I'm currently unemployed, Yaaaayyy!!!
I know what you're thinking, who rejoices at unemployment? Truthfully, it's not as exciting as my opening line suggests. But, I've found something in it.
I don't have a bad experience with work. Infact, the few jobs I've done, were memorable. Good colleagues, good bosses, no stress, learning on the job, and actual eagerness to go to work.
They were temporary though and something was always missing. I couldn't quite place it but working always felt “mechanical”.
I knew what the problem was, but the solution was to quit any form of work for a while, that's too expensive. I mean, I'm a young graduate- thankfully still in my 20s. I need money, experience, need to climb up the career ladder, satisfy my ambitious spirit, network and everything in between. What could I do?
Well, God works in mysterious ways! It was time to say goodbye to my job. I did and beautiful feelings came. I had “rest”. It's hard to explain but I didn't feel bad. It's been few months, still don't feel terrible, only miss having some change at the end of the month. How come?
You see, productivity trumps busyness. We are in such a fast paced world that we fear sitting by ourselves, with our thoughts, we fear doing “nothing”. The bad thing is the average person just goes through life moving from activity to activity. From kindergarten to primary school to secondary to University, all of which must be done without breaks between each, not to be seen as a failure. Then work. Do we even know that people take a gap year before going off to college?
The truth is this- when we stop and listen, stop to meditate, stop and reflect, stop to assess, appraise and evaluate, we may find truths that go against everything we know, we've been taught, we've come to accept, what we've ignored and most importantly, it shows that work needs to be done.
How do you get to where you are not scared of unemployment?
1. Know what you want for yourself - this isn't easy because many of us exist for others especially our parents/ family. We so want to make them proud or feel right in the eyes of society that we don't know what would truly give us peace and fulfilment. Find out what you truly want, think about who your ideal self is, your ideal career, the skills you will love to have and how you intend to utilize them.
2. Unemployment isn't lack of productivity- I will share some of the things I do, but you must be ready to have a clock. You aren't going to be sleeping, eating or whining all day. Think, what do I need out of a day to feel fulfilled? Get productive.
3. Network in your name- when you work, you are more likely to introduce yourself by your job title. As an unemployed person, you get to introduce yourself by your skills. What are those things you know how to do that the corporate world hasn't allowed you explore? That's more of who you are. Now's the time to shine.
4. Explore- take different courses, try out new things, explore those hobbies, deep dive into social media, grab as many opportunities that you find as you can. You are sure to find your calling with one of these.
Things to do to maximise unemployment:
These are some things I do and they have paid off for me big time. Please note that you aren't required to do all at once. Feel free to use them as a guide, I hope they work for you too.
1. Work out - to lose weight or increase fitness levels.
2. Take new courses- I've been ravaging Google garage and a few other free course sites and the knowledge acquired is simply amazing.
3. Learn coding- this is through apps, courses and books. Mostly 30 minutes to 1hour. This way, you can be more consistent and work at your own pace.
4. Learn a new language- you can use Duolingo, 10 minutes a day.
5. Online internships- from the UN online internship program to remote flexible jobs, I get to try different things that I've been interested in. They require fewer hours and less stress.
6. Apply for jobs, fellowships and any other thing that interests you.
7. Read a chapter of a book or an article or two daily.
8. Attend conferences and events- this has become my new favorite. You learn a lot and get to network. Make sure they are free. You don't want to spend too much while unemployed.
9. Reinvent yourself- social media, your dressing, attitude and action by applying your new found knowledge to everything you do.
Benefits
1. Less focus on money - due to the fear of not truly exploiting your career potentials and gifts, there's a willingness to pursue what truly makes to happy. Also, you become focused on acquiring more skills to prepare you for better. I know that of the few “idle” months I've had, I only just started benefitting financially, and it doesn't excite me as such.
2. Skill acquisition - taking courses, picking up remote jobs can significantly test your previous skills and teach you new ones.
3. Positive mindset - as a productive unemployed person, you are too busy crossing off your daily, weekly and monthly goals to dwell too much on your situation. Also, since you have to be your own cheerleader, you soon begin to adopt a positive mindset.
4. Futuristic- because you are more focused on finding your true purpose, everything you do is with the future in mind, consequences of each action and most importantly, you reduce the need for immediate gratification.
5. Better Health - working out and not being pressured by toxic work environment, deadlines and colleagues can put you in better physical and mental health.
6. Prioritization - you learn to put you first and when learning or trying online jobs you try to acquire the things most important to you.
7. You get to see the power of consistency and gain confidence from new skills and opportunities gotten and of course, goals attained.
Hope you understand that I'm not trying to romanticize unemployment rather, I want to show you that it's absolutely possible to be productive while unemployed. Instead of feeling low and consumed by self pity, use this guide to go on a self discovery journey that's sure to pay off. You will come out even better.
Comments
Post a Comment