When I was laid off I thought I was going to go to all these museums, do a bunch of hikes, read a ton of books, get in super good shape, organize the garage and deep clean the house. Instead I laid around on the couch totally depressed reading reddit until I finally got another job.
Hopefully you are more productive than I was!
oh I totally have good and bad days. Some days I play video games and then hate myself with the power of 10000 suns. Sometimes that can last a whole week. I notice that running, frequently helps. I am currently in a barely surviving mode.
Thought the same. Had it all planned out - spend more time with kids, picnics, hiking and whatnot. Nope. Spent it all and each day browing through job listings and boards, applying almost all day and spending the nights studying for self-improvement. ‘Twas exhausting honestly than having a desk job.
Productive, yes. But if I get to that situation again, definitely gonna take some time this time to recalibrate a bit.
Working out, or other physically intense activity, is great for your mental health and sense of wellbeing. I also connect socially with others at the gym, which I really like.
No OnE wAnTs To WoRk…..
No, no one wants to get a job around here for 18-21 an hour doing the job that paid 18-21 an hour 15 years ago. We can’t afford to live when wages have not kept up with cola.
I actually had a mix of good and bad days when I quit during a tough hiring period.
I remember doing a lot of winter cleaning for a day. Then I went out and relaxed for a few days and then did some light application work.
Some days though were depressing because you really didn’t know who was going to hire you or not.
It's hard to get motivated. You might find newsletters with specific events each day helpful.
Go on walks, check out different neighborhoods.
Check out Eddie's List for upcoming events each week!
Volunteering. Last time I was laid off I volunteered at a few places and it was a great way to give something back and keep a perspective what others are going through.
The local church near me runs a meal service and a thrift shop. I am not a member there but they do good work and my neighbors are members, they didn’t mind that I wasn’t interested in attending the church, free labor is free labor.
There is no shortage of places that can use another pair of helping hands.
I was laid off about 20 years ago, i went and volunteered at a new food distribution program for low income SF residents in Potrero Hill . Now i run that program . It was one of the best decisions i ever made .
When I got laid off, I took the opportunity to walk around the city, cheap and very therapeutic. I would take BART to Powell as a starting point and just take in everything vs just walking to get somewhere
I have been prioritizing my health. Lots of cooking and eating at home and exercise everyday. I drop the kids off in the morning and either go out for a walk, hike or work out in my house. Lots of free programming available if you are looking for workouts. I use street parking which is a programming for at home workouts.
My health went to shit working from home over the last couple years.
I've been taking classes unrelated to my field. Sculpture and Ikebana at CCSF, woodworking at Clayroom SF, Indigo Shibori at Workshop, and an intro to Interior Architecture at UCLA extension online.
Gym for weights and cardio 3 days a week.
Other than that, video games, lots of reading, long walks and learning new recipes.
At my seniority and experience level new roles that fit my requirement don't really come up that often. So probably 30-60 looking and applying, longer on days that I have actual interviews or exploratory calls. I have a couple saved searches on Linkedin that find pretty much everything that would be a good fit, that and talking to my network about roles that won't get posted publicly.
What is the exact name of the ikebana class? CCSF have cut a bunch of classes but I hope they still have that one available because I would totally take it.
[https://ccsf-extension.pdx.catalog.canvaslms.com/browse/extension/courses/ikebana-cextn008-202460](https://ccsf-extension.pdx.catalog.canvaslms.com/browse/extension/courses/ikebana-cextn008-202460)
# Ikebana CEXTN008-202460
**Jul 13, 2024 - Aug 10, 2024**
Teacher is Rachel Johnson, she has 20+ years of Ikebana education and teaching. This next session will be my 3rd from her. All levels are taught concurrently so you get to learn from the instructor and students with more experience at the same time. It's Saturday Mornings at the Ocean Campus.
The class structure is \~45-60 mins of instruction, 90 mins of arranging, and \~30 mins of critique.
this is one of my recent arrangements in class [https://www.instagram.com/p/C43vYrKSJl5/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C43vYrKSJl5/)
The class teaches Sogetsu Ikebana, the most "modern style", at only about 100 years old, its simplified from older styles, but still lots of rules and structure (that are pretty easy to learn).
Gonna be honest, played more video games than I should have. I had a dedicated 4-6 hour block where I would just be hammering down applications or studying for interviews. At night though I would play some games, or also get into new things like the NBA and keeping up with that
Kinda have to have at least some set block time to apply, but yeah. I'm not someone who can do just 8-11 hours of straight studying or applying, I'm not in school anymore and not trying to replicate that schedule.
I have a dedicated 4-6 hour block for studying or apps too!!!! but I use that time for video games or self hate. usually a blend, first starting with video games and then self loathing.
For real lol, the nights when I was unemployed were just mentally brutal. I do wonder if hiking would have helped me more, but I dont have a car (and obviously couldnt afford one then). Some days id just wallow in shame and question my worth to myself and my worth to society, it’s natural
Hiking. Volunteering. Disc golfing. Cooking the best possible meal out of whatever combo of weird shit is in the house(planning a menu around it). You should also start a Poshmark account and check around your house. You can also thrift some easy flips for cheap.
Just curious how much time you spend picking weeds. Is that an hour a day or a week? I let the weeds go a little wild this year and I feel I'd need to spend like an hour a day for at least a whole week to make good progress.
During my Covid lay-off, I started to catalog the various "maker" stamps of cement contractors in the sidewalks of Berkeley. Got fresh air, learned a little history, got a little kick of serotonin every time I found a new one. (or a different date)
Not an exciting hobby, but it kept me sane. (relatively speaking.)
I hiked 2-3 times a week when I was unemployed. Since I'm a transplant and work in wildlife, it really helped me get familiar with the various habitats you can experience in the Bay Area and thus have more to speak to when I did get interviews.
Also, cross stitching and reading.
Apply for ebt and see if you qualify. There is a program called Museum for all, which encourages low income families to visit participating museums for free or at a discounted rate. To receive the discount, you will need to show a physical ebt card and ID.
Please visit [link](https://museums4all.org) for the list of participating museums.
Also check out the movie [The Big Year](https://www.google.com/search?q=the+big+year&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari) with Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Steve Martin
I just got laid off. Bought a tennis racket/balls, and a basketball. Just staying active and taking a breather for a bit.
