15 Items Every College Grad Needs To Succeed In 2024

Are you a recent or upcoming college grad who wants to succeed in 2024? If the answer is yes, then this post is for you!! Entering into adulthood is very intimidating, but these college grad items will help structure your life for smooth sailing. 

Before I graduated from college last year, I was SOO intimidated. I didn’t have a job, I didn’t know where I was going to live, and my life was filled with so many unknowns.

With that being said, I truly understand how scary the unknowns are. However, instead of accepting the unknowns, I decided to do everything that I can to craft my future and I relied heavily on the items on this list.

The items on the list are ESSENTIAL for reorganizing your life and figuring out what you truly want. 

In this post, these items will help structure your life so you can succeed in all of your goals in 2024. I know they will help you because they helped me so much as I entered into adulthood. 

Once you review all of these items, you are going to feel SO MUCH better about becoming a college grad and feel ready to take on 2024!

This post is all about the best items every college grad needs to succeed in 2024.  

Best Items Every College Grad Needs

1. Sophisticated Clothes

Sorry ladies, but after college it’s time to dress more sophisticated!

I remember my first dinner as a college graduate and all my friends were dressed in sophisticated, young adult clothing, and meanwhile I was wearing my college bootie shorts and a tank top!

EMBARRASSING.

Not only should you dress your age, but dressing in nice and sophisticated clothing can help you accomplish more. When you dress nicely, you are more likely to focus and accomplish more tasks than when you are dressed in sweats or pajamas. 

Best Places To Get Sophisticated Clothes:

• Abercrombie & Fitch
• Altar’d State
• Lulus

2. Good Bye Social Media, Hello Motivational Books

Something I continuously struggle with is staying off of social media to allow more efficient work. Recently I have done amazing by deleting instagram and purchasing motivational books. Motivational books will do exactly as they sounds, motivate you!!

The more motivated you are the more likely you will start doing the things that you know needs to be done.

When I am feeling unmotivated and don’t feel like putting in the work, I read about success stories or listen to podcasts to regain the motivation.

Some people don’t need the constant motivation, but if you’re anything like me and you need the motivation, then there are many books that can help you stay motivated post grad. 

Best Motivational Books:

• Rich Dad Poor Dad
• 4-Hour Work Week
• Atomic Habits

3. Workout Clothes

Workout clothes are listed on here because it’s so important to get exercise when you are striving for success. Exercise is linked to a better mood, and if you have a great mood then you are more likely to succeed.

For example, the main reason why I love cycling classes is because of how I feel after the class. I feel so incredibly good and happy words can’t even describe it. If you have ever done hard cardio, then you understand the feeling.

You should make sure to do the workouts that make you feel the best. Do you enjoy Zumba, running, lifting weights, yoga? Pick your favorite or combine them all, as long as your body is moving you will feel so good. 

Best Places To Get Workout Clothes:

• Aerie
• Lululemon
• Athleta

4. Take Out The Bible 

If you’re not a Christian, then replace this with a book or item of your choice. However, I am Christian and reading the bible has truly changed my life.

Last year, I did the Bible In A Year podcast by Father Mike, and it completely changed my life! I am so much calmer now and it’s proven scientifically that those who read the bible for only 15 minutes a day on average have less tress than others.

Connecting to the creator if the universe is a beautiful thing and ultimately the most important thing in our lives. 

As a new college grad, you are entering a new phase of your life that is life-changing. Knowing the truth about the bible and Christianity will help calm your nerves and prepare you for the next chapter of your life.

Also, there are different type of bibles from Catholic Bibles to Christian bibles. The Catholic bible has 73 books whereas the Christian bible has 66, so make sure to get your beliefs and start reading I know you will not regret it. 

Best Places To Get Bibles:

• Ascension Presents
• Amazon

5. Eye Mask

If you are a light sleeper, then eye masks can make or break your sleep! And if you want to be successful, you need a good night sleep. Sleep can change your entire day.

To learn more about important sleep is, check out my post on 15 Benefits Of A Good Night Sleep That Will Change Your Life. My sister is the lightest sleeper ever, and she attests to the importance of eye masks. By blocking out the light, eye masks boost REM sleep and increase melatonin.

Best Places To Get Eye Masks:

• Mattress Firm
• Ulta Beauty
• Blissy

6. Agendas and Planners

Sorry to be the bearer of this news but agendas and planners do no stop after school! In fact, arguably I use them now more post graduation. Planning your days and making sure tasks are done at the proper time are essential post graduation.

However if you are still in college and looking for a job, selecting specific time slots out of your day for job applications and resume updating is a must! Planning your days and sticking to it will make you very successful in 2024. 

I use agendas and planners to make sure I stay on track for my blog. Without them I would be a complete mess, so I highly recommend organizing your days so you can succeed! 

Best Places To Get Agendas And Planners:

• Michaels
• Hobby Lobby
• Staples

7. Stick To Healthy Foods

If you are looking for success as a college grad during 2024, you have to eat healthy foods. I am not an advocate for healthy foods because they will “make you thinner”, but I am an advocate for healthy foods because they will make you feel amazing and energized.

