9 Tips For Scheduling Your Day If You’re Unemployed

Maybe you are on the hunt for a job and just haven’t gotten one or maybe you’re not even bothering to look for a job. Whatever your circumstances, if you are unemployed there is a good chance you have a lot of free time in your day unless you have another responsibility or responsibilities. However, if you just let time pass you by without taking action then you are wasting a lot of it.

It is important to use time wisely when there is a lot of it available to you. When unemployed there’s a greater chance time is on your side and you should take advantage of it. While this is a list of ways unemployed people who have free time should be spending it, this list can also apply to people who don’t have a lot of free time or who are employed but want to use their free time more wisely. The key takeaway here is you should be judging to what degree you can incorporate these tips into your life if at all you can do so.

With that in mind, you can use these schedule making tips as is or change them as you see fit. Here are the ways you can schedule your day if you are unemployed or if you have a lot of free time on your hands.

Ways to schedule your day if you don’t have a job

1. Overcome any personal challenges you may be facing

Sometimes, people who are unemployed are actually going through something challenging which limits their ability to find employment. Maybe you are going through a personal mental health crisis or maybe you have been experiencing fatigue. Perhaps you feel lazy all the time and you struggle to go to and maintain work. If any of these situations or something similar applies to you then you are in the midst of a challenge that might affect your ability to find and keep work. Not only that, but it may also hold you back in other areas of life as well.

In any case, the first thing an unemployed person should be focused on is resolving any internal personal issues they are facing first. This also includes issues like tough ties with family members or other external personal problems with others. If the challenge is mental health related you can seek help from a councillor or mental health professional. If you have interpersonal issues with someone in your family you may want to try family counselling. If you are held back from success by something that is seemingly out of your control, taking action is a wise use of time. This can include emotionally regulating yourself to control the affects something has on you or resolving the actual issue at hand.

2. Get in the job market

For those who need a job to get by in life remaining unemployed is less than ideal. The solution? Getting back in the job market. A fair portion of your day (although it doesn’t have to be the majority of it) should be dedicated to searching for and applying to jobs. Job hunts these days are often complicated by application questions, customizing cover letters or resumes and preparing for challenging interviews. Depending on how you manage your time during the day and how efficient you are at applying to jobs, we generally suggest dedicating 2 to 4 hours a day for job application work. Of course you should also take breaks here and there, but make an effort to put out several applications to multiple job positions to increase your chances of getting hired.

3. Work on your own business

Having a secure job can be rewarding because we feel we have the reassurance of constant income. This becomes a little like caffeine where just having a paycheck come in just feels rewarding and we seek it out again. While having a job is great and finding ways to do well and keep a job is a good choice, it is also a good choice to start a business. Becoming self-employed, self-managed and self-reliant can feel remarkably relieving. So get started on your business sooner rather than later. If you already have a job, try to work on your business (even if only a little bit) in your free time. If you are unemployed and you are starting or have already started a business, you should be dedicating work-like hours to it. Generally, a good rule of thumb to go by is you should treat your business like a workday if you are unemployed. 8 hours of work with breaks as needed is fair here. This depends on how much time you have available based on other commitments so you need to find what works for you. If you have 8 hours available for this, though, it’s a wise choice to dedicate that amount of time.

4. Develop a skill or skills 

If you have copious amounts of free time on your hands then one of the main things you should be doing is using that time in order to master a skill. Skills can prove useful not only if you plan to start your own business but also when seeking out a job/while working. People who have demonstrated skills in more high-demand areas are more likely to find employment. The path you take here really depends on where you are starting from. If you are looking to learn a skill from scratch then your path may look slightly different compared to someone who is building or developing an existing skill area. Regardless, learning a new skill or developing one are both recommended.

There really are few excuses that you should be making when it comes to skill development. Learning or developing a skill is typically much simpler than getting a degree. There are numerous free and affordable resources online which teach valuable skills. There is also a lot of knowledge on the internet that you can get yourself started with. Try taking notes and practicing as if you were in school and dedicate a fair amount of time to making use of online resources related to your chosen skill-area.

5. Do freelance work

If you don’t have a permanent and extended job role then you can also consider freelance work as a way to earn some money and build your experience. Freelance work will seldom pay as much as its full-time counterpart but it would still be something you can consider spending your time on. After all, it’s better than doing nothing and/or spending money without gaining it. Moreover, freelance work can be used to fill gaps in resumes. Though many companies may not view it like permanent work it’s usually better than nothing.

6. Consider going back to school

While you may be able to learn many skills online for free, most times a degree will be a lot better than just being self-taught in a given field. It just comes off as more legitimate and tangible when compared to someone who just taught themselves a skill online. Having a degree may make you more employable, it could teach you a valuable skill to start a business with and it can also be used to fill a gap in a resume.

7. Exercise

Having a lot of free time should be a perfect opportunity to keep yourself in shape. A moderate amount of exercise is sufficient here. It’s best to avoid overdoing doing it because too much exercise actually isn’t even healthy and we also don’t want this to turn into an excessive consumer of time.

8. Sleep

You can wake up early like many of the motivational coaches online say but also be sure not to sacrifice sleep amount or quality. Even if you work full-time and run your own business you should be making an effort to sleep a full 8 hours. Sleep optimizes performance and can help you do what’s important more efficiently and attentively.

9. Engage in meaningful social interactions

Now try not to go clubbing at 2 in the afternoon but try to get in a sufficient amount of socializing into your schedule. What you should be looking to do is engage in meaningful social interactions which you can gain from. Try to meet professionals working in a field that interests you or maybe try meeting new people who can compliment your personal growth. If nothing else, try to keep in touch with people who have high intellect conversations with you so you can develop your communication and knowledge with them.