When I left university I found myself unemployed for 5 months. It was hard. It was a constant battle each day to remain motivated and between job rejections and trips to the job centre I really struggled but I did have a few things that kept me going. So today I’ll be sharing my tips on how to stay motivated when unemployed.
Get dressed
As easy as it is to stay in bed until late then laze around in pj’s all day, don’t do it! It does nothing for your motivation. I hate sitting around in jeans and stuff but on the days you don’t have anything to do get up early, get dressed even if it’s just in loungewear, do your hair and maybe even put some makeup on. Now I know it might sound silly but if it makes you feel better than there’s nothing wrong with putting your favourite lipstick on.
Blogging
If you have a blog (which I’m assuming that a fair few of you reading this do) invest some time into it, make it look the best you can and come up with lots of new and interesting ideas for it. You’re never going to get this amount of time to work on your blog again (unless you make blogging your job) so use the time wisely. When I was unemployed my blog was my absolute saviour. I wasn’t earning a single penny from my blog back then but on day where I had nothing else to do I acted like blogging was my job. Without this little space I would have been truly lost.
Learn a new skill
Learn something new. It doesn’t have to cost a lot or anything at all but try out something that you’ve always wanted to learn. Throw yourself into a hobby that isn’t blogging, this might be something you used to love when you were younger and that you gave up on or something that you still occasionally do. Well now is the time to step it up a gear. The possibilities are endless really it could be anything from drawing, crafts, writing in a none blogging way, reading, dancing, photography, learning a language, the list could go on. It also the perfect time to find a new hobby, you don’t have to be great at it you just have to enjoy it and get something from it.
Research something
Is there something you have a particular interest in? A period in history, an artist or art movement, a place, it could be anything. Do some research on it, try and learn new things. If you don’t currently have a blog you could always turn your research into a blog if you wanted to. Starting a blog doesn’t have to cost anything so you might as well go for it.
Get outside
If the weather is nice don’t stay cooped up all day go out for a walk, it’s good for you, you’ll feel refreshed and it could even spark some inspiration for a blog post, a drawing, a piece of creative writing, a photo. You never know what you might get from it. If you have a garden or an outdoor space, utilise it if the weather is nice. There’s no point in being stuck inside all day so get yourself out for some exercise and enjoy some fresh air.
I hope this helps a few people, I know these things helped me when I was unemployed. Just remember your current situation won’t last forever and staying motivated is super important.
If you’ve ever had to deal with unemployment what helped you to stay motivated? Let me know in the comments.
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I'm in the same boat as you – the upside to unemployment is that in-between applying for jobs there's time to do other things, too! Good luck with your job hunt! x
These are all really good tips! It can definitely be super easy to lose motivation but it's so important not to! I love making lists, I write down all the things I'd like to accomplish that day in the morning and it's very satisfying ticking them all off one by one!
Jennie xo | sailorjennie.com
Keep at it! Thanks for all the tips 🙂
xo,
Jamie
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