15 Tips For Living Alone | Things I Wish I Knew Before Living On My Own For the First Time

Adjusting to Living Alone

Lauren Juarez shares advice for adjusting to living alone, drawing partly on her experience after her divorce. The transition can feel uncomfortable at first, but confidence and enjoyment often grow with time.

1. Be patient with yourself. Expect an adjustment period: you may feel confused, bored, or uncomfortable. Give yourself room to adapt and choose healthy ways to manage the change.

2. Plan for lonely moments. Reach out to friends and family, and make a personal list of things that help—such as calling someone or putting on music and dancing.

3. Experiment with planners and calendars. Try different systems until you find one that suits you. For accountability while working or doing chores, Juarez recommends Focusmate, which pairs people for timed work sessions.

4. Make a budget early. Track your spending, even in a notes app, so you can understand where your money goes and spot areas where you may overspend.

5. Keep useful supplies on hand. Stock easy pantry foods, soups or frozen meals, medicine, and emergency items such as a flashlight or an extra jacket in your car. Check expiration dates.

6. Get to know your neighbors. Learn their names and exchange phone numbers in case of emergencies or small favors. When moving in, consider introducing yourself with cookies or another friendly gesture.

7. Make your home feel like yours. Decorate in a way that makes you happy, and think ahead about how you’d like the space to look.

8. Put safety measures in place. Give a spare key to a trusted person, identify an emergency neighbor, consider researching self-defense options, check that doors are locked, and share your location with someone you trust. Juarez also suggests that having a pet may help you feel less alone.

9. Be willing to ask questions. Set pride aside and tell people when you’re unfamiliar with something so they can explain it thoroughly—whether it’s a financial, household, or car-related topic.

10. Build morning and evening routines without rigid rules. Let routines develop naturally rather than feeling that every step must happen in a strict order.

11. Talk aloud to yourself. Juarez says it can help you feel less lonely, stay self-aware, and figure out what you need to do next.

12. Create things to look forward to. Plan regular activities with friends or solo treats. Juarez marks the 26th of each month as her “on my own anniversary” and likes to plan something special.

13. Clean as you go. Do one chore at a time instead of saving everything for the weekend. Pair chores with music or a podcast to make them more enjoyable.

14. Learn to cook for one. Adjust grocery quantities and recipes, and use larger batches to make several meals. Cooking for yourself can become enjoyable in its own right.

15. Practice enjoying your own company. Start with small activities, such as playing music and dancing at home, and gradually get more comfortable with solitude.

Notable Locations, Products, and Speaker

• Speaker: Lauren Juarez
• Tools and products: Focusmate, Google Home, Spotify, and Sony headphones
• Other references: Whole Foods; the Saved Not Soft podcast; and Juarez’s living-alone support communities on Slack and Facebook