Don’t let too much time on hand be a problem for you

 

Job loss leads to the availability of ‘too-much’ time on hand.
Most people end up wasting it, which has a huge negative impact on them, rather than capitalizing on this rich resource being available in plenty.

When I am coaching people who have lost their jobs, a key question I ask is, “What do you do with all the extra time that you now have in your hand? Your full-time job consumed most of your time – at work and in commute. All that time is free now and you can’t really be searching for a job 10 hours a day. So, what are you doing with all that time?”
That is a fairly simple and straightforward question, right?

Trouble is that this question is met by a stunned silence or the individual begins to fumble with the answer or worse still, says things like ‘job search, sleeping, watching Netflix/prime’ etc (well, at least they are being honest).

TIME. The most powerful of all resources we have at our disposal. With a full-time job; you have no time on hand. You are always busy and most of the things that you wanted to do but could not do were because you had no time.

You could do so much more, if only you had time.
You could have lived such a better life, if only you had time.
You could have contributed to other people’s lives and society more, if only you had time.
Your partner would have surely said to you on multiple occasions “You're not giving me enough time” … if only you could.


Well, with a job loss situation, you now have that precious resource in plenty … TIME.

So, are you utilising it or wasting it? Are you making good use of time or whiling it away doing useless stuff including social media scrolling and binge-watching ‘endlessly’?

Remember, “At the end of the day, you don’t get tired by the amount of work you do. You get tired by the work you did not do”. Read that again.

If you do not utilize this time available to you, it will soon begin to impact you negatively.

The time wasted doing nothing will gradually affect your confidence, your self-esteem, your self-worth, and your ability and desire to get things done … and ultimately, it will lead to a state of anger and frustration besides lethargy and tiredness (caused by doing nothing).

If this mental-health situation isn’t a scary picture already, bring in the element of physical health also getting impacted and both together impacting your relationships with everyone around you.
Scared enough now?

Well, let us tackle the time problem then. It is easy enough to do it once you set your mind to it.

First, ask the following questions. The answers will form a list of things to do …

1. What were all those things that I was not able to give enough time to? Spend more time with partner and kids, with friends, with parents. Give more time to hobbies or meet new people.

2. What were the things that I did not do at all but wanted to do? go on that vacation or short trips or solo trips. Go for meditation or that 10-day total silence program.

3. What were the hobbies that I wanted to pursue but could not? It could be reading, writing, painting, fishing, hiking, kayaking … whatever.

4. What were the activities that I wanted to get involved in but could not? It could be a socializing activity, it could be social work, it could be networking events or exhibitions in your area of work or interest.

5. What were the learning time investments that I wanted to make but wasn’t able to? It could be some course, some certification, some new skill, maybe dancing or singing – anything.

6. What are the things that I need to do NOW … that help in my job search? Alternate career thinking and info found, talk to mentors and coaches, reach out to network, apply for jobs on various job sites, think of an entrepreneurial journey, think of joining a startup which includes reaching out to them, talk to other job seekers friends and practice interviews with them and search and apply together, polish LinkedIn profile, polish CV, create multiple CVs suitable for different roles one can apply to Etc, etc.

7. What is my financial situation? How long can I sustain myself without a job? What are my expenses, what to continue, what to cut down, what to add, what to remove totally?

8. Any more questions here that you can think of which will help you build the list of things to do?


While it is just 8 questions above, the moment you start thinking about it, each question will transform into multiple questions and you will soon be filling up page after page of to-dos for you.

That long list is good.

You now know what needs to be done. It gives you purpose. It gives you something concrete to do with all the time at hand.

Take that long list and, against each "to-do," start putting a high, medium, or low (H, M, or L) in response to the following questions:
A. How important is this activity to me?
B. How impactful will be this activity for me (and my mental/physical health and job search)?

If necessary, add another question. Use two different pens to answer the two questions, or the best bet is to use Excel to work on the above things.

At the end of the exercise, you will have various combinations of important impact (HH/HM/ML/LL, etc.; a total of 9 combinations).

All those with an H in either place should be given priority automatically, followed by those with an M in either place, followed by Ls.

So now you have a long to-do list, and it's prioritized too... So, start doing stuff.

Start scheduling the activities and to-dos and filling up your calendar.

You should be once again busy. You should be busier than before.

By getting busy, you will be doing a lot of good for yourself and maybe even for others.

Your mental and physical health will improve or be maintained.

Your confidence and self-esteem will improve, and you will help others improve theirs too.

You will be in a much better frame of mind to face the upcoming interviews and life in general.

And... Valentine's Day is just a few days away.

Spend some time planning something special for Valentine's Day, whether it's for your Valentine if you have one, or for you and your friends or family. Don't be alone on that day (or, for that matter, any other day).

Give people around you the gift of your time. Surprise them. They will cherish it.

Now that you have time, live life as it should be lived.

#kmcc #takecharge #layoffs #coaching #jobinterview

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This is the 4th article in the "Job Interview Coaching" series that I am doing.

I plan to write about this topic on a regular basis (hopefully 4-5 times per week in February 2023). You can follow me to avoid missing out.

Introduction - https://bit.ly/CJI00 - the inspiration behind the series
1st Article - https://bit.ly/CJI01 - Learned Helplessness and Job Search is like dating
2nd Article - https://bit.ly/CJI002 - Bears and Teddy Bears of Life
3rd Article - https://bit.ly/CJI003 - Career is a Box of Chocolates and You have a choice

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#layoffs2023