4 things you need to know how to do before you turn 30
As the clock ticks and the big 3-0 looms ever-closer, you might take a moment to reflect on what you’ve achieved in your twenties. During this chaotic period, some of your friends might have married, while you’re more single than ever — a few could be starting families, while others can barely do their own laundry. With everyone hitting the big milestones at their own pace, it can be difficult to assess whether you’re on the right track.
But have no fear: even if you have yet to tick some of the more significant life events off your bucket list, there are many accessible ways to make sure that you’re a well-rounded individual. We’ve compiled this handy list of four things that you should know how to do before you hit 30. Let’s get started — after all, you’re not getting any younger.
- Order wine with confidence
As any wine aficionado will tell you, ordering a glass properly is a fine art — and it can be surprisingly straightforward to master with the internet at your disposal. If you’ve ever sat dazed and confused at the dining table while your older relatives swill glasses of red and discuss its ‘oaky’ notes, this is the life lesson for you.
Correctly pairing beverages to complement the flavor profile of your meal is one of those little things that can enrich your dining experience. We all know the basics: red wine for red meat, white for chicken and fish — but for a more in-depth look at how to combine your drink and your dinner, use an online wine pairing tool. There’s no better teacher than tastebuds, and this is a convenient way to learn first-hand what flavors and textures go well together — all the while impressing fellow diners with your new and refined sense of taste.
- Tie a tie correctly
If you’re lucky enough to not have to suit up every day for work, it might be rare that you ever don a necktie. However, some of life’s biggest events demand that you dress up and wear one — think fancy business dinners, weddings, funerals — so there will be plenty of occasions where you’ll have to know your way around a convincing knot. If you weren’t taught this particular life skill as a child, it’s no big task — in fact, mathematicians estimate that there are 177,147 different ways to tie a tie, so take your pick of the bunch.
In reality, though, you only need to know one good method. The Windsor Knot is the premier way to smarten up, and innumerable tutorials are available online on how to tie one. Tie-a-Tie.net provides a helpful how-to and explains that “The Windsor Knot is a thick, wide and triangular tie knot that projects confidence. It would therefore be your knot of choice for presentations, job interviews, courtroom appearances etc.”
- Write an effective email
On the subject of jobs, how often are you happily grinding at your 9-to-5 before your inner peace is unceremoniously destroyed by poor email etiquette? Despite competition from the likes of Whatsapp, Slack and the humble phone call, email is still the most prevalent way that businesses interact — and around three quarters of individuals name it as their preferred method of communication. However, many workplaces presumptuously believe that their staff will automatically know the way to write a good email. This can lead to rambling, incoherent or inflammatory messages popping up in inboxes, which waste time and, in extreme cases, have consequences for mental health.
To write an effective email, consider the following rules of thumb:
- Provide a subject line that clearly relates to the email’s purpose.
- Make the message content informative and concise.
- Label a call to action if a follow-up is necessary.
- Select appropriate and tone-consistent language and punctuation.
- Avoid sending messages when experiencing feelings of frustration.
- Opt for an alternative if the chain is getting too complicated, such as a phone call.
- Cook the perfect steak
Steak is the king of the dinner date. If you’re going to turn 30 in style, you’ll want to know how to cook up the classic dish and impress any potential suitors. For the vegetarians among you, feel free to replace this step with “cook the perfect mushroom steak” — but don’t say we didn’t warn you — we aren’t entirely convinced that it exists.
Before you even step foot in the kitchen, you’ll want to choose your cut: we recommend a rib-eye or sirloin with a nice marbling of fat and a minimal amount of gristle. It’s down to personal preference whether you enjoy rare, medium, well-done or the fabled blue steak — however, there are some tips that apply to any grilling setup.
To begin, remove the meat from the fridge about 20 minutes before cooking, to bring it up to room temperature — this is so that when you sear the outside, you can get an even cook-through as the inside won’t be too cool. Coat the steak in oil with a high smoke-point, season with salt and pepper, and add to a very hot pan — preferably a cast iron or griddle to evenly distribute heat. Cooking timings will depend entirely on your taste: The Spruce Eats recommends grill times for each side ranging from three minutes for rare all the way up to twelve for well-done. Once it’s cooked to your liking, rest for a further four to five minutes and serve.
Once you wrap up your 30th trip around the sun, try not to stress about what anybody else is doing — as long as you’ve mastered a couple of these essential life skills, you’re right where you need to be.
