Have you ever wished there was a guidebook containing step-by-step instructions on the things that you’re supposed to know once you become an adult?
Life can be very confusing at times.
Nevertheless, we are often expected to know how to deal with everything we experience.
Somehow, we’re supposed to know that clothes need to be separated by color when we’re doing the laundry.
We’re also supposed to be aware that job interviews have a certain dress code that we need to follow if we’re to be seriously considered for the position we’re applying for.
Possessing the necessary life skills for any given situation helps people have a better chance at coping with whatever life throws at them.
In this article, we’re sharing a collection of printable life skills worksheets that can equip both adults and students with the know-how necessary for functioning in everyday life.
You’ll find worksheets that help you develop housekeeping, technical, financial, and self-awareness skills.
Before diving into our list, let’s talk more about the importance of life skills.
Why Do We Need Life Skills?
The World Health Organization, UNESCO, and UNICEF recommend 10 core life skills as the basis for a healthy, competent, well-adjusted individual.
You need life skills to thrive and fully function as an adult.
For example, knowing some basic housekeeping not only guarantees a clean, healthy, and safe environment for you to live in, but being free from clutter also provides peace of mind.
If you possess the following abilities…
…then you’re well on your way to becoming a functioning and contributing member of society.
Let’s check out some worksheets to help you develop these skills.
Life Skills Worksheets for Adults
1. Brain Dump Worksheet
Knowing how to cope with stress is one of the 10 core life skills identified by UNESCO, WHO, and UNICEF.
Do you often find yourself overwhelmed with thoughts about things that make you worried or anxious? One way to relieve the thoughts weighing you down is by writing everything out on paper.
This stress-busting exercise is known as a brain dump.
This worksheet provides the space you need to offload all that’s going on inside your head. We recommend doing a brain dump at least once a week to clear your head and prevent the buildup of stress and anxiety.
2. Developing Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is an essential life skill involving troubleshooting problems that crop up in your daily life. It often involves the application of mindful communication.
Furthermore, critical thinking teaches us how to think independently.
This printable is a compilation of different worksheets that can help you develop and strengthen critical thinking skills.
3. Empathy Workbook
Empathy allows us to put ourselves in other people’s shoes and imagine how they could be feeling during a particular situation. It is one of the essential life skills that we need to learn to navigate through life and our relationships with others more smoothly.
This workbook provides the basics about empathy and why it’s important. It has activities and guide questions to help users develop a deeper understanding of this life skill. Dedicated spaces are provided for writing answers and reflections.
4. Wall of Resilience
This worksheet helps you develop personal resilience by identifying the areas of your life that need improvement. It also provides tips for strengthening particular areas.
The areas that the worksheet recommends you work on include:
5. Weighing the Consequences of a Decision
Sometimes it’s really difficult to make a decision, especially if you’re not sure of the consequences of your decision.
Nevertheless, being able to make decisions and accept their consequence is an important life skill.
This worksheet is designed to help you consider the foreseeable positive and negative consequences of a decision. Hopefully, with the help of this worksheet, you can learn how to accept and face the outcome of your choices.
6. Hold Yourself Accountable
Accountability and personal responsibility are an essential life skill for success.
If you keep making excuses for your failures, you might become an unreliable person. Learning to be accountable for your actions is easier with this worksheet.
7. Self-Love Worksheet
Perhaps one of the most difficult life skills to learn as an adult is how to practice self-compassion.
We often beat ourselves up for the mistakes we make. Furthermore, many of us find it easier to prioritize other people's welfare than our own.
This self-love worksheet keeps you mindful of the ways that you can show yourself appreciation and love. (Here are some pointers for loving yourself more.)
Worksheets for Students
8. Step By Step Guide to Laundry
Doing the laundry is one of the life skills that older kids will find useful once they find places of their own. This worksheet provides a clear-cut guide to doing this essential household chore.
Hang it in the laundry area for easy access for those who need some visual prompts for washing their clothes.
9. Kitchen Safety
If your kids are learning how to cook, they need to understand how to stay safe in the kitchen. This worksheet provides tips, warnings, and instructions on how to safely navigate around the kitchen while cooking.
In addition to notes about kitchen safety, the worksheet provides a quizlet to check whether your child has understood the topic they're learning about.
10. How to Write a Check
Although financial transactions these days are usually done through electronic banking or debit cards, knowing how to write a check is still a useful life skill that everyone should have.
This worksheet helps users correctly write checks. It features a diagram and a blank check that you can practice on.
11. Communicating Effectively via Email
An essential life skill that is a great help for young people's future careers is communicating effectively.
This worksheet teaches students and young people how to write polite and professional emails in preparation for the correspondence they might send when they are in a workplace.
The worksheet also provides information about the various parts of an email, as well as tips for filling out the sections appropriately.
12. Helping Others
Children are sometimes involved in conflicts with their peers. Adults need to show them the skills necessary for dealing with conflict and empower them to take action that shows critical thinking, problem-solving ability, and conflict-resolution skills.
This worksheet helps students role-play a couple of social situations for the practical application of several life skills.
13. Making an Appointment
Another essential life skill that students need to learn is how to set an appointment.
This worksheet is a guide to social interaction. An example dialogue is added so students can practice the steps for accomplishing this.
Final Thoughts
Life skills are essential not only for our success, but also for our survival.
Ideally, many of these skills need to be taught early. The more life skills children and young people have, the more easily they can become contributing and functioning members of society.
Speaking of skills, here are several more resources that you might want to check out about this subject:
Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals.