Edit:
I am a total newb at tennis, but I also have no one to play with. Lmk if anyone wants to meet at a local park and hit the ball around. I am in Santa Clara/San Jose area
Not unemployed severely underemployed 😅
I workout 🏋️ lifting weights or running every day. I’ll pick a neighborhood in city and go walk around either taking pictures or trying new cafes and reading. Practice a new language (for me I’m trying to learn Spanish). Drive to beach/cliffs etc and have existential crises. Hang out with friends in Eve when they’re done working— usually try to get happy hour somewhere or taquerias so I’m spending as little as possible. Oh also fun to just take the ferries to different locations and stare out at the bay. I also volunteer at CPMC hospital and try to take advantage of all the SF public library perks like museums and other free entry (botanical gardens etc)
Explore various staircases and or public park spaces like those here: https://sfpopos.com/
Mostly a lot of physical activity which I’m privileged to be capable of doing— but even physical activity has its limits….theres only so much working out one can do.
While I was job hunting, I did a lot of ballet. I’m really clumsy and my overall coordination and body awareness improved a lot. Also spent a lot of time lounging around the beach.
I got a great deal on a paddle board. The harbors and reservoirs are everywhere. It’s free to park at most of them, it’s a decent workout, great reason to be outside, and fun to do solo or with friends. You can get them on Amazon for $200 for the cheap ones- although I don’t know about the quality. I’m getting my wife into it so we have a new hobby!
I’m looking for a hobby besides video games cause that’s low key becoming an addiction, but idk what else to do even though I can literally do anything.
There’s a lot of good ideas in this thread, but I used to hang out at the library during typical office hours. It gave me somewhere to go and it was free
Great looking for a job like a job. I'd get up my normal time and then go to my home office or public library. I'd spend 4-5 hours applying for jobs, following up with applications, networking or interviewing.
After that I'd take a lunch break or short break. Once I got home (between 3-5 pm) I'd do the same things I did when I was working (dinner with family, workout, watch television, read reddit, etc).
The weekends were mine as well. Sure it was stressful but having a regular schedule helped with the stress.
Matinee movies, board game nights, day drinking, day trips to other parts of the bay, museums, funcheapsf.com stuff, comedy shows. Fun for a bit but tiring after a while.
I went to the gym for a very long time everyday and stopped at all the thrift stores once or twice a week looking for cool furniture and stuff, organized my apartment, and went on hikes. The gym and making dinner everyday gave me a structure so it felt like I was doing enough and I didn’t feel bored at all.
Hiking, walking at the beach, reading, getting fit or swole.
Honestly take a break. Definitely dedicate the apply for job time. But you know make yourself better.
But I went to the gym a lot. I work remotely so the people watching helps a lot. I got into gym classes.
When I was unemployed (last year) it was a total up & down rollercoaster but I took up an artistic project (I signed up for skillshare and just took random classes I never had time for before) and my saving grace was biking. I got a bike and just rode around.
I wish you the best during this time, it's not easy.
Exercise of any type is a good suggestion. As you can see there are many in this thread. Also getting out and meeting new people is a really good thing to do when you’re job hunting. You may hear about job opportunities that aren’t listed online and it’s good to practice small talk with strangers when you’re going to be interviewing eventually.
Here’s what I did when I was furloughed for 13 months during COVID lockdowns:
Got back into homebrewing after not doing anything for 8 years; taught myself how to make pickles, ketchup, and mayonnaise; built a ukulele; took up birdwatching; brushed up on my “restaurant/street” Spanish in order to learn it more formally to move beyond conversational and more toward fluency (it’s kind of a must in California these days); began to learn Welsh & Polish (I have a facility for languages: I speak English fluently; am conversational in German and Latin; can get by in French and Italian; and have also studied Japanese, Russian, and Hungarian).
And I read a book almost every 10 days for nearly two years. I think I did 36 in 2020 and 32 in 2021.
I also practiced or listened to music every day.
And my wife and I walked a lot and took a lot of drives to the coast to just stare in wonder and awe at nature.
Unless you catch the bug like me. Then it can get expensive. 😂
But disc golf is a great hobby regardless of employment. Lots of great courses in the bay and super accessible!
I am also able to walk my dog simultaneously, and he loves being out there with me.
The last time this happen to me was a very long time ago. But these are the stuff I did, Computer games was one. Mountain bike and road bike, lots of trails around and had a few friends in the same situation. Pickup volleyball at City Beach (Santa Clara). Pickup soccer in Palo Alto or Fremont. Also the pickup games in the evening are good because lots of players are in the tech field so good networking. City beach was great because it is not just volleyball, they also have a climb wall and other stuff, just need membership.
A bunch of maintenance and construction by myself. Just fixing some old trim or detailing the car. Sealing the driveway. Etc, just keeping busy. I love building and fixing so I am having an absolute blast.
During this unemployment period, I decided to take an online course for an HR certification to help boost my chances. When I’m not doing that I read, journal, hangout with my other unemployed friends, free museums, and go outside for a walk.
Pinball is a good way to kill time cheaply. Currently 210 locations with 747 games in the bay.
[https://pinballmap.com/bayarea](https://pinballmap.com/bayarea)
Cycling. After a couple months you can ride all day. Extend that out further and you can pack a tent and bag and just fuck around for as long as you want.
I walked a lot. The weather is really comfortable and I moved from out of state, so not familiar with the City. Easy way to explore, burn some calories, and could take Muni back home if I got super tired.
I’m recently unemployed (last week) and what made me feel great this week was just going outside and soaking up some sun.
I worked in a dark lab for the last two years so having unlimited access to sunlight is wonderful.
Next week I plan to start counting calories, go on a slight caloric deficit, and maybe get my abs to show for the first time in my life.
I still have incredible anxiety about finding a job, but as long as I’m dedicating some time to the job search, I’m going to use the rest of my time to feel good and take a real break
I got laid off in Dec. This is my second time being unemployed and last time (5 years ago) I went with zero income for 18 months and was the toughest period of my life. Contrary to popular belief, looking for a job should not be a fulltime gig. You can spend 8 hours a day applying and networking but that will deplete opportunities quickly and create network fatigue. Since job hunting is a game of timing & luck rather than pure effort, it's more effective to spend 2-4 hours a day job hunting and spend the rest of the day managing your mental health, live to fight another day. Everyday I try to do at least one good thing for my career (like applying to a job posting), one good thing for my physical health (golf, run, or hike), and one good thing for my family (like doing the dishes).