If you’ve ever eaten pasta for lunch compared to a chicken salad for lunch, you’ve probably noticed that your energy levels are a lot higher after eating the salad. This is because carbs make you feel sleepy after you consume them, so stick to foods that will truly energize you during the day!

If you love pasta (like me), then eat them for dinner when you don’t have any other work to accomplish. 

Best Places To Get Healthy Foods:

• Whole Foods
• Trader Joes
• Thrive Market

8. Organized Desk 

Having a good looking and organized desk is a life-changing item for college grads. I truly adore my desk and am happy to spend hours on it because it’s so cute. Having a work space that is inviting instead of depressing will transform your attitude relating to work.

If your desk is cute then you will want to sit there applying to job after job, and you will want to sit there writing blog post after blog post. 

Confession: I actually have two desks. One desk is in my room which I ADORE, and the second is in the basement where I do my full time job outside of blogging.

My desk in the basement is depressing as it’s not next to any windows and is frankly very cold. Because of the setup, I am less inclined to work at my full time job. You too, should make sure your desk is not depressing so you are able to thrive in all of the work that you do. 

Best Places To Get Desk Organizers:

• Ikea
• Hobby Lobby
• Michales

9. Sunrise Alarm Clock

Did you know that most successful people wake up between 5am-6am? Rising early is great for getting tasks done with little distractions.

Sunrise alarm clocks essentially combine a digital alarm with an artificial light that simulates the sun moving from dawn to light. Sunrise alarm clocks are a great way to get yourself up and out of bed earlier. 

Best Places To Get Sunrise Alarm Clocks:

• Hatch Sleep
• Amazon
• Target

10. Handbag

After college, it’s time to enter your GIRL BOSS era. To fully embody the girl boss vibe, you should get yourself a large purse also known as a handbag.

This will allow you to travel anywhere with your work essentials. You can carry your laptop, phone, notebooks, pens, pencils, makeup and more in this bag. Getting a handbag was a complete game changer for me in my journey to be successful after college!

Best Places To Get Handbags:

• DSW
• Hand Kors
• Kate Spade Outlet

11. Vitamins

Going back to energy levels, vitamins will do just that! Vitamins have the potential to give you so much energy and I know because it has done that for me.

I use to be tired all of the time, but then I got tests done and figured out that I have a hormonal imbalance and the vitamins fixed my issue! Regardless if you have any imbalances, I recommend taking electrolytes because most people are not receiving enough hydration and hydration is key.

Also, most women are deficient in iron so it’s important to take that into consideration if you decide to do any testing. 

Best Places To Get Vitamins:

• Fullscript
• Amazon
• Wegmans

12. Headphones

Headphones are perfect for your concentration. To become successful, you need to be able to block everything out and focus on the task ahead.

Headphones are the best way for noise cancelation. In college, I use to study in my room over the library because I got so distracted in the library. Figure out what works best for you and stick to it!

Best Places To Get Headphones:

• Best Buy
• Walmart
• Target

13. Posted Notes

Posted notes are the perfect item for college grads to have if you regularly come up with ideas and need to remember them. Many successful bloggers will keep posted notes all over their house — even next to their beds — incase they come up with a very good idea.

Besides ideas, posted notes can serve as a way to write down even more goals. It’s important to have the big picture goals and then write smaller goals that will get you to your bigger goals. 

Best Places To Get Posted Notes:

• Amazon
• Staples
• Michales

14. Whiteboard

Whiteboards are exactly what every college grad needs. If you have survived college without a whiteboard, you are truly inspiring. I’ve depended on one throughout my entire college career, and now that I’ve started my work career, I use it so much more!

A great way to use a whiteboard is for goal setting. What I do, is I keep the whiteboard in my room and write my goals for this month on the board. By keeping it in my room, I stare at the whiteboard every morning and every night to remind myself of what I need to accomplish this month. 

Having a clear picture of the items you would like to accomplish this month will help you achieve all of your goals. You don’t have to only create month goals, but you can write year and week goals too. Figure out what works best for you and stick with it. 

Best Places To Get Whiteboards:

• Staples
• Michaels
• Target

15. Excel, Excel, and more Excel

Excel sheets are an absolute life-changer. In college I took an excel class and I hated it, but now I wish I appreciated it more.

Excel has the potential to lead to so much success. It is the ultimate tracking tool that will keep you organized and lead you to accomplish your goals.

If you are in the process of applying for jobs, create an excel sheet to keep track of all of the companies, positions, and other information to make sure you remember the positions you applied for and their status.

Also, if you want to budget your money, then excel is the perfect place to budget with the easy addition and subtraction capabilities. 

I am a huge advocator for the magic excel can do and it is completely free!

You can use google sheets or any similar-like function applications or softwares to make sure everything is tracked so you can accomplish your goals and achieve success after graduation. 

Best Similar Applications To Excel:

• Google Sheets
• Apache OpenOffice
• Smartsheet

This post was all about the best items every college grad needs to know to succeed in 2024