A couple of months ago, I was laid off. My performance review was positive, and I was set up for promotion, but then a couple of events outside our control happened, leading to necessary cuts.
For the first time in my career, I found myself unemployed.
Unplanned unemployment sucks. Who would’ve thought that losing income, a vital resource for most of us, isn’t fun?! The future is uncertain, your confidence is tested, and time and effort sometimes feel wasted pursuing a lead that goes nowhere. When the market is rough, which it currently is, you’re likely applying for one job after another, which can be a cycle of excitement and disappointment.
It’s challenging to find motivation in these stressful times. Similar to many peers who are in the same situation, I started to show unproductive behaviour like procrastination, distraction seeking, and restlessness, to the point where I stopped doing anything at all. My morale was very low and I showed it.
Something needed to change.
Although I do have some control over my morale and motivation, I doubt it’s enough to deal with this. Luckily, I respond well to a daily schedule, and I just happened to be in the rare position where I could schedule time however I liked, so I chose to try a daily routine.
A forgiving schedule
When going over the next day mentally, I’d tell myself it’s okay to start my day sleeping in. When the pressure and stakes are high, I struggle to cast things off my mind. Consequently, it can take hours to fall asleep, and I wake up early, ultimately causing sleep deprivation. By scheduling and permitting myself to start the day slow, I’d find the peace to fall back asleep, allowing me to start most days rested.
After my morning routine, I’d search and review job openings for about two hours. I mainly browsed job sites like LinkedIn, Wellfound, Remote OK, The Pragmatic Engineer Job Board, and more. My friends from the Fronteers Slack community would also frequently send me great openings — they were very supportive. Anything that looked somewhat interesting would make it to a ranked list.
Typically after lunch, I’d take an hour or two to work my way down that ranked list and submit applications. Many of these were online forms, sometimes requiring a cover letter, while others required me to set up a profile with redundant information that’s already on my LinkedIn profile and in my CV. Some days I’d easily fill in four forms, while other days I was stuck trying to write a tailored cover letter. By tracking each application in a Notion board, I got some sense of progress and resolution.
The rest of the day was flexible, and I would play it by ear. With spare energy left, I’d continue working by tweaking my resume, updating profiles, searching for openings and applying to them. On bad days, I’d switch to chores or leisure and get my mind off unemployment for a bit.
Closing thoughts
This schedule helped me immensely. As I hoped, it created the routine, rhythm, and momentum to consistently get work done. It also let me recharge and permitted me to seek distractions when needed. It boosted my productivity and made me more optimistic.
Although this was a success, the takeaway is that it helps to stop, reflect, and leverage self-knowledge. Even though sometimes it feels like motivation drives me, this was a great exercise that proved I can take concrete steps to work around it when it’s lacking.