First, an announcement.I'm excited! I woke up this morning with an epiphany. Last night, I realized that when I'm employed again, I won't have as much time for this blog.
I also thought that it was silly to wait until my life is more chaotic when I could use the time now for my writing projects.
I've been struggling with this for awhile now and wondering what to do about it. I hope you won't be sad, but Thursday's posts are being retired. Why Thursday? Because going forward, instead of one day a week where I talk about thoughtfulness and gratitude, I want to infuse it in every post I do. I want this blog to be a place of positivity. Not so much positivity that it is unbalanced and hiding from reality, but a place where that underlying vibe is throughout every post. An atmosphere of gratitude.
There may be another change later on when I figure some other things out that are rolling about in my brain.
On to today's post.
In order to weather storms, one must know when to push hard, but also when to be soft on themselves.
This weekend was a long weekend in Canada. Today is Victoria Day, which is also known as the May 2-4 weekend because it always happens on a Monday near May 24th and it's the first major party weekend leading into summer.
Given my current employment status, I spent part of it applying to jobs.
A good chunk was a break though. I needed to have some time to sit and think about what I really want. What I want and need now and what I want my future to be like.
What I came up with is that I want a job that lets me earn enough money for my expenses and to both pay down my debt and put money aside for things like getting my play Crisis out into the world. I'd love to be living off my writing full time, but it's not necessary to be happy and healthy. As long as I have some time on the side for my writing and martial arts, I'll be heading in the direction I want to be in. I want this job to use my background well. I've a number of skills and I can really help make a difference in an organization if they're on board.
Here is my current goal list:
- Find employment: Continue applying to jobs to achieve this. Note - I took a brief breather this weekend because I was feeling burned out.
- Get The Page & The Magician published: Finish editing and resubmit. Note - I spent time on this this weekend. I've noticed such an improvement in my writing and editing skills since before school :)
- Write my second screenplay: Finish character creation. Note - I started writing some scenes down. I was compelled to start writing it... There will be lots of editing anyway, right?
- Get my home clean: Continue decluttering and doing chores regularly. Note - I was almost caught up on my dishes, but got behind again :(
- Read more books: Read every Saturday morning. Note - I've started doing this and I'm loving it :)
And that's mainly what I'm focusing on. I'm still up for hanging out with people when I'm not doing those things and they're available.
One other thing is getting myself into a routine. It's one of the most important things one can do when unemployed. Yes, I need to spend a lot of time applying to jobs, but I should have breaks in there where I take a walk and see the sun. I also noticed I was getting very little writing done and I need to make time for that too.
I'm also learning a bit of a writing style I haven't done a lot of. It's an online course with a journalism component. A free one. And it's self-paced, so I'm doing a little bit here and there.
I'm thankful for the roof over my head and food in my belly. I'm thankful there are so many jobs available right now that can use my skills. It's wonderful having the opportunity to convince them that I'm the person they need right now at their company!
I have a meeting today and I'm looking forward to learning more about one opportunity to enhance my skills further :D
If you've been unemployed before, what things helped you get through it?
R~