Unemployment - Keep Positive, Keep Busy

Today is a beautiful leap day outside.  The sun is shining, there is hardly any wind, and the temperature is supposed to reach a perfect 71 degrees.  I can't believe it is still February.  Rewind back to last week and I thought I would never get well.  I spent most of last week feeling weak, tired, and groggy.  I finally had the flu hit me Thursday night to explain all the cruddiness I had been experiencing.  I became a hermit last week with the exception of teaching a few practice classes at the studio.  

Although the weather outside is tremendously beautiful, I am still feeling a little down on myself.  I did not get the job I was so hopeful about last week.  That tid-bit of information sprung on me Friday and finally hit my reality on Monday.  I'm still undecided on what career path to choose and I'm beginning to get restless.  

I do, however, search for and hold on to all the positives of being unemployed.  Believe me, they do exist and I'm not always down on myself.  I have compiled a small list of the perks of unemployment thus far - because, honestly, I might go insane if didn't do this.

1.  I get to sleep in until 8:00 am or 8:30 am.  This has been nice.  I am typically a morning person and early riser, so stepping of bed at this later time is quite nice.

2.  I get to enjoy my breakfast and coffee slowly and quietly.  There is no rushing to get dressed to get to work or waiting to eat a quick breakfast at my desk when I get to work.

3.  I get to hang out with my dogs all day.  I get to hear them snore at my feet as I peruse facebook the Internet for jobs and hear them chase after bones and squirrels in their dreams.

4.  I get to grocery shop during the weekdays in leisure.  No hurrying, no crowds, no lines, and great parking.

5.  I get to workout during the day and get it done at a decent time rather than late in the evening or early morning.

6.  I can clean the house during the weekdays and have more free time with Sparky on the weekends.  This is one of the things I try to do regularly to pass time.  I average cleaning the floors 3-4 times a week.  When you have 4 shedding dogs it is absolutely necessary.  I may even up this to 5 times a week as it gets warmer.

Those are just a few perks that I enjoy daily.  My days do seem to go by quickly even though it seems I don't talk to many people on a daily basis.  My mornings consist of about 4-5 hours of job searching, job applications if I find anything worth my while, contemplating my future, researching about becoming a freelance writer, and corresponding back and forth through e-mail.  My afternoons I focus on cleaning up the house, doing laundry, and spending some time with the dogs for some sanity on my part.  I am going to start some organizing projects soon and painting projects so that I will have some great tips for you all.  I already re-organized my bookshelf in my office so that post is coming soon.

So my advice to anyone out there in a similar situation as mine is to do everything you can to keep positive and keep busy.  You may not technically have a job to report to everyday, but you should still put yourself on a schedule and stay consistent.  Leave some time for structure and leave some time for fun while you have this opportunity in life for it.  This will help keep your sanity,  I promise.  Your daily life is still full of responsibility so you should definitely take all those responsibilities seriously.  This will help you to be a self-starter which is what many employers are looking for anyway!

Keep on Keepin on.