Break Time

I'm temporarily taking a break today from the job search to spend some quality time on cleaning and creative endeavors.  As important as it is for me to focus on finding work, there comes a time when a breather is necessary.  So I'm doing just this and taking a guilt-free brief break.  It feels incredibly liberating.  Today, I will not be chained to Craigslist, Indeed, Mediabistro or Monster.  I refuse to be tied down to my laptop or enslaved to email.  I shall cease incessantly checking my cell phone for voicemail messages.  And I will enjoy the day in its fullest. 

I'm not quite sure what's led me to this break.  Perhaps I need a change of pace in my daily routine, which usually consists of a 7 a.m. rise time, a cup of tea and a bit of breakfast while watching my favorite morning show on television, and a shower around 8 a.m.  I'm usually dressed and ready to go on the job hunt by nine -- that is, if I don't opt for a morning trek on the boardwalk beforehand, depending on my mood and the weather.  The remainder of the morning, the whole of the afternoon (save for lunch, of course), and a chunk of the evening is devoted to job-searching, cover letter-composing, and blogging about related matters.  Since I'm not a big television viewer, I don't have the lure of game shows, soap operas, and gossip programs to distract me, so I'm usually pretty focused on the task at hand.  (Yes, I'm very disciplined.)  Hopefully, this discipline will extend itself to today's vow to disconnect from my laptop, cell phone, email, and favorite job-search websites -- although I'm not counting on it.  But I will try.

This meticulous, ultra-disciplined approach is a strategy which has worked well in the past during prior layoffs, so naturally I'm hoping to repeat the success.  The end result is that I've gone on a few interviews in the past month, so I don't feel as though I've been completely forgotten by workplace society, but obviously I'm hoping to land something soon.  I'm getting antsy and being out of professional action doesn't suit my overactive nature.  But in the meantime, I'm stepping back today to clear my mind, concentrate on unrelated matters, and just have a little fun for a change.  The weather's beautiful, so why shouldn't I get out and enjoy it?  After all, there's nothing worse than being cooped up at home alone with only your thoughts for company.  So what's on today's agenda?  Nothing terribly exciting.  Paying bills.  Cleaning.  Gathering bags of clothing to donate to the local thrift shop in town.  Scrapbooking.  Just relaxing and -- as I said before -- enjoying the day in its fullest.