30 things to do before 30, each one easy to tick off

Health goals before 30

Health goals here are skills and check-ups you can tick, not a body or a look to reach.

• Run 10 km without stopping, in a race or on your own.
• Learn to swim 200 m without stopping.
• Learn to cook 10 meals you can make without a recipe.
• Book a check-up with a doctor and one with a dentist, and go to both.
• Take a first aid course and get the certificate.

Financial goals to reach by 30

Money goals are amounts and dates you can check, and this page gives no financial advice: what you save, and where, is up to you.

• Set aside one month of living costs in a separate account.
• Keep a budget for 3 months, and write the real totals next to the plan.
• Pay off one card or loan in full.
• Cancel 3 subscriptions you no longer use.
• Find out how much goes into your pension each month, and write it down.

Skills to learn before 30

A skill goal ends at a level you can name, and a new sport counts: padel goals start at the first lesson.

• Learn a new sport and play 20 games of it.
• Pass your driving test.
• Play 3 songs from start to end on an instrument.
• Hold a 10 minute talk in a new language with someone who speaks it.
• Type 60 words a minute on an online typing test.

Bucket list before 30: adventure ideas

Adventure goals are firsts, and each one is done the day it happens.

• Walk up a hill or mountain before dawn and watch the sunrise from the top.
• Sleep one night outside under the stars.
• Try 10 things you have never done, one a month: a climbing wall, a dance class, a kayak.
• Go to a film, a museum and a restaurant on your own, once each.
• See one live event you have wanted to see for years: a final, a festival or a show.

Things to do before 30 with friends and family

People goals count time and words, the things a busy decade puts off until later.

• Ask a parent or grandparent 10 questions about their life and write down the answers.
• Write a thank-you letter to 3 people who changed your life, and send all 3.
• Plan one trip or day out with your oldest friends.
• Join one club, team or class and go at least 10 times.
• Give 24 hours to a cause you care about: 2 hours a month for a year.

Things to do before 30 for yourself and your home

Goals for yourself and your home are small and real, and they are easier to keep in view on a vision board with a number under each picture. For the 100 things, a declutter challenge gives you a count to fill.

• Make a list of 30 things you did in your 20s that you are proud of.
• Write a letter to open on your 40th birthday.
• Give away, sell or recycle 100 things you no longer use.
• Fix 5 things at home yourself: a tap, a shelf, a door, a hole in a wall, a bike tyre.
• Read 12 books in the year before you turn 30.

What is a good goal before 30?

A good goal before 30 is one thing you can count or tick, picked because it matters to you. The age itself seems to make people take stock. In a 2014 study, Alter and Hershfield found signs that people search for meaning as a new decade nears, at ages like 29, 39 and 49. Of 500 people running their first marathon, 74 were 29, 39, 49 or 59: 48% more than an even spread of ages would give. In the same study, runners ran a marathon about 2% faster at 29 and 39 than in the years around them.

So a birthday is a fine place to start, but the list is a menu, not a test. Pick 5 to 10 that matter to you, not all 30, and none of them runs out at 30. Make each one specific: a review of 35 years of goal research found that specific, hard goals lead to higher performance than being told to do your best. "Get fit" is a wish. "Run 10 km" is a goal. For more ideas by area of life, see these personal goals examples.

The big ones take more than a year. Break each goal into smaller steps: one month of living costs is a few weeks of saving at a time, and a driving test is lessons first, then a date.

How to track goals before 30

Write the list down and log each thing the day it is done. A review of 138 studies found that people who monitored their progress reached their goals more often, and that recording it beat keeping it in your head.

A list of 30 is an amount challenge: each thing you do fills one of 30 parts, in any order. Some items hold their own count, like 100 things given away or 24 hours for a cause, and you can track those on their own too.

A list on paper shows what is left. A picture with 30 parts that fills with each thing you tick shows what you have done.

Frequently asked questions

What should I do before I turn 30?

Pick what matters to you from six areas: health, money, skills, adventure, people and home. For example: run 10 km, set aside one month of living costs, pass your driving test, sleep one night under the stars, and write a letter to open on your 40th birthday.

How many things should be on a list of things to do before 30?

There is no set number. Start with the 5 to 10 that matter most to you, then add more as you go. A list of 30 is a round number, not a rule.

Is it too late if I am 29 and have done none of these?

No. These are ideas, not a test, and none of them ends at 30. A 10 km run at 31 counts the same. Pick one, write it down with a date, and start this month.