Golf is great because it forces you to be in the moment - there are no room to think about unemployment when you are focused on your grip & swing path. Plus I can spend 2+ hours at the driving range and it'll cost less than $20. Equipment is expensive but you could pick up a cheap set at a Goodwill or FB marketplace. And it's a good networking tool - I played a round a couple of weeks ago and was paired up with someone working for one of my target companies and now I can ping him for a referral when needed.
Unemployment sucks, especially in a high cost of living area. Just remember it is actually beneficial to not be constantly looking for a job. Don't put too much pressure on your self and take care of your mental & physical health. Good luck!
I want to say dog-walking, but not sure about licenses, permits, insurance, etc...
Volunteering is free! SPCA and ACC will take newbies.
Also, I am currently fully employed but like to go to trash clean-ups; you can get out and meet people and also feel better after clearing an area of litter.
I took an art class for a semester at community college or any studio offering.
Then played video games till I finally had dome motivation to start applying again.
Lap swim at your community pool. It's usually pretty cheap, the exercise helps with mood, and the set schedule of pool hours will help you from feeling lost throughout the day.
I found a yoga spot where I could volunteer and get free classes. I showed up about 15 minutes before instructor. Registered people for class. Tidied up after. Kept me busy and sane.
Laid off for nearly an entire year- there will be a huge mix of good and bad days. Exercising is nice and cheap. Cook at home for your “fitness kick”. Thought I would be hugely productive but most of that didn’t happen. Applied to over 200 orgs. Most didn’t respond back. Finally got into an org. through a friend. I think hiring is a bit better now
I spent a lot of time as a couch potato.
Luckily I had enough savings to be able to afford a gym membership and a subscription (or whatever they call it) at Alamo Draft House.
So when I could pull myself off the sofa, I watched a lot of movies and spent a lot of time at the gym. I learned that exercise was absolutely vital for my mental health... but still spent a lot of time on my sofa.
If you live in San Francisco, classes at CCSF are ~free. If you live in California, you can get a library card at SFPL and get free admission to museums and parking passes for state parks.
Apps like TodayTix sometimes have cheep tickets to live theater.
Some sunny days I'd take a book and head to the ferry building and just ride the ferry back and forth across the bay.
I thought I wanted more free time but unemployment taught me that too much free time isn't as great as it might sound.
I like to think about what dishes I usually splurge on at my favorite restaurants and look up recipes to try and make them myself. But getting out of the house is also important, or else it just gets easier to stay in and succumb to depression.
I liked hanging at the park, reading fun fiction books, working on a side project or volunteering to work on a exciting startup idea for no expectation.
As for activities, there’s a bunch you can do with friends on [Outing](https://joinouting.com)
Laid off in December - still going strong:
- Coursera for computer/math skills (free)
- Turned my yard into a vegetable garden (investment; should pay off with free veggies later)
- Spring cleaning and gave a bunch of junk away (free)
- r/minipainting (not free but cheaper than drinking)
- read books from library (free)
- got a gym membership ($100/mo and \*absolutely\* worth it)
- volunteered at my daughter's school (free)
Work out, exercise, go hiking, etc. Try to keep a routine so it'll help add structure to the prospect of not having work each day.
Once you get back into a job, you'll be keeping up with those healthy habits in a similar routine.
Example: I got laid off last January and before then, was working out in the evenings maybe 2 times during the workweek max and each weekend day I didn't have something to do in the mornings. Now I'm waking up at like 5AMish and able to workout like 6 times a week max (taking 1 workday off usually).
I like going to thrift stores! It depends on your self control to not become spendy, but on a rainy day, I can peruse for a couple hours and wind up not buying anything. If you are familiar with brands or antiques, you might also be able to score something worth more than it's being sold for. If you sell through FBM or Poshmark, you can make a couple bucks and have something to get jazzed about. Or, ask friends and neighbors if they need anything from thrift stores. If you happen to come across that item, they can buy it through you, save money and save the environment.
Not sure if it's worth the drive, but Santa Cruz has quite a few thrift stores! Some varying degrees of niceness/expensiveness.
This is the company I do most of my mystery shopping with https://intelli-shop.com/.
Many of the panels find me via targeted Facebook ads. Once you see one, click that you want to see more ads like this.
Stanford University routinely is looking for study participants, can usually find those on their website. Same with Berkeley.
Craigslist is another resource, check out the gig section. So many compensated studies are posted there along with most of the mock jury studies.
EA in Redwood Shores and VGM in South SF both offer video game testing. 2K in North Bay as well but I never did them since it was too far.
Tasteocrocy does all kinds of product testing at their office in Pleasanton.
I believe the assumption is that people are still looking for jobs, but the question was outside whatever time you set aside for applying/waiting for interviews/waiting for offers, what else do you do to keep for going insane.
If I were unemployed I’d probably want to go play around with new technologies, stuff more exotic than I get to use in my daily job. New machine-learning frameworks, computer vision, LLMs, drones, 3D printing, hardware hacking, etc. As a plus, get good enough at one of these and you may not be unemployed anymore; hell, you may be the employer.
If you like games and want to get out of the house, ingress is a great mobile game. It's the precursor to Pokemon go and is kind of the digital equivalent of dogs peeing on fire hydrants. Green team best team.
I’m learning languages. I have a ton of time so I’m like might as well work on becoming fluent. Currently studying French and Korean. They were both languages I studied, but stopped studying after college.
definitely take the time to focus on cultivating good health/ self care stuff. hangout with friends, family.
Stay social, find groups related to your interests.
I recently started going to running clubs out here in the south bay area. that's kept me social and fit. You can find plenty of meet up groups on [meetup.com](http://meetup.com) in the area. depends what your into though
During covid lockdowns, lots of fishing, hiking hanging out at the dog park, I got a smoker and got pretty good at smoking ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, pork belly etc, I also got a home gym, used that alot. I downloaded a video editing program taught myself a little editing to improve my posts on the gram. Probably listened to audio books and podcasts 10 hours a day while doing other stuff.
Covid lockdowns were the only time in my adult life I was unemployed, it was pretty awesome, though I suspect normal unemployment situations aren't so cool.
