Well, then what?
You now have about 17 hours of consciousness to burn through without going absolutely stark raving stir crazy. You could start watching all those DVD's you haven't had time for. You could catch up on every soap opera on every channel. You could watch all those episodes of your favorite t.v. shows that you haven't been able to find time for (God Bless Tivo and the DVR). That should hold you for about a week of slobbery before your mind starts to scream for input and your weight climbs until you can't fit into your interview suits.
This is the easy trap we fall into which only feeds our depression at being let go and rejected continually by job sites while we wait for that all important new job interview (believe me you will be turned down repeatedly so be patient and remember that you have some seriously stiff competition out there with half of the country unemployed. Be patient, your time will come. What you need to do is to take advantage of the down time to do some good things for yourself.
The number one excuse we all have for not taking care of ourselves is that we just don't have time. Well, now that you have nothing but time on your hands, you can do all of those things for yourself that you couldn't get to before.
- WORK ON YOUR CAR. If you don't have any upcoming interviews, do a little work on the old jalopy. Maybe you have some gadgets you'd like to install but never had the down time. Perhaps you have a little maintenance that you've put off and can easily do yourself. Pimp your ride and pump your mind at the same time. Just remember that you still need to look civilized when you pull up to your interviews (and yes people do talk about what you drove up in after you leave).
- CHORES. You've never had time to do those little home improvement things you need to but now you have all the time in the world. Make a list of things that need to be fixed in your home and then do one thing on the list each day. Put the more expensive items at the bottom of the list to give you time to adjust to your lower income level but I'm sure there are a multitude of things that need nailing or gluing or painting or sewing.
- HOME IMPROVEMENT. Do a little redecorating now that you are not busy. You don't have to spend tons of money to spruce up the place a little. Pull up some patterns or stencils off of the internet and paint a wall here and there. If you can afford to buy some paint and plaster go for it. Redo the trim and baseboards. Add a little color to your life. Rearrange the furniture and discover your feng shui. You have all the time now to do it and can work it around your interviews.
- PAMPER YOURSELF. Soak in a long hot bath with some aromatic oils, a glass of wine and a good book. If its early in the day, switch to a great cup of coffee or hot chocolate. give yourself a facial or do a conditioning pack on your hair. You have lots of time to let the stuff set so you aren't rushed. Put a towel over your head and hold your face over a steaming hot pot of water with some mint leaves or eucalyptus in it. This will open up your pores and your sinuses and relax those worry lines you've given yourself over being canned.
- ARTS AND CRAFTS. If you have a garage full of wood scraps and tools gathering dust, make something. Look up some things on the internet that you might be able to build like a foot stool or a chest for your stuff or even some custom shelving to organize your work spaces. Put that scrap to good use and keep your physical skills sharp in the process. The trick is to do something creative that gets your mind buzzing and off of your troubles. You'd be surprised what an unoccupied mind can come up with if left to it's own devices. One has only to look at those goofy e-mails about redneck ingenuity to know that people are capable of concocting the most insane contraptions for the whackiest purposes. Do some needlepoint, knit a blanket, hang some pictures, hell whittle a piece of wood into a knick knack. Do anything you that your mind drums up. You might even be able to make some things you can sell for some extra cash.
- COOKING FOR CASH. A friend of mind bakes holiday pies for people and sells them via e-mail to her friends. If you have a penchant for cooking and some good talent, you can make some extra money taking over those little baking duties for your friends. If their kid needs a hundred cookies baked for an event, give your friend a break and cook them for her. Pick up a little cash and she'll be grateful. Go all Suzy Homemaker on yourself and you'd be surprised how grateful those still working moms will be.
- GARDENING. Plants are cheap and most successful gardens require little more than elbow grease to get going successfully. You can look on the internet and find lots of sites that can tell you what household stuff can be used as fertilizer or plant food. If there is a Starbucks near your house you can probably get the coffee grounds for your garden for free. Talk to your local store butcher about getting some fish heads or scraps for plant food. Ask your neighbors if you can have a few cuttings of their plants to start your own garden. If you see some plants at the supermarket, they usually throw lots out after a few days because they can't sell them. See if they will give them to you for free since they are trash anyway. If they aren't too trashed, you can bring them back to health with a little indoor care and they will be ready to plant in no time.
- WALK YOUR FRIENDS PETS. If you have a friend who has a dog you can borrow, take the furry little bundle of joy for a long walk. If your friend is a working stiff, he or she will probably appreciate you taking on this chore for them and the dog will certainly appreciate it.
- GO TO THE GYM. If you couldn't make it to the gym to exercise and you have a membership that you are maintaining, now is a great time to go during the day. You can take advantage of a gym that is not at all crowded because everyone is busy working. you'll have your pick of machines and the jacuzzi and sauna will be empty. The classes won't be crowded and you can try the ones that you couldn't try before because you didn't have time at night.
- WORK OUT AT HOME. If you don't have a gym membership, grab some free weights and turn on the boob tube. Give yourself two one-hour programs to watch and that should cover some serious work out time while keeping you occupied and doing something healthy. Better yet, break out those exercise DVD's or tapes or turn on some ridiculous exercise channel showing Extreme Boot Camp or some Tai Chi group on a sandy beach in Jamaica. You never did them when people were at home because you probably felt you looked ridiculous doing it or your family members would make fun of you. Everyone else should be either at work or at school so you should have the house to yourself. If you're single, your living room is your domain and you can grunt 'til you drop. Go for it!
- USE YOUR BIKE OR WALK. Unless you are on your way to an interview or an appointment, you can run your errands by walking to the store or by riding a bike. Unless you absolutely have to shop in bulk because you have family to consider, shop one day at a time. Make yourself walk to the store or bike there and only take home what you can safely carry without pulling a muscle. This will get you out of the house and into the fresh air which is fabulous for your attitude. You can make friends at the store or with people that you meet along the way.
- TAKE THE BUS OR SUBWAY. The last thing you should be doing is driving everywhere. You need to conserve money which means not using gas or inflicting excess wear and tear on your car. A friend of mine takes the bus to the library or to malls that are a distance away and walks the malls while window shopping and taking notes. She's made a lot of new friends and lost a ton of weight.
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