Work-Life Balance for the Unemployed: Time

You are unemployed. You can't find the happy medium, the middle ground. You bounce between being hopeless and hopeful. Some hours you are driven and ready to tackle the job search while other days you nap in the park all day. According to the State of California's Employee Development Department on Aug. 19, 2011, 10.5 percent of San Diego residents, 12.4 percent of Californians, and 9.3 percent of Americans are unemployed. Even when you are jobless, you must strive to keep a balance. But how can you possibly maintain work-life balance when you aren't working?

First, consider your time. If you were at work, you would spend four hours of your morning working, take a lunch break and then continue working another four hours. (For this example, let's use ideal work hours not the 12-hour days you had been working.) During the week, use the 40 hours you would be working to land your next job. Wake up as if you are going to work, get ready, have your morning coffee and hit the ground running by searching for jobs, researching industries and companies and connecting with your network. Try not to do everything online; a phone call goes a long way. Instead of hurriedly eating lunch at your desk or at the deli closest to your previous workplace, join friends or family for lunch. If you spent too many hours at the office and too few at the gym, use your lunch break to work out. Or go the extra mile in your job hunt by joining a networking lunch group like the North Coast Business Network that meets twice a month in Encinitas, Calif. Professional organizations like the San Diego Public Relations Society of America and the San Diego Association of Nonprofits often host lunches with presentations to advance attendees' industry knowledge. After your lunch break, return to your job hunt by wrapping up your morning searching, researching and connecting and begin applying for jobs.

Imagine how you felt by the end of your workday before. You were worn out and ready to get home. Do you really want to send a possible future employer your resume at 4:50p.m., when you remember how you felt at that time in your cubicle? No, your day is done. If it's Friday, then your week is done. That's right, take off weekends. Your body will thank you for sticking to the same schedule. According to the March 2011 Wall Street Journal article, "How Your Schedule Can Help (or Hurt) Your Health," when your schedule and circadian clock are thrown off, you tend toward depression and weight gain and increase your chances of developing heart and liver problems. Plus, by looking for a job as if it were your job, your guilt, stress and self-pity levels will stay low. The week was productive, and you accomplished much in the 40 hours.

If you find yourself in a fog related to what day it is and what it is you need to accomplish for the day, try setting up your own calendar system.

Work-life balance is crucial for the unemployed. While having enough time is a constant issue for the employed, the unemployed must know how to use time to increase the chances of landing a job (and landing one fast). It takes discipline, but a job search routine pays off.

Angela Martin is the owner of DEFINING SUCCESS COACHING. Angela Martin is a speaker and a certified career and life coach who uses proven techniques to help creative people see themselves receive the recognition they deserve, hear about themselves in their industry and finally feel satisfied even though they previously felt stuck. She serves on the Board of the San Diego Professional Coaches' Alliance and is the Work-Life Balance Writer for San Diego's Examiner.com. Angela was previously the Creative Manager at the advertising agency that did Got Milk? E-mail her now to sign up for her e-newsletter and/or to learn about DEFINING SUCCESS COACHING's group coaching or one-on-one coaching.