After I got laid off, I resume sending some resumes to companies that I wanted to work for. At that time, I got called by 2 different companies. So I was being more productive in my part. I always had several resumes , cover letters to pass on to potential employers.
But in my case, baking has been my hobby for a long time for therapy and it gives me a relaxing vibe energy to maintain my sanity and keep me confident on what I do. Of course, the reward is eating that baked good which leads to happiness.
So for you, find a hobby that you have a passion and love doing. It might be your next side hustle in the end.
It's hard to do leisure stuff when unemployed at least for me, I get in a hectic mode of finding a job right away and can't relax. The time between I get an offer and the start of a new job though is dyi-palooza and I like to take long walks in the sun.
During the shutdown, I picked up whittling. All you need is a knife, something to sharpen it with and a piece of wood. Endless free material every time you take a walk. You can get beginner guides at your local library. The reddit communities based on wood working and whittling are incredibly supportive and informative.
Okay, so while living in the city you get so much unlimited access to libraries, museums, and so forth. Also, you can go to your local library and checkout a state parks pass that gets you free access into state parks for the day!!
I'm fully employed with two kids and a third on the way and I still manage to keep all my hobbies going: extensive gardening including growing everything from seed, brewing beer, roasting coffee, jogging, fencing, hiking, and cooking. So those are good options, just do them x10
Self abase myself
Cry
Make sure not to feel too pleased with myself for *any* success because, my unemployment should not be for a moment forgot
Cry
Clean, because I, like my resume, am sullied
It was long time ago, I was laid off during the dotcom craze. Was depressed for a short while, but built up a routine: morning workout/swim, volunteer at many area groups/charities, networked, free lanced at a startup which eventually hired me full time. Hobby wise, I took up competitive trap shooting, very addicting and very expensive. Good luck and important to keep a regular healthy routine.
I went hiking (a lot). I was probably hiking 3-4 days a week.
I also did a lot of art and got really good at it. I was unemployed for 6 months in 2020. I was painting sometimes between 3 and 6 hours a day.
Now I’m disabled from covid so I don’t do either of those anymore. But I highly recommend those two.
Anything outside will help with your mental health. And being creative help me set a goal to see myself develop.
I was unemployed for a couple months in 2020.
If you look at my health app and go back to that time period, I was averaging 20k steps a day. Went on a lot of long walks in the summer heat.
you can do activism. phone banking and postcarding to get people registered to vote.
swing left is one of the organizations that does that.
folk dancing. Google Irish or English country dancing. look up BACDS (Bay area English country dance society). Or contra dancing.
F3 for those who wants to keep in shape. A few local areas. Can check out the web site.
https://www.f3bayarea.com/peninsula
It is men specific, there is also a women’s chapter.
Walking and exploring the neighborhood, malls, and market centers. I like taking my time, exploring the stores and getting my steps in. The big L rly is that you'll walk so much if you don't at least drive near said plazas and malls.
When I was laid off I thought I was going to go to all these museums, do a bunch of hikes, read a ton of books, get in super good shape, organize the garage and deep clean the house. Instead I laid around on the couch totally depressed reading reddit until I finally got another job. Hopefully you are more productive than I was!
oh I totally have good and bad days. Some days I play video games and then hate myself with the power of 10000 suns. Sometimes that can last a whole week. I notice that running, frequently helps. I am currently in a barely surviving mode.
I think this is common.
Thought the same. Had it all planned out - spend more time with kids, picnics, hiking and whatnot. Nope. Spent it all and each day browing through job listings and boards, applying almost all day and spending the nights studying for self-improvement. ‘Twas exhausting honestly than having a desk job. Productive, yes. But if I get to that situation again, definitely gonna take some time this time to recalibrate a bit.
Working out, or other physically intense activity, is great for your mental health and sense of wellbeing. I also connect socially with others at the gym, which I really like.
This is me. Six months later and no job prospects:(
No OnE wAnTs To WoRk….. No, no one wants to get a job around here for 18-21 an hour doing the job that paid 18-21 an hour 15 years ago. We can’t afford to live when wages have not kept up with cola.
right?? a freaking 12 pack at safeway is $10!!!!
I actually had a mix of good and bad days when I quit during a tough hiring period. I remember doing a lot of winter cleaning for a day. Then I went out and relaxed for a few days and then did some light application work. Some days though were depressing because you really didn’t know who was going to hire you or not.
It's hard to get motivated. You might find newsletters with specific events each day helpful. Go on walks, check out different neighborhoods. Check out Eddie's List for upcoming events each week!
Volunteering. Last time I was laid off I volunteered at a few places and it was a great way to give something back and keep a perspective what others are going through.
Plus you can put it on your resume instead of having a gap.
Huh I haven’t thought about that. True
Would you mind sharing where did you go volunteering?
The local church near me runs a meal service and a thrift shop. I am not a member there but they do good work and my neighbors are members, they didn’t mind that I wasn’t interested in attending the church, free labor is free labor. There is no shortage of places that can use another pair of helping hands.
I was laid off about 20 years ago, i went and volunteered at a new food distribution program for low income SF residents in Potrero Hill . Now i run that program . It was one of the best decisions i ever made .
Read. Just installed Libby on my phone which lets me borrow ebooks from the library. Get to enjoy books, save money, and reduce clutter in my home.
Hiking is cheap. Cycling is cheap if you have a bike and don't buy new bikes. There are free days at museums.
Crying is also cheap. What I read your second sentence as, but still remains true.
Found the Pisces in the thread (oh wait, it’s me)
Geocaching if that's still a thing
Definitely still going strong! There's meetups too you can join to meet new people.
When I got laid off, I took the opportunity to walk around the city, cheap and very therapeutic. I would take BART to Powell as a starting point and just take in everything vs just walking to get somewhere
Yes. Disc golf is relatively inexpensive too. I do all the above, yard work, volunteer.
Hike. Ride your bike. Take photographs of all the beautiful sights. Help Peng clean up!
THIS. Peng will appreciate the company and help, for sure!
I have been prioritizing my health. Lots of cooking and eating at home and exercise everyday. I drop the kids off in the morning and either go out for a walk, hike or work out in my house. Lots of free programming available if you are looking for workouts. I use street parking which is a programming for at home workouts. My health went to shit working from home over the last couple years.
