Seize the Day Off: Advice for the Newly Laid Off

Baltic sunset

The sad reality of 2009 is that many people continue to lose their jobs...not just from a slumping economy but as a result of corporate re-organization (join the club!), new management, a change of administration, re-prioritizing how budgets are allocated, corporate mergers, and changing business models, just to name a few. It certainly helps those of us who have been laid off to not feel so alone or so stigmatized that we're not currently in the workforce. We know that we're out of work, not from some egregious mistake or poor performance in our previous jobs, but from circumstances totally out of our control.

We now have more people to lunch with, to sneak off to a movie with in the middle of the afternoon, or to commiserate with about the resume and job search process. It helps to know we're all in this together.

I am feeling particularly sad this week that many dear friends and colleagues have lost their jobs in the past week. These were long-time, highly-dedicated, competent professionals who dedicated long hours to the success of the organization they worked for, insuring their teams, their clients, and their company thrived and met their goals. They are people who would always go the extra mile to insure the work was done to perfection or to take on additional projects and responsibilities.

It's very difficult to say anything to help the newly jobless feel better about their situation. They know it wasn't their fault but still there are the personal and professional ties with a former workplace...and the odd feeling to be at home during the day. There will be ups and downs each week but, based on personal experience, most of us come out of these transitions smarter, stronger, and better able to deal with what life throws at us.

Copenhagen mailboxes

A few words of advice -- partially based on what I've learned and on what wise people have shared with me -- for my friends and others:

Make time to relax and rejuvenate yourself: use this time to break away from the stress-filled, deadline-driven corporate world by doing something you enjoy or have wanted to accomplish at home. Pot a plant, read a book, plan your next vacation, go to a movie, clean the garage.
Get outside every single day: go for a walk and really see things, or simply sit outside and enjoy the sounds around you, bike to Starbucks, rent a kayak or canoe at a local lake. (Then remember that most people are toiling away in dull cubicles or offices while you're enjoying this beautiful time of year.)
Read: novels, non-fiction books, career planning books, online trade newsletters and magazines, creative blogs, newspapers...anything to keep your mind stimulated and active.
Move: exercise, do yoga, swim, walk, take a dance class...all these things make us feel better physically but also affect our mental well-being.
Stay in touch with people: talk to friends, family, former colleagues. It can help to have someone you're accountable to for getting something done each day, or whose shoulder you can cry on when you're having a bad day. Plan lunches or dinners with friends and surround yourself with a "support group" of people who are going through what you're going through.
Intellectual and cultural stimulation: think about professional or personal skills you want to enhance and sign up for a class...Spanish, cooking, art history, HTML? Take advantage of museums, art galleries and historic sites -- a weekday is a great time to go and we're surrounded with great things to see and do for free.
Take advantage of free: since we unemployed people are very conscientious about money, be on the lookout for the multitude of free concerts (military bands play all over the DC area and many communities have free concerts occasionally), area gardens and parks (such as Brookside Garden in Wheaton, MD), walking the C&O Canal, drive to a local orchard, DC museums (and those off the beaten path places like Dumbarton Oaks),
Revel in your freedom while you plan your next step in life!!!