The idea of the unemployed that sleeps until late and lays on the couch all day should be abandoned. Well, sometimes it can look like that, I admit it. But the job of the unemployed is to search for a job, and it is a busy one. There are many things to do, like searching for job announces, reading and writing emails, and sending job applications. In this article we will cover how to schedule time when you are unemployed.

Use a calendar, don’t be unscheduled

Let’s be honest, your day will look like the one described before (sleeping late, laying on the couch) if you don’t set for yourself a schedule. If you have nothing to do, why waking up in the morning? So, the first thing to do is to make up a schedule. I would advise you to use a calendar, whether digital or physical.

When planning out your day, week or month, my first advice is to be specifical. Do not just place in your calendar an event of 8 hours of ‘job research’, that is not going to work. Instead, plan short amounts of time, like 30 minutes, 1 or 2 hours, but be specific, and realistic. Are you really going to spend 3 hours just reading job announces? If so, good, but if not, then just schedule 30 minutes of time for searching new announces, and make the most out of your other time. 

So, how should you plan your calendar? 

Priorities: first, the most important things to do

Have you got some important deadlines to meet? There are some very important things on your to do list that you should cross? Then, set aside a proper amount of time to do them. I have to do lists, but the items on them become things I actually do only when they enter my calendar and they become events. 

If you have just registered at the employment office, or are about to, you will probably have to do many things: the actual registration, writing your CV and cover letter, setting up your social media work profiles, … Take yourself sometime to do these important things, so you will be ready to find and answer to job announces. 

When you have some more time, I would advise to divide your day in the following way:

• Checking email.
• Checking new job announces.
• Writing job applications.
• General administration.

The time it will take to do those things will depend on you. I would say to count 1 hour to checking email, 1 hour to checking new job announces, 2 hours to writing job applications, and 30 minutes for general administration. This is an approximation, as it only reaches 4 and half hours of your day. But if it’s 4 hours, if it’s 6, or if it’s 2, it will depend on the day. And if you prefer to do those things just once a week, consider reserving a day or maybe two for each one of these things we are going to consider.

1. Checking emails

I do not like notifications, because I do not like to be constantly interrupted. That’s why I would advise you to give yourself one hour a day to check for new emails and reply, and then do not open the email program again. If that is a little too much, you could consider setting aside a little bit of time also at the end of the day.

From your email you will find that there are some things you have to do, so it’s good that you plan the important things to do so to do them later in the day or in the week.

2. Checking new job announces

This is one of your main jobs. I would advise you to do this activity every day, because every day new job announces are published, and you do not want to miss job opportunities, you want to be one of the firsts in apply to a job announce. Check the internet, the newspapers, the boards of announces of your local shop, the newsletters, check everywhere job announces are published.

Gather the announces using the method described in the “Mini-course: how to be digitally organized while unemployed – Ebook”. That is, take a screenshot, a photo, or export the window as a pdf file, and gather those information in a proper folder (or more). Then, it is time to apply.

3. Writing job applications

This part of the job will probably take up most of your time, but if you follow the steps of this article, you will be prepared to do it efficiently. 

You will have to write emails or physical letters, make phone calls or compile online forms. Write as many as you can. And if that is required by your job, this is the time to show up at your future workplace to let yourself know.

This is also the time to write spontaneous applications to companies you would like to work for. 

4. General administration

At the end of the day, you will sometimes have to do some general administration. Maybe the employment office requires a document from you, or you require a certification from a certain office: this part of the day is to do these tasks. 

I would also include in this part of the day your personal administration, like paying the bills, taxes or health expenses. Since you have to do it anyway, might as well do it while you are already at the computer.

Conclusion

You know very well that even if you are unemployed, there are a lot of things to do. If you follow these advices and have your time scheduled, every priority will be considered and every deadline will be met.