Take a Day Off, by Janet

When you are unemployed and looking for work, take a day off. This might seem counter-productive but you deserve it. You need it. I just took two days off (that is why you did not see new blogs from me) and while "off" I decided I’m going to start taking every Friday off from my job search (okay, I’ve not told my husband or my co-blog writer about this change in my schedule… I’ll just let them read it).

I’m officially taking one weekday off, without guilt, and I’m going to do something else. Finding a job is a fulltime job (don’t be fooled) and you have to step away from it. Now you might be thinking “I can’t afford to do that. I need a job. I needed a job yesterday”. I can appreciate those statements (I say and think this often too), but your brain needs a rest. Your soul needs to be revitalized. You need to take a day and do something else. By giving yourself this time allows you to come back invigorated, eager, happy, and maybe (just maybe) with a new strategy or a new contact for finding work.

I took two days off because on Friday I needed a “Janet moment”. I felt compelled to do something completely mindless in efforts to grow my positive energy and spirit. On Saturday, my fabulous husband and I took a wine class. We love wine (hence the nickname Winey Janet). We had a blast learning about the components of wine and spending quality time together. Our day was filled with new and fascinating information about wines. Our Saturday wine escape led to conversations about everything BUT my job searching efforts (tends to be the dominate conversations these past few weeks). We admitted to each other that this was good for us both. I forget that my unemployment impacts him too, and for us both to step away from my job search and do something else was a break we both needed. So, my completely unprofessional advice to you is to take one day off each week. Find something else to do besides looking for work. Take a walk around a park, play games with your kids, read a book, nap, talk to your cat, go to the dollar movies (see a couple shows in one day and make it your own private film festival), write a letter, cook a great meal, or better yet, go volunteer. There are other people in our world that need your help and it’s nice to know you’re still needed.

I will take a day off each week, I promise. I will blog on my “day off” but not about seeking employment, but instead I’ll do something else with my day and write about it.

Peace