6 Ways To Maintain Your Sanity While Looking For Work

While only hard work and persistence (along with a little luck) will propel someone back into the workforce, job-seekers also need to remember to take a rest from searching every now and then, too. Breaks from searching for a job are just like breaks when you’re on the job — they raise your spirits, help you refocus and generally make you feel like a human again. What a concept, huh?

For the sake of your own mental health, you need to give yourself at least one breather a day if you’re pounding the virtual pavement looking for work. The good news? These breaks don’t have to be time-consuming or expensive to be effective. Here are six suggestions sure to help boost your spirits.
1. Make Yourself Lunch

While it’s tempting to just grab whatever snacks are handy and munch away while searching nursing job listings online, a better solution for your middle-of-the-day cravings is to make your own lunch.

Not only is it less expensive and healthier than eating out or just forgoing lunch altogether, it’s also a nice timeout from your job search. The routine activities of making a sandwich or a salad can have a calming effect, and you don’t need to be a Top Chef contestant to put cold cuts, cheese, veggies and condiments (or peanut butter and jelly, for that matter) between two pieces of bread.

2. Exercise

Being unemployed can sap not just your finances, but your energy too. One of the best ways to get the blood flowing (and get a brief respite from calling hiring managers and emailing resumes) is to set aside a little time each day for some exercise.

Whether you hit the gym, walk the dog or play a game of Wii Fit, working up a sweat is the perfect antidote to a sedentary day spent looking for your next nursing job. Also, exercise is just as beneficial for your brain as the rest of your body, so it stands to reason that being physically active can help you stay optimistic and focused – a must when looking for employment.

3. Tackle One Minor Household Project

One of the most important parts of an effective job search is staying organized. However, if the environment around you is chaotic, your state of mind will be, too.

Cleaning your desk, washing those dishes in the sink or making your bed are all good ways to take a break while staying productive. Plus, a well-ordered workspace will help keep you focused once you go back to looking for employment.

Making your living space look better will make you feel better, but remember — this is supposed to be a short break from your job search. Don’t procrastinate and start some gargantuan project like cleaning out the garage or painting your living room. Remember, we said “one minor household project,” not “several major household projects.”

4. Read a Book

Too many of us can’t even remember the last time we were enthralled by a book. You know — one with an actual cover and pages that you can store on a shelf? With everything available online these days, including pretty much everything related to finding your next job, it’s easy to waste an entire day surfing the Internet.

To combat this all-too-common obstacle, allow yourself a small amount of time (15-30 minutes) to read something that (gasp) isn’t on a computer screen. When you’re finished, you’ll see how much easier it is to focus on the task at hand instead of checking out all those gossip sites, LOLcats and Facebook games that waste the days of countless job seekers.

5. Take a Nap

Searching for work when you’re exhausted can actually be counterproductive. Sleep deprivation makes you more prone to make spelling and grammatical errors in the 20 different cover letters you planned to send out before the day’s end, and hiring managers tend to find it annoying when it’s clear you’re yawning during that phone interview.

Whether you stayed up too late the night before or your job search has driven you to the point of exhaustion, a short nap is oftentimes a much better idea than trying to fight through feelings of fatigue. While too much daytime dozing can actually make you more tired or hinder your nighttime sleep cycle, “power naps” (about 20 minutes or so) will leave you refreshed and ready to look for work. You’ll also be in good company with famous former and current nappers such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Albert Einstein and Bill Clinton.

6. Visit the Local Coffee Shop

Here’s something you can do that not only gives you a break, but keeps you searching for jobs at the same time. Unemployment and disposable income rarely go hand-in-hand, but it costs relatively little to grab a coffee and hang out for an hour or two at a café, and most coffee shops (the independent ones, anyway) have free Wi-Fi.

Not only does heading to an Internet café get you out of the house, it’s also an energizing experience that reminds you there’s a world out there. Maybe it’s the caffeine, maybe it’s all the people working away on their computers, but the environment at a coffee house is usually pretty lively and conducive to getting things done. Plus, unless your life is an episode of Friends, visiting a café is a temporary activity. At some point you’ll leave and go home or to the store or wherever. Meanwhile, hanging out at home day after day, sending out countless resumes from the same spot on your couch makes you feel more like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.

Remember, you won’t be unemployed forever!

Don’t be afraid to change things up every now and then. Remember, you’re a human being whose life isn’t solely controlled by whether or not you have a job interview that day. You will get a job eventually, especially if you give yourself a short, productive, revitalizing break every day. Your job search won’t just be more pleasant, it will be more effective, too.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and don't forget to check out ModernNurse Jobs for the latest job postings.

This article was republished with permission from SCRUBS Magazine.