Keeping sane during unemployment

I have been unemployed more than once in my life (how awful, what does that say about me? eeek let's not go there!).  I can tell you it is really easy to fall into a vicious cycle of sleeping in, eating lunch late, eating dinner late, sleeping late, not leaving the house for days on end, questioning who you are and what you are achieving by being on this planet, etc etc.

I was actually talking to my GP about it (who is amazing btw, if anyone needs a GP on the lower north shore in Sydney email me and I'll give you her deets) and told her I was still looking for work.  She remarked that I was surprisingly upbeat for someone who hadn't found a job in 3 weeks and I explained the things I had been doing to keep sane.

1. To me the most important thing is routine and structure.  When you're working, you have structure to your day.  When you're not working, this is the first thing that falls away.  I get up at 9am every day, go grab a takeaway coffee and have a chat to the barista, come home and check emails and have a look at seek.  I'll make lunch, do some internet searching, then maybe watch tv for a few hours.  Grocery shopping, make dinner, eat dinner, some more tv watching with Tom, then bed.
2. Leave the house!  I went stir crazy last time I was unemployed.  There were literally days on end where I just didn't leave the house.  I didn't change out of my pyjamas in the morning, lounged around all day in them and then went to sleep in them that night.  Disgusting.  Go for a walk, go check the mail, go get a coffee/lunch/groceries.
3. Meet friends/family/ex-colleagues for lunch.  Yes this might mean going into the city but just being able to talk to another human being feels amazing after you've been talking to yourself/the computer for 2 days.
4. Try not to emotionally rely on your other half 100%.  I was guilty of doing this last time and it not only pissed Tom off but it made our relationship one-sided and unhealthy.  Yes they should be emotionally supportive but don't abuse this support.  

Unemployed.

So I resigned yesterday.  I had no intention of resigning when I went into work but events unfolded which made me realise I could not continue to work there.  No one should be bullied or threatened by their Manager and I, unfortunately, was subject to both.

My Director, seeing how poorly my Manager's treated me, has allowed me to work as a consultant for the next 5 weeks and continue to be paid my normal salary.

I have mixed emotions at the moment.  On one hand I am elated that I no longer have to face such an evil man who is completely unprofessional and acts like a child and feels the need to be mean to a 27-year-old.  On the other hand, it's a bit of a scary world to be paying off a mortgage and paying rent in Sydney.  Definitely no more shopping for the time being.

I'll spend a few days getting over this horrid experience and then I will jump on the "looking for work" train.  If anyone needs a Service Delivery Manager/Project Manager in Sydney let me know!!!