I'm writing this on day ten of unemployment. It's been an adjustment, to say the least. Like many people, I equate my job with self-worth, so I've been trying hard to not feel purposeless. It hasn't been easy.
The first few days, I was in good shape. I had a few editing projects on my slate—three manuscripts that needed cleaning up, plus one that was ready for layout. So I worked every day. And found myself wondering where the time had gone every night. My first realization: how in the hell do I get so much done when I have a full-time job? It didn't (and still doesn't) make any sense! It's not like I was pausing during the day to bake, or watch television, or even eat. I had the laptop open for a good ten hours every day, fueling my work with nothing but coffee. And still I wasn't done with the things I needed to do.
Toward the end of the week, I realized that the "where did the time go" thing was a bigger problem than I'd initially thought. See, when I'm working, I call my sister every day on my commute home. It's a lovely way to end the day: gives me something to look forward to during the drive, and Kim and I can touch base at the same time every day.
Not so much now that I have no commute. I found myself one afternoon wondering what day it was and when the heck I'd talked to my sister last. And not just that—when was the last time I'd showered? Checked the garden? Did I have gas in my car? Did the car even run, still? Yes, there's a sneaky side to unemployment that you don't pick up on right away: with all of that time suddenly on your hands, you forget how to track it. The only reason why I knew today was Friday and my blog was due is because I've taken to setting alarms that say things like "Blog due!" and a morning "Time to scrub off the stank of purposelessness!" reminder.
Finally, I'm trying to figure out why, with these days full of empty slates, I have no time to do anything. I thought for sure I'd be able to clean the house, repaint the kitchen, mash and freeze twenty pounds of potatoes, and maybe bake some pies. I've done none of these things. Not one. I did, however, force myself to step away from the laptop one afternoon to work on Halloween decorations. I'd wanted to make glow-in-the-dark floating corpses (a neat idea I'd seen on Pinterest). But when I sat down to actually do it, it seemed like a lot of work. Instead, I pulled out some old house paint and decorated a bunch of gourds that had taken over the garden when I'd neglected to pay attention to it.
The bad news: I'm just not cut out for unemployment.
The good news: my new job starts Monday.
The first few days, I was in good shape. I had a few editing projects on my slate—three manuscripts that needed cleaning up, plus one that was ready for layout. So I worked every day. And found myself wondering where the time had gone every night. My first realization: how in the hell do I get so much done when I have a full-time job? It didn't (and still doesn't) make any sense! It's not like I was pausing during the day to bake, or watch television, or even eat. I had the laptop open for a good ten hours every day, fueling my work with nothing but coffee. And still I wasn't done with the things I needed to do.
Toward the end of the week, I realized that the "where did the time go" thing was a bigger problem than I'd initially thought. See, when I'm working, I call my sister every day on my commute home. It's a lovely way to end the day: gives me something to look forward to during the drive, and Kim and I can touch base at the same time every day.
Not so much now that I have no commute. I found myself one afternoon wondering what day it was and when the heck I'd talked to my sister last. And not just that—when was the last time I'd showered? Checked the garden? Did I have gas in my car? Did the car even run, still? Yes, there's a sneaky side to unemployment that you don't pick up on right away: with all of that time suddenly on your hands, you forget how to track it. The only reason why I knew today was Friday and my blog was due is because I've taken to setting alarms that say things like "Blog due!" and a morning "Time to scrub off the stank of purposelessness!" reminder.
Finally, I'm trying to figure out why, with these days full of empty slates, I have no time to do anything. I thought for sure I'd be able to clean the house, repaint the kitchen, mash and freeze twenty pounds of potatoes, and maybe bake some pies. I've done none of these things. Not one. I did, however, force myself to step away from the laptop one afternoon to work on Halloween decorations. I'd wanted to make glow-in-the-dark floating corpses (a neat idea I'd seen on Pinterest). But when I sat down to actually do it, it seemed like a lot of work. Instead, I pulled out some old house paint and decorated a bunch of gourds that had taken over the garden when I'd neglected to pay attention to it.
The bad news: I'm just not cut out for unemployment.
The good news: my new job starts Monday.
This. I accomplished THIS during my time off. :(
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