10 Reasons Why Being Unemployed Is Good For You
10 Reasons Why Being Unemployed Is Good For You
Unemployment – The Best Time Of Your Life?
Get to know your local park.
For a brief period in the mid-noughties I was unemployed. I’d finished a fixed-term contract for a games company where I worked as a games tester, and decided I needed to find a permanent job rather than slide into another temping position.
So I signed up for Job Seekers Allowance benefits and did all the normal job-hunting tasks. I tweaked my CV, browsed job sites, and searched listings in local papers.
Before I go into full-on wistful reminiscing mode, there were several factors that made my joblessness more comfortable than it could otherwise have been.
My girlfriend was working full time, so in effect I was free-loading off her in the unspoken understanding that I’d find a job soon and all would be well.
We didn’t have kids, our rent was small, and we had no crushing levels of debt, all of which would have made the whole experience hellish. So with that in mind, here’s why I look back on that time in my life with a strange fondness.
More Time
Without a job, I had time. And I could do whatever I liked with it. Of course, I spent some of it looking for a job, as well as convincing the benefits agency I was looking for a job, but when I wasn’t doing that I was free. Not just to do fun stuff like playing video games or surfing the net, but to get all the mundane stuff done too, but this time without all the pressure of having to fit into the evenings after work or in my precious weekends. Laundry, tidying up, minor DIY – all of it could be done on my time, and when it was done, I was free once again. Knowing this kind of crap didn’t need to be done in a smaller and forced timeframe made things less stressful in a way that only now can I appreciate.
Discovering Creative Frugality
Of course, the biggest issue with being out of work is lack of money.While I had the luxury of low overheads and (for the time being) an understanding partner, I didn’t have to worry about this too much, but it was always at the back of my mind. But this brought about a new way of thinking.
Frugality. If something cost money, did I need it? Could it be found cheaper elsewhere? Could I make money?
I can remember dabbling with eBay, selling a few books and CDs, but looking back I could have expanded this massively given the time and resources I had at my disposal. Especially since those were the wild-west days of eBay, when it was mostly casual private sellers and buyers.
I took a big plastic Jelly Baby container full of coins to one of those change converting machines you find in supermarkets and cashing it all in. It didn’t amount to a great amount of money, just over £25 I think. But when your benefits are about £50 a week, that’s a massive boost.
What did I do with the money? I can’t recall, but I remember it coming in really handy. It was probably burnt up in small increments of minor but necessary purchases – buying a pint of milk, parking, paying for newspapers with job listings. But it was money created from almost nowhere, and now it almost doubled in value because I was conscious of where it came from and what I was doing with it.
You Can Explore
While I wasn’t working I acquainted myself with my town. I recommend you do this at some point. However long you’ve lived in one place, there’s always somewhere you haven’t been before, or has changed since you were last there. Admire the architecture, stroll through parks and partake in the activity normally reserved for old people and children – feeding the ducks.
Feeding the ducks. Not just for old people and kids.
Being unemployed meant I could browse shops without them being busy like they are at weekends. At the time we lived in a tiny town-centre flat in a Georgian building (it wasn’t as grand as that sounds – it had five small rooms if you include the hallway) and I was walking-distance from pretty much everything. I discovered lots of little independent shops I’d never seen before, as well as interesting side-streets I’d never have known about otherwise.
More Time To Read
I was able to read books, most of which were bought from charity shops, which of course I had plenty of time to browse through. The amount of time I have to read today has dropped almost to zero, whereas the number of books to read has only multiplied to the point where I’ve consciously had to stop acquiring them.
No Commuting
Other than those who have worked from home all their working careers, we can all relate to the hell that is commuting, even if yours is relatively short. Car problems, traffic, train delays, and the inevitable cost in terms of both time and money are immense. When you stop to consider how much time you spend travelling to and from work, it’s soul-destroyingly depressing.My grandfather lived across the road from the factory he had worked in for decades, and he attributed the high quality of life he enjoyed during his career and on into his retirement to the almost zero commute he had. I’m sure there’s some truth in that.
No Alarm Clock
Not having a job meant I had no need to get up early. Let’s face it, you don’t get up early because your job starts early, you get up at that time because you need to allow (waste) time for traffic and delays. You wouldn’t normally get up when you do, your job forces you to. Unless of course you’re getting up to do something you enjoy, which I’m guessing isn’t sitting in traffic or standing in a packed commuter train carriage. And even if you love your work, I bet you hate your commute.
More Sleep
Without time constraints you sleep better. Having a decent amount of sleep is invaluable, and having it regularly is even better. If you don’t feel rushed or pressured, you can do things properly, even if they are just every-day things.What do you hear people say all the time?“I’m so tired…” whilst wearily rubbing their eyes and looking defeated.
They usually say this after a hard day’s work. You never hear it being said after someone has spent the day doing stuff they love.
Get To Know Your Neighbours
We’re all guilty of not knowing those that live around us, and you can blame work for a large part of that. You spend almost as much time at work as you do at home (and a large portion of this is spent sleeping), so it’s not surprising in a way. Your new-found time means you’re far more likely to cross paths with those you simply wouldn’t otherwise see. These things make life in general a lot more pleasant. Unless of course your neighbours are meth addicts who like to share their love of techno. But even then you can avoid them by using the tactics in point three.
You Might Learn Something
A friend of mine used a break in contracts in the IT industry to do a short massage course. Using a Groupon discount voucher he signed up to some sessions and spent a couple of days doing something he was interested in. You can safely assume he’d never have done it if he had to shoe-horn the activity into his weekends or take time off work.Local colleges and libraries offer all sorts of courses and craft sessions, but the opportunity to learn or develop skills is enormous if you’re not working. You could do anything from a single-session massage day, to earning a trade qualification. If, for example, you worked full time as a management accountant, when could you possibly do a brick-laying course (or even vice-versa)? The answer in most cases is never.
Planning Ahead
Related to the above topic, not being in work gives you time to figure out what you’ll actually do when you return to work. More of the same? Something totally new? A different location? Never work again, but find a way to support yourself?Continuous employment doesn’t afford you this kind of luxury – it’s the kind of thing that only comes about during a period of contemplation. So while being unemployed is often a scary experience, it does offer several opportunities that would otherwise be rare.
What did I do after being briefly unemployed? Nothing life-changing is the short answer. I got a job at a large University and I’ve been there ever since, but all of the above are things I’ve come to appreciate since my time out of work. If I’m ever unemployed again, (but this time with the added pressure of a mortgage and children), I’ll be looking at it like this to blunt the sense of despair it can often bring.
Unemployed? Know someone who is? Share this post with them and it might help them look a bit differently at their current situation.
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