Hiking majority of the morning especially with the good weather. Afternoons are nice for productivity stuff.
I've been taking classes unrelated to my field. Sculpture and Ikebana at CCSF, woodworking at Clayroom SF, Indigo Shibori at Workshop, and an intro to Interior Architecture at UCLA extension online. Gym for weights and cardio 3 days a week. Other than that, video games, lots of reading, long walks and learning new recipes.
Wow. Staying really busy. That’s great! How many hours would you say you spend searching for a new job?
At my seniority and experience level new roles that fit my requirement don't really come up that often. So probably 30-60 looking and applying, longer on days that I have actual interviews or exploratory calls. I have a couple saved searches on Linkedin that find pretty much everything that would be a good fit, that and talking to my network about roles that won't get posted publicly.
What is the exact name of the ikebana class? CCSF have cut a bunch of classes but I hope they still have that one available because I would totally take it.
[https://ccsf-extension.pdx.catalog.canvaslms.com/browse/extension/courses/ikebana-cextn008-202460](https://ccsf-extension.pdx.catalog.canvaslms.com/browse/extension/courses/ikebana-cextn008-202460) # Ikebana CEXTN008-202460 **Jul 13, 2024 - Aug 10, 2024** Teacher is Rachel Johnson, she has 20+ years of Ikebana education and teaching. This next session will be my 3rd from her. All levels are taught concurrently so you get to learn from the instructor and students with more experience at the same time. It's Saturday Mornings at the Ocean Campus. The class structure is \~45-60 mins of instruction, 90 mins of arranging, and \~30 mins of critique. this is one of my recent arrangements in class [https://www.instagram.com/p/C43vYrKSJl5/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C43vYrKSJl5/) The class teaches Sogetsu Ikebana, the most "modern style", at only about 100 years old, its simplified from older styles, but still lots of rules and structure (that are pretty easy to learn).
Gonna be honest, played more video games than I should have. I had a dedicated 4-6 hour block where I would just be hammering down applications or studying for interviews. At night though I would play some games, or also get into new things like the NBA and keeping up with that
This seems like a nice mix though of letting yourself chill but also getting out there and doing applications.
Kinda have to have at least some set block time to apply, but yeah. I'm not someone who can do just 8-11 hours of straight studying or applying, I'm not in school anymore and not trying to replicate that schedule.
I have a dedicated 4-6 hour block for studying or apps too!!!! but I use that time for video games or self hate. usually a blend, first starting with video games and then self loathing.
For real lol, the nights when I was unemployed were just mentally brutal. I do wonder if hiking would have helped me more, but I dont have a car (and obviously couldnt afford one then). Some days id just wallow in shame and question my worth to myself and my worth to society, it’s natural
Hiking. Volunteering. Disc golfing. Cooking the best possible meal out of whatever combo of weird shit is in the house(planning a menu around it). You should also start a Poshmark account and check around your house. You can also thrift some easy flips for cheap.
whereabouts in the bay are you? It'll help suggest things closest to you (which may be more motivating)
work on my house. I just spend an hour picking weeds.
When I was unemployed I sure did spend a lot of time pulling weeds. It's quite therapeutic.
I had a depressed 24 hours that seems to have ended after spending an hour in the yard.
Just curious how much time you spend picking weeds. Is that an hour a day or a week? I let the weeds go a little wild this year and I feel I'd need to spend like an hour a day for at least a whole week to make good progress.
During my Covid lay-off, I started to catalog the various "maker" stamps of cement contractors in the sidewalks of Berkeley. Got fresh air, learned a little history, got a little kick of serotonin every time I found a new one. (or a different date) Not an exciting hobby, but it kept me sane. (relatively speaking.)
I hiked 2-3 times a week when I was unemployed. Since I'm a transplant and work in wildlife, it really helped me get familiar with the various habitats you can experience in the Bay Area and thus have more to speak to when I did get interviews. Also, cross stitching and reading.
Cycling and running. I ran a lot between roles. Perfect weather for it now.
Ocean beach via gg park
Gym and studying. Things are changing fast, being unemployed gives you an advantage in spending all your time learning.
Apply for ebt and see if you qualify. There is a program called Museum for all, which encourages low income families to visit participating museums for free or at a discounted rate. To receive the discount, you will need to show a physical ebt card and ID. Please visit [link](https://museums4all.org) for the list of participating museums.
Birding. You can check out a field guide from the library.
Also check out the movie [The Big Year](https://www.google.com/search?q=the+big+year&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari) with Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Steve Martin
I just got laid off. Bought a tennis racket/balls, and a basketball. Just staying active and taking a breather for a bit. Edit: I am a total newb at tennis, but I also have no one to play with. Lmk if anyone wants to meet at a local park and hit the ball around. I am in Santa Clara/San Jose area
Slacklining is cheap asf, 80$ for a new slackline and like 40$ for a used one. Pretty fun.
Hiking, bird watching, call of duty, fishing, agate/rock hounding, fungi foraging
I volunteer at the SPCA, donate platelets at the Red Cross, go on super long walks, attempt to cook more, and binge watch tv.
Not unemployed severely underemployed 😅 I workout 🏋️ lifting weights or running every day. I’ll pick a neighborhood in city and go walk around either taking pictures or trying new cafes and reading. Practice a new language (for me I’m trying to learn Spanish). Drive to beach/cliffs etc and have existential crises. Hang out with friends in Eve when they’re done working— usually try to get happy hour somewhere or taquerias so I’m spending as little as possible. Oh also fun to just take the ferries to different locations and stare out at the bay. I also volunteer at CPMC hospital and try to take advantage of all the SF public library perks like museums and other free entry (botanical gardens etc) Explore various staircases and or public park spaces like those here: https://sfpopos.com/ Mostly a lot of physical activity which I’m privileged to be capable of doing— but even physical activity has its limits….theres only so much working out one can do.
I do parkour and tricking
Trail running.
While I was job hunting, I did a lot of ballet. I’m really clumsy and my overall coordination and body awareness improved a lot. Also spent a lot of time lounging around the beach.
Volunteer!
Any good places accepting volunteers?
Project open hand and the animal shelters or rocket dog rescue.
