How to Stay Sane While Unemployed

As the unemployment rate soars, there are more and more people like me:  unemployed, bored, and starting to go a little crazy. After being unemployed for a little more than a month I found myself spending entire days in my pajamas, compulsively checking job websites, and thinking of my dog as a coworker. How does one stave off this madness? I suggest regimenting your days.

Get out of bed:  seriously, and as opposed to just NOT getting out of bed at all. Make sure you get up at a reasonable time, close to the time you would regularly wake up when you were employed.

Set a routine:  once you’re out of bed, create a routine to follow every morning. Take a shower, get out of your pajamas, walk the dog, make some coffee, eat breakfast. Stick to this routine every day, but feel free to take the weekends off.

Make some lists:  create a long-term list, as well as daily lists. Your long-term list should include ongoing projects that need to be worked on, but not necessarily completed in a single day: painting the guest bedroom, reorganizing the garage, or catching up on your scrapbooking.

Your daily list should be prepared the day before, so you’ll know where your day’s heading when you get up and start your routine. Try to mix up your tasks between boring things and fun things. Do the laundry, mow the lawn, read a book or work on a hobby for an hour; clean the kitchen; spend an hour searching the web for job opportunities.

Get out of the house:  it can be difficult to get out of the house when you have nowhere to go and no money to spend--AND, everyone you know is at work.  So try to be creative. Take your laptop to Starbucks and do your job searching there. If you have a dog, take it to an off-leash area for an energetic play session. Have a friend who’s unemployed? Get together at one of your houses and catch up over a cup of much-more-reasonably-priced coffee. She may even know someone who’d be a good networking contact for you.

Take up a low-cost hobby:  if you are so desperately bored that you can’t stand it, take up a hobby that’s cheap and eats up a lot of your time. Knitting, crocheting, and needlepoint aren’t just for grannies:  they’ll keep you occupied and won’t necessarily cost you an arm and a leg. You can even stockpile some small homemade gifts for friends’ birthdays that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford right now.

Work it out:  one reason people often give for not exercising as much as they should is that they simply don’t have enough time. Well, guess what? Now you have plenty of time! Go for a jog or a bike ride, do some crunches, pushups, squats – you don’t need to join a gym to get the exercise you need. 

My final bit of advice it to keep your spirits up. It might seem like you'll never find another job, but chances are you will. Stay optimistic, busy, and active, and you're likely to stay sane.

©KatieK, December, 2008