2. Invest -

1. this is just to get a kick in life, so that you have something to look forward to while moving into the next day. Nothings makes you happier than seeing something you have nurtured well bear fruits. Invest in anything you have a passion for - make a group of whistlers, maybe, and start organizing fund raisers for NGOs; a blog that gives reviews of newly launched products; or a restaurant in your area. Being a decision body will teach you a lot of things and make you take a lot hard decisions which initially will look intuition based, but with experience, a pattern will emerge -something that you call experience.

Idea is to diversify your capabilities in a risk taking position which a regular job will devoid you of. In case you fail, you will still find yourself more practical and more experienced than your other 24 year old pals...

Where to start. I'm sixty. What I wouldn't give to be 24 years old again. The world is your oyster.
One of the best investments you can make is to invest in your retirement. Put in 500 a month for five years into an index fund. Then never touch it. Leave it.
That makes you 29. Your retirement is set; now go out and change the world. Don't do what others do. Think big. What problem needs solving? What are you passionate about? What is the one thing that you could do that would change everything for the better? Until you are sixty five, you are free to go and do it. Maybe you want to travel, learn languages, start schools in India, drill for water in Africa, make micro loans in South America.