If you’re anything like me, you find that the less stuff you have to do, the less stuff you are willing to do. Since I got laid off a week and a half ago I have found it increasingly difficult to get off my ass and actually get things accomplished. I have managed to spend some time every day combing the want ads and sending out résumés. In the first couple of days I got some cleaning done. I worked out a little. But every day I find myself waiting a little longer to do necessary things like take a shower. I have not been eating well, nor have I called any of my friends who are available during the day, because I am absolutely paranoid about spending money until I have another job.
And, obviously, I have been neglecting this blog. It’s not like there’s nothing to write about. I’m just having difficulty making myself sit the hell down and do it when just a few feet away there is a TV, a DVD player and a big-ass bowl of M&Ms. My Weekly Weigh-In on Monday is gonna be embarrassing.
On the plus side, at least now I’m aware of my inherent laziness. I can see it in action, so to speak, and I can work to counteract it. There was a time, maybe ten years ago, when I would have reveled in this. I’d have rolled around in my laziness like a dog in a pile of garbage. Now I look at all this free time in front of me and I feel guilty. I need to fill it with something useful, and soon.
Okay…this probably won’t help much, but as a fella who’s been working from home for five years, this might help.
Get a Yahoo! IM account on your computer. It helps if you have somebody to say Good Morning to at 9:00 AM, as though you’re clocking in. I have a couple folks on IM who give me a hard time if I’m not online and at my computer at least pretending to work in the morning.
From there I just pretend I’m at work doing work and I generally do work stuff until 5:00PM. Sometimes work stuff is just spending a few days trying to find people who are willing to pay me to work.
Yes…I wander around the house. I sit down, I stand up, I sit down and then get up to get coffee and sit down and realize I need to pee and then I get up and do that, then I sit down and tap a few things then I stand up because I want to throw a log into the fireplace, then I sit down again…I do a LOT of wandering, But I average a decent amount of sitting time during the course of the day, and some of that time I get work done. But I don’t turn on the TV. TV…bad. I think that’s the big one for me.
I agree with the staying away from the TV part. Not completely but definitely Minimized.
The big one for me is setting goals beyond “Not Spending Money”. I have been making lists. On top of that I break things up into smaller projects. For example I would traditionally shop for groceries for like 3 weeks. Now I only go about a week so I actually have to go out and go to the store.
Here are a few of the projects I have done:
1. Clean entire house. I mean seriously clean, I picked one room each day and cleaned the shit out of it. Not a sprint…but a marathon of sorts. Unfortunately its time to start this one over…
2. Organized entire CD collection into books and disposed of old CD cases. Im still not done with this one because of how many I have….I found several CD’s that were not in my IPOD…
3. EBAY…I have been taking things I held onto that I no longer want and selling them. Ive made $140 bucks so far. Its not about making money as much as not throwing stuff away. AND it gives you a project to go to the post office every now and then.
4. Donations…My clothes suck and much of it does not fit me any more or I just dont want it so I will be going through everything and pairing down.
5. Working Out…I work out 6 days a week now and have been for the last month. I would like to suggest getting the rubber ball for doing crunches and sit ups. It sucks but I definitely “Feel the Burn” on that one. Also since you go to the gym you have to get up and go… I really view this as one positive of the whole unemployed process.
6. Video Games…well duh!
7. Sleep…this one is a little weird to substantiate but I think it is important (at least to me). Prior to getting relieved of my responsibilities I was continuing to not sleep well. I am sleeping much better now and hopefully it will not be for nothing once I start working again.
Lists!!! If you can get a small list of stuff done each day you will feel like A: you got something done. B: Feel like less of a hostage in your own home.
I too procrastinated for the first week or so but seriously get over it and focus on staying busy while you hunt for a new job.
Now get to work slacker!!!
Make a bag lunch and call me so we can play rock band (after list is complete)!
GO BEARS!