I recently was laid off and want to enjoy myself, what do I do?

February 21, 2020 10:51 AM

I was laid off this week during a reorg at my company leaving me with a decent severance that will financially cover me for a few months. I have been working with very little vacation or free time for years now and after letting everything soak in, decided to start planning on what to do with my free time for the next few weeks. It's a challenge! Help me make the most of this time.

At first what seemed like a nightmarish experience (leaving my steady job of five years) has turned out to be a blessing in disguise - I was so stressed. However, someone who is used to a 9-5 incredibly structured routine, I'm not 100% sure what to do with myself. I decided to make a list of places I wanted to visit in town (museums, restaurants, historical places) but also open to doing some random last minute travelling solo.
While making my list, I realized it's been so long since I've had time off I have no idea where to start...

Questions:
1. What would you do on a daily basis with free time (no kids, no job, a decent financial cushion)?
2. What would be some places you'd visit even for a few days?
3. What skillsets would you learn / like to improve on?
4. Who would you see and hang out with?

I ask pretty open ended questions to help my mind gears go. So shoot high and low with suggestions!

Some other details: mid-30s female, partner who works full time, live in Texas, artistically inclined / love mother nature, I love to write as well and best writing comes with a clear mind like now. Not a huge party person.

posted by hillabeans to Grab Bag (19 answers total)

Read some good books, and maybe a few trashy ones.
Do you play an instrument? Ukelele is a good place to start.
Visit museums and tourist attractions near you. Museums are usually pretty quiet on weekdays, it's so great to be able to browse in peace. Libraries often have museum passes, as well as art galleries, author talks, other cool stuff going on.
Have fun!
posted by theora55 at 11:03 AM on February 21, 2020 [2 favorites]

Please schedule time for yourself to do absolutely fuck all. This is not wasted time, this is very important let yourself be completely at rest time. Adults do not get enough of it. The true freedom to do NOTHING is a blessing granted only to the very fortunate and childfree and you should embrace it, at least for a day or two.
posted by phunniemee at 11:08 AM on February 21, 2020 [18 favorites]

If it were me? I do best with structured time, too.
1. Work on my novel (as well as similar creative projects). Home improvement projects. Daily exercise.
2. Honestly, I'd probably just catch up on visiting friends and family in other places. But if it were travel for travel's sake? Maybe spend some time in national parks.
3. Watercolor skills, or whatever artistic technique is nagging me at the time. Maybe a brush-up in my foreign language of choice. Maybe baking a thing I haven't made before, like choux pastry.
4. The friends I don't normally have time to see more than once a year—like, the people I would be closer with if we all just had more time. Plus extra time with my inner circles, I guess.
posted by the_blizz at 11:13 AM on February 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

I would prioritize daily exercise, preferably early in the day, and, if I could make it happen, with a friend. Exercise is so great for our mental and physical health, and making it a social outing helps with mental support and accountability. Since you enjoy nature: a long daily walk in a natural area each morning would be so healthy and would be a great way to start the day.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:20 AM on February 21, 2020 [5 favorites]

I’d take day trips on my bicycle to museums and restaurants that are within easy riding distance.

I’d grab a novel and a harmonica and sit around a park in the afternoon honking out a tune or reading.

I’d make time to call or write to dear friends I’ve lost touch with.

I’d sit around downtown during lunchtime and think how lucky I am not to be a working stiff today.

I’d go cook at a soup kitchen or a shelter.

I’d go see an old movie, if one is showing somewhere.

I’d make an elaborate lunch for myself and then take a nap.

At least, these are the things I tell myself I would do. Realistically I would probably waste a lot of time on the internet. Maybe the first thing I’d do is schedule internet time and then non-internet time and keep to that schedule. A half hour in the morning, another half hour in the evening.
posted by gauche at 11:25 AM on February 21, 2020 [3 favorites]

I would go on an epic road trip. Starting from Texas, I would go west through New Mexico and Arizona and make sure to see any parks or historical sites I had not yet seen. Then I'd spend several days in southern California and take a northern route through Vegas, Utah, and Colorado. That might be enough for one trip, but if not, keep going east into the central states and the southeastern US.
posted by soelo at 11:38 AM on February 21, 2020 [3 favorites]

Lots of time moving outside at a slow pace: I'd do a mix of walking and biking, in town or in nature, but adjust to your preferences.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:00 PM on February 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

