Just Because You're Unemployed Doesn't Mean You Shouldn't be Busy!

Quite the contrary. The world isn’t going to stop just because you’re no longer drawing a paycheck!  Use this time to catch up on your education.  Learn some new computer skills, get a certification or two, take foreign language lessons, read that stack of novels you’ve been putting off for the past decade.  Catch up with old friends (and while you’re at it, ask them whether they’ve heard of any openings.)

Volunteer at your local Community Center as a referee—it’s a great way to meet LOTS of parents, who might just be able to point you towards job vacancies!)  Take a walk around you neighborhood and try to meet at least one person each day that you didn’t already know.
De-clutter your house. Sign up for exercise classes at your rec center or gym.  Incorporate a swim in the middle of the day for increased energy.

Write a novel. With the advent of e-publishing, it’s easier than it ever has been before to create a masterpiece, and it sure beats trying to convince a reticent publishing house to accept your manuscript.  Try your hand at a video: YouTube beckons!

Create a blog and discuss what you’re interests are: real estate, banking, accounting, insurance, international travel—whatever topics you have some expertise in and can write about easily. Write articles for pay on the internet.

Get to know your neighbors.  Have tea with that long-lost cousin across town. Invite your brother-in-law to a movie. Take a cooking class or two. Find free-lance work on Craig’s List. (Just because it’s not in your ‘area’ doesn’t make the job any less valid.  Expand your horizons: take SOMEthing, ANYthing to tide you over. (Who knows, you might actually end up liking it so much that you decide to switch careers!)

Start your own business.  Now that you’re not punching a time clock it’s an ideal time to use your creativity. Go on line and check out the type of business you’re thinking about setting up. If you’re thinking about opening a donut shop in Massachusetts, try to find out what the challenges are for owners in Texas. Join discussion groups with other like-minded entrepreneurs.
What’s that expression? ‘Idle hands are the work of the devil.’  Don’t let yours be idle!