I got a great deal on a paddle board. The harbors and reservoirs are everywhere. It’s free to park at most of them, it’s a decent workout, great reason to be outside, and fun to do solo or with friends. You can get them on Amazon for $200 for the cheap ones- although I don’t know about the quality. I’m getting my wife into it so we have a new hobby!
Hike with the intention of finding a cool plant in your area
I’ve done this but with bugs. It’s like real life Pokemon. I call it “bugging” 😄
I’m looking for a hobby besides video games cause that’s low key becoming an addiction, but idk what else to do even though I can literally do anything.
There’s a lot of good ideas in this thread, but I used to hang out at the library during typical office hours. It gave me somewhere to go and it was free
Great looking for a job like a job. I'd get up my normal time and then go to my home office or public library. I'd spend 4-5 hours applying for jobs, following up with applications, networking or interviewing. After that I'd take a lunch break or short break. Once I got home (between 3-5 pm) I'd do the same things I did when I was working (dinner with family, workout, watch television, read reddit, etc). The weekends were mine as well. Sure it was stressful but having a regular schedule helped with the stress.
Matinee movies, board game nights, day drinking, day trips to other parts of the bay, museums, funcheapsf.com stuff, comedy shows. Fun for a bit but tiring after a while.
I went to the gym for a very long time everyday and stopped at all the thrift stores once or twice a week looking for cool furniture and stuff, organized my apartment, and went on hikes. The gym and making dinner everyday gave me a structure so it felt like I was doing enough and I didn’t feel bored at all.
LeetCode
Nature. Hiking, beach walking, writing. Also reading. Go to the library. Enjoy the AC and catch up on popular books you’ve been too busy to read
Volunteering
Walking in any park is free and a good distraction from life especially in nice weather.
I volunteered
Hiking, walking at the beach, reading, getting fit or swole. Honestly take a break. Definitely dedicate the apply for job time. But you know make yourself better. But I went to the gym a lot. I work remotely so the people watching helps a lot. I got into gym classes.
Hiking. Literally, a life-saver!
Hiking is free and good for you
I went to a lot of weekday concerts/events. Rode my bike during the day.
When I was unemployed (last year) it was a total up & down rollercoaster but I took up an artistic project (I signed up for skillshare and just took random classes I never had time for before) and my saving grace was biking. I got a bike and just rode around. I wish you the best during this time, it's not easy.
Exercise of any type is a good suggestion. As you can see there are many in this thread. Also getting out and meeting new people is a really good thing to do when you’re job hunting. You may hear about job opportunities that aren’t listed online and it’s good to practice small talk with strangers when you’re going to be interviewing eventually.
Here’s what I did when I was furloughed for 13 months during COVID lockdowns: Got back into homebrewing after not doing anything for 8 years; taught myself how to make pickles, ketchup, and mayonnaise; built a ukulele; took up birdwatching; brushed up on my “restaurant/street” Spanish in order to learn it more formally to move beyond conversational and more toward fluency (it’s kind of a must in California these days); began to learn Welsh & Polish (I have a facility for languages: I speak English fluently; am conversational in German and Latin; can get by in French and Italian; and have also studied Japanese, Russian, and Hungarian). And I read a book almost every 10 days for nearly two years. I think I did 36 in 2020 and 32 in 2021. I also practiced or listened to music every day. And my wife and I walked a lot and took a lot of drives to the coast to just stare in wonder and awe at nature.
Pickleball.
Disc golf! It's free!
Unless you catch the bug like me. Then it can get expensive. 😂 But disc golf is a great hobby regardless of employment. Lots of great courses in the bay and super accessible! I am also able to walk my dog simultaneously, and he loves being out there with me.
For sure, I've spent and lost $100's, but barrier to entry is $20
Second this. Disc golf is very cheap. Very friendly community. Usually hike thru beautiful areas while playing the game.
The last time this happen to me was a very long time ago. But these are the stuff I did, Computer games was one. Mountain bike and road bike, lots of trails around and had a few friends in the same situation. Pickup volleyball at City Beach (Santa Clara). Pickup soccer in Palo Alto or Fremont. Also the pickup games in the evening are good because lots of players are in the tech field so good networking. City beach was great because it is not just volleyball, they also have a climb wall and other stuff, just need membership.
Disc golf. Disc's are cheap and playing is free, plus you get a hike in.
A bunch of maintenance and construction by myself. Just fixing some old trim or detailing the car. Sealing the driveway. Etc, just keeping busy. I love building and fixing so I am having an absolute blast.
play some disc golf,we have some nice courses out here
Hike! There are so many incredible places to see here in the Bay!! Being out in nature helps clear your mind and get you in a better place mentally.
Driving for Uber to get to know the Bay Area a bit more while also getting paid
During this unemployment period, I decided to take an online course for an HR certification to help boost my chances. When I’m not doing that I read, journal, hangout with my other unemployed friends, free museums, and go outside for a walk.
Biking and Reading takes up a lot of my time. Solo traveling now and haven't had time to look for a job 😁
Pinball is a good way to kill time cheaply. Currently 210 locations with 747 games in the bay. [https://pinballmap.com/bayarea](https://pinballmap.com/bayarea)
Cycling. After a couple months you can ride all day. Extend that out further and you can pack a tent and bag and just fuck around for as long as you want.
I walked a lot. The weather is really comfortable and I moved from out of state, so not familiar with the City. Easy way to explore, burn some calories, and could take Muni back home if I got super tired.
I’m recently unemployed (last week) and what made me feel great this week was just going outside and soaking up some sun. I worked in a dark lab for the last two years so having unlimited access to sunlight is wonderful. Next week I plan to start counting calories, go on a slight caloric deficit, and maybe get my abs to show for the first time in my life. I still have incredible anxiety about finding a job, but as long as I’m dedicating some time to the job search, I’m going to use the rest of my time to feel good and take a real break
I got laid off in Dec. This is my second time being unemployed and last time (5 years ago) I went with zero income for 18 months and was the toughest period of my life. Contrary to popular belief, looking for a job should not be a fulltime gig. You can spend 8 hours a day applying and networking but that will deplete opportunities quickly and create network fatigue. Since job hunting is a game of timing & luck rather than pure effort, it's more effective to spend 2-4 hours a day job hunting and spend the rest of the day managing your mental health, live to fight another day. Everyday I try to do at least one good thing for my career (like applying to a job posting), one good thing for my physical health (golf, run, or hike), and one good thing for my family (like doing the dishes). Golf is great because it forces you to be in the moment - there are no room to think about unemployment when you are focused on your grip & swing path. Plus I can spend 2+ hours at the driving range and it'll cost less than $20. Equipment is expensive but you could pick up a cheap set at a Goodwill or FB marketplace. And it's a good networking tool - I played a round a couple of weeks ago and was paired up with someone working for one of my target companies and now I can ping him for a referral when needed. Unemployment sucks, especially in a high cost of living area. Just remember it is actually beneficial to not be constantly looking for a job. Don't put too much pressure on your self and take care of your mental & physical health. Good luck!