If it were me, and it was this time of year, I would go out to Arizona and become a Spring Training bum. See as many teams, games and practices as possible. Find the locations where the newspaper beat reporters hang out and buy them a beer. In between baseball I would rotate sleep, pool, hike. Repeat after me baseball, sleep, pool, hike. You get the picture.
posted by blackjack514 at 12:21 PM on February 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've always thought that if I had a few months freed from the ol' 9-to-5 that I'd finally go to the gym regularly and exercise (especially since I'd be able to go during the middle of the day during the work week when the gym is quietest). This might just be wishful thinking on my part, but it doesn't have to be wishful thinking on yours.
posted by mhum at 12:56 PM on February 21, 2020 [2 favorites]

I'm facing this myself and one thing I am keeping in mind is that, while a period of rest from the break-neck pace of this job will be welcomed, I also don't want to get myself too far off the career path.

The recharging period, without somewhat of a plan for re-entering the workforce, would make it much harder for me to relax.

I'm not talking about a concrete return date with a specific company but more a general, intentional approach to next steps. I think that will help me, and maybe you, make the best and most restorative use of your time off.
posted by Pomo at 12:57 PM on February 21, 2020 [2 favorites]

having been laid off in the past,
I strongly suggest:
keeping a schedule as if you were still working.
get up at the same time every day
cancel services you no longer need or can do without
use your library more
eat out less
get 8 hours of sleep
cut back on alcohol
exercise
posted by evilmonk at 12:59 PM on February 21, 2020 [8 favorites]

I just quit an incredibly stressful job where I had been working very long hours. I didn't even have another one lined up yet (I have since gotten one). My goal was to have at least one month between the old job and the new job. Since I was feeling confident about getting an offer, I took a leap of faith and quit. I am finishing up week one of not working. It's been wonderful! Here is how I've spent my time so far:

- Reading a massive biography of Alexander Hamilton while laying in bed and eating candy
- Shopping for new pillows for my couch. Wait! Mid-way through that mission, decided I hate my current couch. So, I bought a new couch and new pillows to go with it. Because I was shopping at 2:00 PM on a random weekday, the sales person had tons of time to spend with me. It was a blast looking at fabrics and hauling cushions around to view the fabrics under every possible light in the store
- Going to the gym. I do this anyway but not having to fight for parking or wait for my preferred exercise equipment to be free has been surprisingly gratifying
- Making plans with friends to grab lunch, go for a walk, just plain hang out
- Staying up late every night to surf the web or read. Tonight, I will watch some shows I've had queued up for awhile on Netflix and Amazon
- Learning to meditate. This is super hard for me. I'm using an app and trying not to blame myself for having such a busy mind

Over the next few weeks, I will

- Go see a Broadway show with my sisters. We're so excited, we're practically levitating with anticipation
- Visit an old friend who now lives a long train ride away
- Remind myself over and over again how grateful I am that I don't have to ever go back to my old job. Nope. Never. In fact, this gratitude is something I express out loud every day, usually in song, to the tune of "My Old School": "And I'm never going back to my old....job!"

So, enjoy your time. My meditation app continually reminds me to "be present". Man, I am present for this downtime!
posted by MissPitts at 1:01 PM on February 21, 2020 [8 favorites]

Texas has a lot of parks. If you like that kind of thing you could check them out based on day-trip distance or overnight travel. The Big Bend area is worth several days of sight seeing, as long as you choose a good time of year. The big cities all have a variety of interesting art museums, as well as botanical gardens. Smaller cities have hidden charms, too.

Consider going to Houston to join the crowds at the annual Art Car Parade.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 1:40 PM on February 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

Peckerwood Garden is northwest of Houston and offers a really interesting tour of plants and trees. Schedule a tour in advance. Early spring is a good time to see it.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 1:44 PM on February 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

In my mid 20s when I had some totally free time... I went every other day to the library and tore through foreign movies and music and read (or at least flipped through) any book that caught my eye. Rock gardening, architecture, linguistics, etc. Doesn't matter what they are, take a glimpse through, read them or not depending, go back in a couple days and get more. Not novels or anything, just random interesting stuff that you can breeze through and learn a little bit more about something you didn't know you might like.

