Yesterday, I was laid off after 10 years at the same company. This is my first official day of unemployment.
I guess this post makes me “that guy” — i.e., the one who aspires to document the experience in some effort at exerting control, refining my thoughts and emotions, and picking a way forward.
One Complaint
There’s a lot of pressure to come out swinging positivity in times like this. Society wants us to steel ourselves in the face of adversity, bolster our will, and move forward with a mythical Puritanical resolve to prosper through sheer determination and effort. I’ve seen such posts and messages from others who have been in a similar situation. And to be honest, there’s a part of me that wants to charge ahead into whatever happens next, too.
But before I charge, I do have one complaint:
Why did my first day of unemployment have to be on Saturday!?
It’s a pretty small complaint, in the grand scheme of things. After all, I don’t usually work on Saturdays, anyway. It’s not like that has changed. If anything, it’s more true, because there’s nobody to call or text or slack me and say, “Hey, I need this super important thing done right now.” (That didn’t happen much over the last ten years, but there were a few times.)
Nonetheless, I had plans this weekend. Not a lot of them, and not necessarily “big” ones, however one might define “big plans.” But you know what my plans for the weekend did not include?
Having to think about finding a new job.
That added mental load is the source of my complaint. It would have been nice to have the two weekend days not knowing that I no longer had a job. Two more days of blissful ignorance…sigh.
My Strategy
Okay, I’m done complaining … publicly, at least. Over the last day or so, I’ve mostly been thinking about how to fill my days in the most sustainably productive way I can.
Here’s what I’ve come up with. Each day from now until some future moment, I’m going to:
- Read something
- Write something
- Post something
- Mend or clean something
- Exercise something
- Capture something
- Submit something
What does that look like?
Read Something
Specifically, from a book. Random online stuff—news, blogs, emails, social media, etc.—doesn’t count. I’m always behind on my TBR pile, so I might as well use this opportunity to catch up a little. I already read most days anyway, so this is a low bar.
Write something
Writing has been my career for the past 25 years, in some form other other. And I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was very young. (I have the juvenilia to prove it.) I’ve always got writing projects going on, so again this bar is not very high.
Post Something
I plan to post many things in the coming days, weeks, and months. Here on my blog, on social media, even my … well, some of you didn’t know this, but I have a TikTok account. Keeping the algorithms fed is an ongoing concern. I’m not used to posting every day, so this one will be a bit of a stretch.
Mend or Clean Something
I don’t mean the dishes. Or rather, in addition to the dishes. There’s various projects around the house and yard that I haven’t always had the time and energy to complete. Tackling some of these, at least the ones that don’t cost too much money, will be good for both the psyche and the property value.
Exercise Something
I try to go on walks most days, and I’m counting that. I’ve been less consistent in strength training, so I’d like to add that into the mix. But mostly, I just want to make sure I’m not giving into any temptations to become a potato.
Capture Something
Photos, quotes, thoughts—not mice or other vermin, though I did happen to catch one of those the other night. Some of these may make it into the “Post something,” but the idea here is keeping a mindful record of things that I find interesting.
Submit Something
The obvious thing here is resumes and job applications. But as I’m also writing things, I’m expanding this to include submitting stories and query letters.
It’s only been a day…
I don’t know if I’ll stick with this strategy or not. Maybe that’s too many things. Maybe I need to reorder them. Maybe I’ll find a new job relatively quickly, and this will all become moot.