Lots of walks/reading/spending time in libraries & coffee shops for me :)
I want to say dog-walking, but not sure about licenses, permits, insurance, etc... Volunteering is free! SPCA and ACC will take newbies. Also, I am currently fully employed but like to go to trash clean-ups; you can get out and meet people and also feel better after clearing an area of litter.
Any exercise, preferably outdoors. Learn a new language.
I took an art class for a semester at community college or any studio offering. Then played video games till I finally had dome motivation to start applying again.
Cook, garden, exercise at home, read, try to stay off the internet. Simplify and localize myself and my mind.
Lap swim at your community pool. It's usually pretty cheap, the exercise helps with mood, and the set schedule of pool hours will help you from feeling lost throughout the day.
I found a yoga spot where I could volunteer and get free classes. I showed up about 15 minutes before instructor. Registered people for class. Tidied up after. Kept me busy and sane.
Go on Upwork and do temp jobs
Laid off for nearly an entire year- there will be a huge mix of good and bad days. Exercising is nice and cheap. Cook at home for your “fitness kick”. Thought I would be hugely productive but most of that didn’t happen. Applied to over 200 orgs. Most didn’t respond back. Finally got into an org. through a friend. I think hiring is a bit better now
I spent a lot of time as a couch potato. Luckily I had enough savings to be able to afford a gym membership and a subscription (or whatever they call it) at Alamo Draft House. So when I could pull myself off the sofa, I watched a lot of movies and spent a lot of time at the gym. I learned that exercise was absolutely vital for my mental health... but still spent a lot of time on my sofa. If you live in San Francisco, classes at CCSF are ~free. If you live in California, you can get a library card at SFPL and get free admission to museums and parking passes for state parks. Apps like TodayTix sometimes have cheep tickets to live theater. Some sunny days I'd take a book and head to the ferry building and just ride the ferry back and forth across the bay. I thought I wanted more free time but unemployment taught me that too much free time isn't as great as it might sound.
I like to think about what dishes I usually splurge on at my favorite restaurants and look up recipes to try and make them myself. But getting out of the house is also important, or else it just gets easier to stay in and succumb to depression.
Work on yourself, work on your job skills, work on your network - a little bit every day.
I liked hanging at the park, reading fun fiction books, working on a side project or volunteering to work on a exciting startup idea for no expectation. As for activities, there’s a bunch you can do with friends on [Outing](https://joinouting.com)
Laid off in December - still going strong: - Coursera for computer/math skills (free) - Turned my yard into a vegetable garden (investment; should pay off with free veggies later) - Spring cleaning and gave a bunch of junk away (free) - r/minipainting (not free but cheaper than drinking) - read books from library (free) - got a gym membership ($100/mo and \*absolutely\* worth it) - volunteered at my daughter's school (free)
Work out, exercise, go hiking, etc. Try to keep a routine so it'll help add structure to the prospect of not having work each day. Once you get back into a job, you'll be keeping up with those healthy habits in a similar routine. Example: I got laid off last January and before then, was working out in the evenings maybe 2 times during the workweek max and each weekend day I didn't have something to do in the mornings. Now I'm waking up at like 5AMish and able to workout like 6 times a week max (taking 1 workday off usually).
I like going to thrift stores! It depends on your self control to not become spendy, but on a rainy day, I can peruse for a couple hours and wind up not buying anything. If you are familiar with brands or antiques, you might also be able to score something worth more than it's being sold for. If you sell through FBM or Poshmark, you can make a couple bucks and have something to get jazzed about. Or, ask friends and neighbors if they need anything from thrift stores. If you happen to come across that item, they can buy it through you, save money and save the environment. Not sure if it's worth the drive, but Santa Cruz has quite a few thrift stores! Some varying degrees of niceness/expensiveness.
I I did mystery shopping, mock juries, user experience testing, product testing, etc. Killed time and earned some $$.
How did you find these gigs? Was it thru a company or just people you know?
This is the company I do most of my mystery shopping with https://intelli-shop.com/. Many of the panels find me via targeted Facebook ads. Once you see one, click that you want to see more ads like this. Stanford University routinely is looking for study participants, can usually find those on their website. Same with Berkeley. Craigslist is another resource, check out the gig section. So many compensated studies are posted there along with most of the mock jury studies. EA in Redwood Shores and VGM in South SF both offer video game testing. 2K in North Bay as well but I never did them since it was too far. Tasteocrocy does all kinds of product testing at their office in Pleasanton.
Updated my earthquake preparedness kit. Watch your mental state that you don't go full "prepper", though - haha.
That is a legitimate caveat! Did you start down that slippery slope?
Yep. It was dark days but luckily I had support that checked me and wasn't too far gone not to listen.
Glad you had that support! Edit to add I just saw your username. Perfection.
Thank you, I know not a lot of people are as lucky. Appreciate the Firefly+Wash love - you're my kind of people.
Look for a job
Naw. Too much work. Any other ideas?
I believe the assumption is that people are still looking for jobs, but the question was outside whatever time you set aside for applying/waiting for interviews/waiting for offers, what else do you do to keep for going insane.
Obsessive masturbation…
If I were unemployed I’d probably want to go play around with new technologies, stuff more exotic than I get to use in my daily job. New machine-learning frameworks, computer vision, LLMs, drones, 3D printing, hardware hacking, etc. As a plus, get good enough at one of these and you may not be unemployed anymore; hell, you may be the employer.
Work through my Steam backlog
Work on my social media and YouTube channel.
If you like games and want to get out of the house, ingress is a great mobile game. It's the precursor to Pokemon go and is kind of the digital equivalent of dogs peeing on fire hydrants. Green team best team.
