9 ways to maintain well-being during unemployment

Let’s face it, being unemployed for any amount of time truly sucks. For a lot of people it is the not working, for other people it is the uncertainty and of course the financial insecurity. Granted, there have been days where the stress of work was just too much and thought to myself “oh, what I wouldn’t do to be unemployed!”. But the reality is very different and in times like these, when you could be unemployed for 4 weeks or 4 months it is important to stay active both physically and mentally.
So here’s a few ways that you can stay sharp and make sure the job hunt doesn’t take too much of a toll:

#9 – Games
Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re thinking but look at how Brain Games on the Nintendo DS redefined the idea of gaming. It can be constructive and can help you maintain areas of your brain that you might otherwise neglect when not in employment.
My personal favourite is a 3D puzzle game called Hyperframe, frustrating and challenging but often shin-kickingly obvious when you finally reach the solution, it’s a great way to halt the genocide of brain cells that is unemployment. Alternatively, you could opt for the tried and tested method of crosswords or Sudoku.

Hyperframe

#8 – Hobbies
Sleeping, applying, applying, networking, sleeping, applying etc etc. You can only do this for so long before life becomes totally repetitive, demoralising and meaningless. There are many hobbies that you can pick up relatively easily (and cheaply). You can go to almost any local charity shop and pick up a reasonable acoustic guitar for around £30 these days and a beginners song book for a tenner, combined with the vast array of free lessons to be found on the internet you have a lot to keep you busy.
Alternatively, get experimental in the kitchen, you have to eat anyway, why not spend some more time cooking new and interesting dishes that you just couldn’t be bothered to do when you stumbled out of the tube and through your front door at an ungodly hour.


#7 – Socialising
There’s a very common joke around that you shouldn’t put ‘socialising’ down as an interest on your CV because it just sounds like you enjoy going down the pub for a few cheeky pints but when you are out of work it is important to make an effort with colleagues/friends and stay social. An end to work isn’t an end to life, also imagine trying to sell yourself to an interviewer when the last time you spoke to anyone was last month (grunts don’t count).


#6 – Don’t fall behind!
If you work in a fast moving industry then being out of work for any period of time can be disastrous, make sure you stay on top of what is happening in your field so that when the market picks up or job opportunities become available you are confident in your ability to tackle it head on. 


#5 – New skills
Being employed can make you lazy when it comes to acquiring skills that you don’t necessary need for you job, but there is nothing better than picking up some new skills to help your chances when out of work. A new language can really add something special to your CV (the right one anyway, don’t learn Vulcan or Aramaic). You can pick up software that helps you but a great way of learning another language is by trading services. There are plenty of opportunities on Gumtree where you can help someone learn English in exchange for lesson in another language, best of all it won’t cost you anything.

#4 – Compartmentalise
For no other reason other than to provide yourself with peace of mind it is important to put your stresses out of your mind when you’re not actively engaging them. You can’t look for work 24 hours a day so don’t worry about it 24 hours a day. There’s only so much you can do, acknowledge that and learn to relax before you become a gibbering nervous wreck! This one is often easier said than done as some people are naturally better at this than others.

put it away

#3 – Temp/part-time work
Although a job working the counter at Tesco is hardly challenging, it may be necessary financially. The other benefit is that it gets you out of the house and takes some of the stress out of being knocked off the career path you set out for yourself.

#2 – Exercise
Expensive gym memberships are going to be out of the question when you are looking for work, but as the weather improves and spring/summer approaches going out for a run and getting some fresh air is a great way of improving fitness and general well being. Even purchasing home gym equipment can become cost effective pretty quickly if you were paying £70+ per month to work out in a frustratingly busy gym.

poodle essential

#1 - Routine
Unemployment can throw your daily routine into disarray which may be ok for the first few days but soon enough you will need to establish some kind of order to your life. It’s really up to you how you divide your time, but getting up at a reasonable hour and job hunting in the morning is usually a good way to go about things, leaving the rest of the day for you to focus on other things.

Feel like you can add to this discussion? Then please comment.