In the years that I've spent navigating through dating app profiles and YouTube tutorials on "how to be un-single", I've noticed a common trend: single women tend to get their advice on being single from married women.

Now, although it can be wise to take heed to these ladies' advice since they've obviously found success in the area, the time has come for single women to reclaim the narrative surrounding what it means to be single in 2018.

You see, I view dating the same way I view technology: both landscapes are changing at such a rapid rate that the advice you receive from someone who's been married since 2004 is the equivalent of trying to use a Motorola Razor to Facetime a loved one: the form just doesn't fit the function. Am I suggesting that you totally dismiss the wise counsel of your counterparts in committed relationships? Well, sort of… Let's just say instead of throwing away all of the advice that you've received up to this point, we're just removing some bugs. Consider this your upgrade.

The best place to start when it comes to shifting the narrative is to come into agreement that most – if not all – of us are doing this whole "single and dating" thing totally wrong.

Yep, I said it.

This could very well be at no fault of your own and could simply come down to the fact that your dating strategy is obsolete. Fret not. Here's five ways to take your dating tactics from the '99's to the '10's.

You have a “single mentality” to effort.

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That "I'm single so I don't have to do x, y, z," mindset is doing you a great disservice. You think that just because you're single, you don't have to look presentable and smell nice when you leave the house, because, after all, who are you trying to impress? Taking care of yourself, shaving, and keep your spaces tidy aren't just basic practices to uphold until you get a man. It's a lifestyle choice to become a better woman for yourself. Prepare yourself now, that way, when he arrives you won't need him to complete you, he'll complement you.

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