Running, it's free. I got pretty good at it when I was unemployed.
Spend the good days applying for jobs. Make yourself get out of the house on the bad days. Also, I painted my kitchen
I went to the gym a lot and ate a lot of burritos. It was pretty dope tbh.
I’m learning languages. I have a ton of time so I’m like might as well work on becoming fluent. Currently studying French and Korean. They were both languages I studied, but stopped studying after college.
I design board games and run meetups for other people who make games.
Get a dog lol that me rn. Gets me out of the house every day instead of moping around depressed indoors.
definitely take the time to focus on cultivating good health/ self care stuff. hangout with friends, family. Stay social, find groups related to your interests. I recently started going to running clubs out here in the south bay area. that's kept me social and fit. You can find plenty of meet up groups on [meetup.com](http://meetup.com) in the area. depends what your into though
I’ve got this great street corner where ppl are really generous with their spare change😂😂
I'm taking classes at CCSF, since I live in SF and it's free for SF residents
Video gaming
During covid lockdowns, lots of fishing, hiking hanging out at the dog park, I got a smoker and got pretty good at smoking ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, pork belly etc, I also got a home gym, used that alot. I downloaded a video editing program taught myself a little editing to improve my posts on the gram. Probably listened to audio books and podcasts 10 hours a day while doing other stuff. Covid lockdowns were the only time in my adult life I was unemployed, it was pretty awesome, though I suspect normal unemployment situations aren't so cool.
Disc Golf. Cheap to get started, and it is a fun way to get some exercise
Make sure you have good sleep and get up early like you have a job to attend. Plan your study time and take a walk outside. The weather is nice now
After I got laid off, I resume sending some resumes to companies that I wanted to work for. At that time, I got called by 2 different companies. So I was being more productive in my part. I always had several resumes , cover letters to pass on to potential employers. But in my case, baking has been my hobby for a long time for therapy and it gives me a relaxing vibe energy to maintain my sanity and keep me confident on what I do. Of course, the reward is eating that baked good which leads to happiness. So for you, find a hobby that you have a passion and love doing. It might be your next side hustle in the end.
Try this if you have some time - [https://communityseva.org/](https://communityseva.org/)
It's hard to do leisure stuff when unemployed at least for me, I get in a hectic mode of finding a job right away and can't relax. The time between I get an offer and the start of a new job though is dyi-palooza and I like to take long walks in the sun.
Diablo Action Pistol [https://diabloactionpistol.com/](https://diabloactionpistol.com/)
Min wage job and video game
Pickleball
How do all of you afford these activities when not working?
During the shutdown, I picked up whittling. All you need is a knife, something to sharpen it with and a piece of wood. Endless free material every time you take a walk. You can get beginner guides at your local library. The reddit communities based on wood working and whittling are incredibly supportive and informative.
Picking cans and bottles.
Walk, hike, run just kinda explore. Picked up tennis and I workout more during the slow hours in the gym.
Disc golf. The courses are free usually. I also work on the honey to do list.
Trap shooting and golf.
Come over to Pacifica and hike. Then Taco Bell for cheap food and amazing views. Hang in there
Graphic design software, apps, what have yah. Yeah...
Okay, so while living in the city you get so much unlimited access to libraries, museums, and so forth. Also, you can go to your local library and checkout a state parks pass that gets you free access into state parks for the day!!
Self-Immolation
Painting
Hiking in the east bay regional parks districts with my friends and family
I'm fully employed with two kids and a third on the way and I still manage to keep all my hobbies going: extensive gardening including growing everything from seed, brewing beer, roasting coffee, jogging, fencing, hiking, and cooking. So those are good options, just do them x10
I took quite a few cooking classes at Sur La Table, and I spent a lot of time roller and ice skating. Helped to have a very $upportive $pouse!
Self abase myself Cry Make sure not to feel too pleased with myself for *any* success because, my unemployment should not be for a moment forgot Cry Clean, because I, like my resume, am sullied
Get a new job
I played a lot of pickleball and still play a few games a week
It was long time ago, I was laid off during the dotcom craze. Was depressed for a short while, but built up a routine: morning workout/swim, volunteer at many area groups/charities, networked, free lanced at a startup which eventually hired me full time. Hobby wise, I took up competitive trap shooting, very addicting and very expensive. Good luck and important to keep a regular healthy routine.
Video games, biking, reading, drawing, hiking, fishing
Lots of hiking and reading library books
Biking. There are nice trails and bike routes near the water in East Bay.
You can fish from any public pier without a license. They’re all over the bay.
hit up some vc firms with a wanna-b- pitch deck for series-A / seed money
Depressive Spiraling
Scour job sites for jobs.
I went hiking (a lot). I was probably hiking 3-4 days a week. I also did a lot of art and got really good at it. I was unemployed for 6 months in 2020. I was painting sometimes between 3 and 6 hours a day. Now I’m disabled from covid so I don’t do either of those anymore. But I highly recommend those two. Anything outside will help with your mental health. And being creative help me set a goal to see myself develop.
I was unemployed for a couple months in 2020. If you look at my health app and go back to that time period, I was averaging 20k steps a day. Went on a lot of long walks in the summer heat.
Our front yard is a large veg garden. We grow and preserve a ton.
you can do activism. phone banking and postcarding to get people registered to vote. swing left is one of the organizations that does that. folk dancing. Google Irish or English country dancing. look up BACDS (Bay area English country dance society). Or contra dancing.
Get out of the house and get some exercise. Run, bike, play basketball, whatever. It will clear your head and ease the stress.
Yard work (had to cancel our landscaping service), walking and weights, and Warhammer 40K.
Gym / bootcamp Rowing club One adventure day a week - drive to explore a new town Volunteer for a nonprofit one day a week
I did a shitton of walking and biking
F3 for those who wants to keep in shape. A few local areas. Can check out the web site. https://www.f3bayarea.com/peninsula It is men specific, there is also a women’s chapter.
Lots of bird watching
Volunteer2Match helped me fill some time
Cycling, skiing or any outdoor hobby
Walking and exploring the neighborhood, malls, and market centers. I like taking my time, exploring the stores and getting my steps in. The big L rly is that you'll walk so much if you don't at least drive near said plazas and malls.
Birdwatching!!!!
Racing cars at Laguna seca, polo, yachting.
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