Unemployment Fun

Just for fun, here's a list of things to do when you're unemployed!

• "They" say that you cannot catch up on missed sleep…clearly, "they" didn’t try hard enough! In the early stages of unemployment, you probably need to give your body a little extra loving kindness by way of waking without alarm clocks (unless the kids need your help to get to the bus on time) and mid day naps. You know your body, so if sleep calls…you must answer. The key is to know when to call it quits and go back to a schedule of bedtime and wake time. Unless you have a trust fund or a spouse with unlimited resources, you will probably have to return to a schedule when you return to work, so don’t make it harder on yourself than it needs to be. It's called a nap, not a coma!

• Visit some places that you would not ordinarily have time to visit. Check out the sights in your area. Botanical Gardens, museums, art galleries, and the like. Read the Sunday paper and see what’s happening in your neighborhood.  I attended book signings and poetry readings and live jazz performances that I might not have even noticed had I been working. I was also better able to enjoy these events because there were no distracting thoughts of work to steal my joy. Get out and soak up the free stuff!   (Avoid places like car dealerships, malls, expensive spas and nail salons –unless you have a  gift card or some other equally useful hook-up. These are places which are specifically designed to make you spend what you don’t have. Why tempt fate when you can play for free?)

• Now, about that television thing…be careful because it can be both a comfortable friend and a seductive lover. For the sake of personal restoration, I am in favor of an all day marathon of Season 6 of Gray’s Anatomy, House M.D., Law and Order or your show of choice. Once I get the details of the storyline, I’m good to go. (Go as in go somewhere that is nowhere near the television!) If I watch the daily installments of said television shows, I give control of my time and schedule to the network instead of keeping it for myself.  Go on and splurge on the cheapest Netflix subscription so that you can schedule your marathon to suit your schedule. Then, return the videos and return to something productive!

•  Perfect one of the staples in your cooking repertoire! I like rice and can eat rice with almost any meal. When I worked, I would use the boil in bag kind and call it a night (I am so ashamed)…mostly because I was not secure in my rice cooking skills. Now, I can make an excellent pot of West Indian “cook-up-rice” (rice that has every item in the fridge including leftover chicken, beans or peas and the ever temperamental coconut milk) at the drop of a hat. Now, I no longer mess up a great gourmet meal with below average rice on the side!  You're thinking rice? Really? Yes, I am the child of southerners and I LIKE RICE. I like white rice, brown rice, yellow rice, Spanish rice, wild rice, tame rice, black rice, long grain rice...shoot, I even like Rice A Roni! (Moving on now that I'm beginning to sound like Bubba Blue from Forrest Gump)

• Review your job skills. Take an on-line assessment or two. Pretend that you are actually at work, and keep reading the journals, try something new, find a free seminar or wrangle a scholarship for one with a fee. Stay sharp and carve out time to make it happen. Stay on top of your game so that you can mention it in the interview that is coming your way sooner than you think! Ask yourself...would YOU hire YOU...why or why not?

• Have lunch with the friends you have been missing. You won't be stressed about getting back to work, so you will be a great lunch companion. (But be sensitive to the constraints of your lunch partner - who DOES have a job…no need to be obnoxious about not having a 1:00 appointment!) Schedule these carefully so that you do not upset the delicate balance of money and fun. (And don't assume that just because they have a job that they should pay for your meal! Come prepared to at least go Dutch! Sheesh! We're unemployed not uncouth!)

• Revisit and revise your budget. No one knows how long the season of unemployment will last, so you need to prepare yourself for the potential changes in your lifestyle. Decide now what you are willing to forgo for the good of the bank account. You can keep the high priced phone plan that includes internet service, but do you really need all of those cable channels? This is a personal matter but now that I have unlimited time, I have found ways to move money around and re-evaluate the ways in which I spend. And it helps if you cancel your catalogs or take them directly from the mailbox to the recycling bin. I do love Brooks Brothers but I cannot bear to know that my favorite non-iron shirt is on sale and I cannot order one! (Oh the agony of fiscal responsibility!)

• Don’t get caught up in satiety purchases. I can EASILY spend $50 on magazines in one trip to Barnes and Noble. The county library has most of these magazines but it requires that I sacrifice the comfort of reading on my couch for cost-free reading at the library. These days, you can just read them in the bookstore coffee shop if you prefer - but that's just too tempting for me. My true friends have blessed me with Starbucks gift cards and their "Buy 15 - get one free" coupons so that I can maintain my addiction...umm, I mean appreciation of the coffee of the day, the decaf-breve-white mocha, and passion tea lemonade. (I can quit any time I want to...but I don't have to!)

• Volunteer! It's easy enough. First, think of all of the skills and gifts that you have…are you thinking? Now, think of a great place to put them to use! Recently, I volunteered to work a registration table for a church function. I only knew four people when I arrived at my duty station, but at the end of the day, I had smiled at, chatted with, and assisted hundreds more! (And I wore my big girl church clothes – which was its own reward!) Volunteering helps you to use your gifts for good and it helps others who may need to get something done. Being productive is a good deterrent to the demons that surface during the wee hours when the rejection letters and silent response rejections pour in faster than you can counter with your efforts to 'keep trying'.

• Dig into your spirituality! Meditate, pray, write, read, create, burn incense…do something but do it with greater depth, meaning, love and joy! Who knows, this might lead you to an awareness of what your true calling is! There is also the comfort in knowing that there is a divine force that is waiting to commune with you - in hard times as well as easy times.

•   Go to the doctor before your insurance runs out...and get cleared to go to the gym or to work out at home in front of the television. Remember how you wanted to get in shape but didn’t have the time? Well, now you have plenty of time and you’ll want to be in top shape for the hard work of job hunting! If the saying is true, and it's not what you know but who you know...you just might meet your new co-worker, business partner, or employer on the next treadmill!

•  Finally, but not exhaustively, remember that searching for a job is a job in itself. Set aside blocks of time specifically dedicated to the hunt. It will take some time to do those on line applications, so be prepared. Take your laptop to Starbucks (or McDonalds, or Borders, or wherever you are most comfortable), appreciate the free Wi-Fi and get busy for no less than 3 hours each weekday. No laptop you say? The library awaits...and it's FREE! You would (probably) be at work for at least 8 hours on a regular day, so don’t get out of the habit of working for specific blocks of time. And of course, after a week of serious and dedicated job hunting, feel free to treat yourself to a drink and an appetizer at your favorite happy hour spot!

May you find Grace and Peace in your season of unemployment.