How Have You Kept Yourself Sane While "In Between" Jobs? 1

[Beggar]

It's been 4-1/2 months since I was laid off.

I've been job hunting and doing the support activities but it's turned into a waiting game with only a few hours per week now required.

I'm bouncing off the walls lately and it's hard not to have much meaningful work to do on a daily basis.

So, to those of you who have coped with an extended period of unemployment, what did you do to pass the time productively?

I'm obviously looking for work and I'm taking care of some things around the house (though the money's not there to do much, now) but I'm making a list of things to occupy my time and I'd like to see what anybody else has done.

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[lostsailor]

Beggar,
Excercise daily, it's good for the health, good for the soul, an excellent stress reliever, and helps you sleep better. I wish I had kept it up after being a collegiate athlete.
You don't need money to do a lot of things around the house:clean, organize, get rid of junk, etc..
Catch up on your personal and professional reading.
Learn as much as you can about investing which will help ensure future comfort.
Good luck in the job hunt, stay positive. :0)
Regards,
RLS

 

[ctopher]

I was laid off years ago also for approx 4.5 months. I love woodworking and handyman work. So, the apartment complex I lived in at the time needed new fences. I rebuilt mine and then was hired to do the whole complex. It turned in to a fence job for numerous sites until I found a full time job.

Chris
SolidWorks 06 5.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 02-10-07)

 

[Beggar]

Funny, Chris, because the one project that's about a third done and waiting on a string of decent weather is my fence. I'm putting a concrete retaining wall beneath the fence so my rat terrier can't dig out underneath and my neighbor's water stays on her side.

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How much do YOU owe?

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

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[tygerdawg]

Try being laid off just before 9-11, and having too many years, too many degrees, too much experience. My extended unemployment lasted for most of 3 years. I kept busy trying to bring in household revenue and did not have time to go insane.
=> constantly looking for jobs, creating new ways to get my foot in the door for interviews
=> caught up on ALL house & car maintenance
=> started a freelance business, learned how to make it succesful
=> taught classes
=> volunteered at various places to make contacts
=> supported my family
=> reduced my lifestyle to be more in line with my level of monetary income

There's plenty of things you can do to keep busy. Some of them will actually bring in some money. When you talk to your next employer, will he be impressed that you took some initiative during your downtime, or will you tell him you passively waited for someone to come knocking at your door?

TygerDawg

 

[LWFB]

Beggar

I built a garage between jobs during a 2.5 month period
while I was looking for new job. My approach now is to build it now and pay for it when I am back at work. You will be working soon enough and wish you had the time.

Good Luck

S Whaley

 

[kchayfie]

If you can't afford the materials for renovation on your own house, maybe you could volunteer for a charity (e.g. homeless shelter, church, etc) and do some of their handyman jobs. You can feel like you're doing something practical and worthwhile and they can benefit from some expert help for a little while.

 

[EddyC]

How about doing a part time job in a service/retail/hospitality/etc role? My girlfriend is working part time in clothing retail as a sales assistant. The bosses like her because she's much more mature than the kids who also work there.

 

[michfan]

Be careful with the part-time job thing if you are getting unemployment from a US state.

Or taking classes for that matter. They frown on that and will cut off your unemployment $$.

I was unemployed after being let go from a company and was late calling in for unemployment one week. When the guy asked why, I said my uncle had had a heart attack so I was watching my cousin's little girl for her while she went to the hospital and the guy said OK. That week I rec'd a letter saying no check that week because I was "not available to work". They don't want to hear that you are doing anything but looking for work full-time, every day.

 

[michfan]

Oh, and I kept busy that summer gutting my upstairs and hauling the old lath & plaster out. One 5-gal bucket at a time, down the stairs & across the back yard to my trash dumpster. Then I insulated and rewired everything. I lost some weight that summer, despite living on mac & cheese.

Luckily I had bought the materials while employed. My trash guy hated me that summer.

Now I need another few months off to do the main floor (be careful what I wish for???) and I've yet to put the gypsum board up upstairs because I've been working 2 jobs for the past 2 years to make up for being unemployed...

It's a vicious cycle. No work = no money = lots of free time but Work = money = no free time.

I plan to start on the main floor soon...after I win the lottery. ;-)

 

[casseopeia]

All good suggestions above. I was off work for about 18 months after a nasty divorce where I was forced out as a co-owner of a corporation. I lost my entire identity, life-style, income level and had to recreate myself. Here is what I learned to do;

Have a daily schedule. Don’t just let the day go by watching TV. I cut off my cable service and have never gone back.

Do something to look for work every day (an hour is usually sufficient to peruse job boards).

Physical activity is a must, but preferably something that uses all you muscles. Yoga is excellent for physical and mental health. Don’t just work in the garden alone. Being with other people in a class will drive you to do more.

Eat healthy, balanced meals and try to stay away from alcohol or other ‘numbing’ substances. It will only set you back.

Join some kind of support group that meets once a week. That way you can vent concerns and frustrations to strangers and don’t have to wear out your family and friends so much. Some support groups will also provide free food.

