Embrace the Unending Work
For anyone in their 20s, if you wish to (and can) take advice from someone who just turned 30, let it be this one: Do anything you have to, but become the person on the right.
Trust me, the work never ends. There is always something to do, something to fix, someone to meet, and so on. If you’re ambitious, it means even more work. No matter how much you organize your life or manage your time, unless you have full-time help, you will never run out of things to finish.
I'm emphasizing this because in your 20s, particularly early 20s, you might heavily underestimate the amount of work life offers as you grow older. With age, every aspect of life you get involved with comes with responsibilities and associated work. There is a limit to how much you can delegate. In fact, you will be the one that people delegate work to, especially if you're good at managing things.
In such a situation, being constantly frustrated by the work left undone will only drain you further. Resistance to work will leave you procrastinating, leading to even more work to be finished on tight deadlines. In most instances, you'll be doing thankless work, which might make you feel exploited and discontent, along with being overwhelmed and frustrated. If you’re the kind of person looking for the meaning or purpose of life, the unending nature of work might even lead to an existential crisis.
The immediate urge would be to try time management techniques and micromanage your life. Do try them, as they can bring some value. You'll often run into situations where you're bombarded with multiple priorities, and it will be essential to know what to pick and what to drop. And trust me, dropping work won't be easy. At times, you'll have to drop things at the risk of losing a certain aspect of your life, which might have formed a significant portion of your personality. But avoiding dropping things can lead to risks like chronic stress and burnout and won't allow you to do anything as well as it needs to be done.
After applying all the tricks and techniques, the stark realization will be that the work never finishes. And the even more important realization is that all the real joys of life, after a certain age, come only from taking on more work.
Whether it's working on a passion project, striving for a promotion, taking care of your parents' emotional and medical needs, supporting your spouse, raising a child, caring for a pet, or pursuing a hobby, it all adds to the work. Each new valuable addition to life will compound your joy as it enriches every aspect of your life. And as it does, it will also compound your work, as you'll not just handle that one piece of work but also manage everything else affected by its addition.
The sooner you learn to enjoy the work, the saner your experience of life will be. Yes, there will still be frustrating days, constant negotiations with yourself and those around you, and ongoing adjustments based on new experiences and learning. But amidst those challenges, having a brighter outlook on work will work wonders. It will allow you to be productive and enjoy the experience. More importantly, it will prevent you from becoming bitter.
So, do whatever it takes, but figure out a way to be the person on the right side.
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