Today marks one month since my first day of being unemployed.
To recap: I left my cushy federal job after a 13-year career in defense to take some time off and realign my career trajectory. The plan was to take a month off and then pick up part-time work to make a little money until I figure out my next full-time move.
April has been my month of nothing… or, it was supposed to be. To be frank, I’ve had to make a concerted effort to not let guilt shake up my plans too much. I’ve absolutely LOVED not working this month and having my days to myself, but it’s hard to stay away from the job listings when your spouse is working two jobs.
He took his career break/shift at the end of 2021, which lasted about 3 months, but he still didn’t feel completely refreshed. After one month, I can say the initial panic and frazzled mind frame I was in before has settled somewhat, but I still feel some pressure to start making money again.
I have an interview this week with a small local business owner. It’s only part-time and undoubtedly minimum wage, but it looks like fun. Already, my mind is sorting through the “what-ifs” of silly things like taking a vacation. At the moment, I can do what I want when I want, which is one of the most liberating feelings, and even a little part-time gig feels like it’s throwing a wrench into the mix. Asking someone for time off again??? What?
I’ve also broken my April “nothing” rules by continuing prep into my next job. I’m not proud of that, but it stems from the guilt of not contributing financially and watching my husband stress over his jobs. So I’ve been working through some LinkedIn Learning courses while browsing job listings. The descriptions help me figure out where I might have some resume gaps, and then I work to sort those out or highlight things that may be related, even if it’s less directly.
One the fun side, this month has also allowed me to spend more time on some fun things:
-Working out
-Yoga
-Hiking
-Reading
-Blogging
-Getting organized
-Decluttering
-Hanging out with my husband and dog
-Not being on social media (I’ve barely missed it and would like to limit usage in the future)
-Not being in a horrible, stressy mood (imagine that!)
Moving onward with my plan into part-time work. I have a feeling plans may shift into full time work a little faster than I’d hope, but I’ll provide updates here if they do.
-K