Volunteer for something that is of interest to you. I was a volunteer driver for the blind and vision impaired and also worked in a hospice program as a ‘spotter’. I would relieve caregivers who were taking care of relatives to go out and run their errands. Animal shelters are always looking for prople as are some museums. I’ve danced in several belly dancing events that needed stage managers. It requires a high degree of organization and verbal communication skills, great for your business career, plus it's fun. So you might check into that or other theatre groups.

And, finally, do something that helps you keep perspective. Being jobless is a blip in the lifeline. It will pass. For me, I would meditate at the beach looking at the vastness of the ocean. Or, I went to a local observatory for free viewing through their telescopes and looked at far-away worlds.

Good luck!

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[ornerynorsk]

You said it Casseopeia ! Keep the saw sharp. Go to museums, go on a trip to some obscure location, go on a trip to some historical location. If you sit and vegetate, your neurons will quit working properly, really! About 15 years ago, I walked away from a very bad job situation (IE very angry boss). I went to the library, I attended gov't surplus auctions, went fishing, became a fleamarket vendor, collected and sold scrap metals (100+ tons in one summer!) went and lived in SE asia for 3 months, etc etc. You get the idea. About 1-1/2 years after the fact, I ended up at a former employer, not the angry one, and things worked out really nice. Television? Cut the damned cable the first day you're out of work, it will never get you anywhere, except fat and lazy. My 2 cents!

 

[michfan]

Oh, and as you are cleaning the house, sell your excess stuff on Ebay. It will leave you with a clean house, a little extra income and it gets you out among people when you take it all to the post office every few days.

Actually, I took my 401k and opened a retail shop while I was laid off. I took a 10% hit as I cashed it in early, but I had made more off it while working than what the penalty was so I was able to justify that to myself. I know the finance gurus would frown on it, but I have a shop that is doing fine and still open nearly two years later, when the SBA says that 50% of small businesses fail within the first year.

I looked at my layoff as a sign that I was not where I was supposed to be in my life, and I'm a lot happier now that I have the shop. Different stresses, certainly, but I'm working for myself now and I can see a point in my future where I'll be free from the need to work for others.

 

[DonPE]

I did a lot of those things above, but looking back, what I wish I had done was to either hike the Appalacian trail for the summer, or backpack through Europe for a few months. I was single, renting, had enough severance pay to get started, and probably could have filled out my weekly unemployment forms via Internet while sitting in some cafe in Paris, or Rome, or Prague...

 

[michfan]

Just whatever you do, don't live off credit cards. NOT a good idea... even if you have to work in a different field, don't let yourself get too far behind...it's hard to catch up again.

 

[Heckler]

Beggar,

Go out to watch the Tour of California pass through NorCal! If I were laid off (pending the wifes approval) I would ride my bike across America. I've always wanted to do that. I've done smaller tours, and endurance races but that's the ultimate. Best of luck

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SWx 2007 SP 2.0 & Pro/E 2001
XP Pro SP2.0 P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
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(In reference to David Beckham) "He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he's all right." -- George Best

 

[KENAT]

Well, I wasn't entitled to unemployment after I moved to the US plus immigration screwed up royally on getting me a work permit (took a year rather than the usual 3 months).

So I stretched out some freelance work from my old place in the UK to last the best part of a year, almost until I got my work permit. This was no where near full time for the last 6 months though so I did various other things, including working on a couple of ideas I hoped to sell (neither paid off, although I ran out of time on both, see below).

When I got my permit I then spent a month or two applying to any Engineering position I seemed remotely qualified for.

After no luck (mainly due to my experience being in Defense, almost all local engineering being defense, and not being a US citizen not being able to get clearance) I applied to almost every store of any size in town etc.

Eventually got a job in Rite Aid which was in many ways hell but helped pay the bills.

 

[uGlay]

I did the logical thing. Hooked up the PS2 to the 52" HDTV and played Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto Vice City for days. Then San Andreas came out and i became a guru at it. LOL.

I guess we all have a different way of spending our time off. Something about mowing down people with a chain gun makes me relax and forget about any worries.

I'll have to admit, when i do have a time off i enjoy it to the max because i know when the job starts up again its just non-stop woek

 

[Beggar]

Something about mowing down people with a chain gun makes me relax and forget about any worries.

Kinda reminds me of "Falling Down", the classic image of an engineer going over the edge.

What I've been doing:

1) Work around the house

2) Started taking a couple classes at the local CC (just had an interview with Employment Development; it doesn't look like they're going to yank my UI but they might...)

3) Hanging out with my 5-year-old kid while she still thinks I'm smart and cool. ("Daddy, I know why you're happy you don't have a job anymore. Now you can spend time with me...")

4) Helping out my neighbors as needed because they know I'm around during the day.

5) Lost 25 pounds since Jan 1!!!

6) Looking for work, of course.

7) Rebuilt my computer and worked out a reliable back up plan

I've specifically resisted the lure of television and video games because I think it would make me feel worse about my situation.

I probably spend more time reading the news on the 'net than I should, though.

--------------------
How much do YOU owe?

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

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[uGlay]

Yeah easy on the news sites. youll go crazy and join the marines or some thing like that.

I just cant do without video games....