You can probably do this with the internets now, but make it an exploration. Go down a rabbit hole of watching woodworking videos, or pottery, or figure skating... Use your momentary freedom to explore random things.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:36 PM on February 21, 2020 [3 favorites]

I love that you're asking this! When I was laid off several years ago, I took a couple weeks to do a whole lot of NOTHING. I slept in, I went on long bike rides (and took "the other path" than my usual), read a ton, and scheduled catchups with all my friends. It was amazing.

Then I made 3 lists:
1) All those annoying, nagging household tasks that never seem to get done on weekends: repainting baseboards, replacing ugly light fixtures, cleaning out closets and the basement, sealing the driveway, etc
2) Life/adulting projects: found a financial advisor, visited every health professional (doctor, dentist, optometrist), rolled over an old 401k, ran a credit report and closed old accounts, got a library card, took the cat to the vet, etc.
3) Things I'd been meaning to try/do: a local yoga class, a new bakery, nearby museum exhibits, meetup groups, volunteering with a local forest preserve

I wove these into my schedule between job searching. By the time I started my new job (I was only off 8 weeks total, I kind of wish it had been longer!), my house was in much better shape (ready to sell, in fact), and so was my life. It was so nice to be able to start fresh and not worry about immediately needing to work from home to let in a contractor or escaping early to make a doctor's appt.

I do wish I'd done a solo trip somewhere to really celebrate the transition, but I was single and worried about spending the money.
posted by writermcwriterson at 2:59 PM on February 21, 2020 [8 favorites]

I found myself unexpectedly unemployed in mid-January. I didn't have quite the same financial cushion, but managed to stretch things so that I was still covered (and literally just got a new job offer today so I'm officially good now). I did a lot of "fuck-all" as well, since I realized I really, really needed it; and then I brainstormed a couple of annoying household tasks that needed doing but would also help with the budget-stretching:

* I cleaned out and reorganized my pantry, and in the process discovered a lot of foodstuffs that could be used in creative ways. By the time I was organized I realized that I had enough food to the point that I don't need to buy any groceries for the next couple months except for, like, cheese and Doritos.

* I also indulged my cooking-from-scratch itch a lot more (I told myself it was for budgetary purposes, but secretly I also was having fun). So it wasn't "oh woe is me I have to be frugal and make my own food now", it was more "woo-hoo I actually have the freedom and time to make macaroni and cheese from scratch for lunch on a Tuesday just because".

* I looked into things happening in my immediate community a lot more - free services, library talks, lectures, and the like. I discovered a totally free gym class at a community center a few blocks away that I'm going to keep up even now that I'm gainfully employed again.

* I let my friends know that I was available for lunches and hanging out, and a self-employed friend took me up on that a couple times. He said he'd been desperate to find friends who had free time at random hours on like a Wednesday to grab lunch with, and so I was able to indulge that.

* I also dove into some decluttering; telling myself that "I can sell things I don't need" but really it was more "but I also just have too much stuff and this will help with that too". And the act of decluttering also let me unearth some things I hadn't done in a while, so I've picked that back up.

So my period of unemployment is drawing to a close with me a couple grand ahead of the game, with more space in my bookshelf and a much more functional pantry, and ideas about how to brown-bag lunch again, with a new exercise habit and a renewed focus on some hobbies I'd let go.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:37 PM on February 21, 2020 [3 favorites]

Have you signed up for unemployment insurance? After 5 years you are definitely eligible. It usu amounts to 1/2 your salary (up to a limit that varies by state...usu $300-500/week) for 6 months. Sign up tomorrow! (This isn't a handout...this is YOUR money...you've been paying the premiums out of your paycheck) ...so...maybe one way to think of this is "what would I do with a $10-15K business loan and some free time to execute a plan?"
posted by sexyrobot at 8:01 PM on February 21, 2020 [2 favorites]

This was me. After being so wired from a high stress job for so long, I found it really difficult to turn off. I was so hyped to start doing All the Things, and start a whole bunch of new ventures.
Really, I needed to rest, so gradually I learned to.
I spent time exploring my neighborhood, my community. Connecting with new people. (This can open career doors you may not have considered, too.)
I invited family to come visit, because finally we'd have quality time together.
I took advantage of the available time to deal with adulty things like health, finances, home, car, etc.

The happiest thing I did was adopt a puppy, which I'd been wanting to do forever.
posted by spandex at 6:29 AM on February 23, 2020 [1 favorite]