To ask what would you do with too much free time?!

[MoiraRoseIsMyQueen]

I’ve been made redundant, and so won’t have a job as of the end of the month, and am on gardening leave currently. Obviously having all the usual panics about money and the seemingly insurmountable task of finding a new job in this market 😫But, my main worry at the moment is having nothing to do! I know this might sound like a nice problem to have, but it’s sending my anxiety through the roof. I have two kids and a lovely husband, so only school hours are free - but the thought of potentially months of this is panicking me, there’s only so much cleaning and baking I can do!

So, what would you do - with potentially a couple of months of free time, and very limited funds?!

I'd get really fit!! You never know whats round the corner.

You know, hobbies don’t always have to be useful. Enjoy the uselessness of today, and ready your usefulness for tomorrow.

I am off work currently and volunteer as a telephone buddy for Macmillan, the NHS, and a couple of other local charities. Most national charities will have opportunities if you contact them - it’s hugely rewarding.

I’d plan some nice walks, short and long and finish at a cafe afterwards and do some reading.

maybe a free online course, in something you have an interest in. I enjoyed rebel finance and also did one wellbeing.

declutter house, recycling trips.

spend time on meal planning, writing up new recipes to try, if you like cooking of course

reading more

It’s so hard to relax into anything ‘nice’ with the stress of money and trying to find a job! I’m in this horrible middle ground - lots of lovely free time and not feeling like I can enjoy it 🥴

This is genuinely such a helpful thing to read, thank you. I feel so guilty when I’m doing anything that doesn’t feel ‘useful’, so I will remember this.

Similar-my job ends March 31st.
My aim is to take at least a month off , then consider what I want. Could retire, but I think I’ll get bored.
And I’m already finding myself spending too much time looking obsessively at job sites.

Sweet Fanny Adams 😄

Sign up to a genealogy site and do your family tree. You can lose hours so happily immersed and it’s a great gift to your children and family.

Threads like this make me a bit sad honestly, there are so many great ways to spend your time!

I read, crochet, garden, do colouring, journal, listen to podcasts and audiobooks, do puzzles while watching TV. You can do online courses or learn a language, join a local group or start one. You could declutter your house, redecorate, do projects you've been meaning to get to, learn new recipes, get a new cookbook and cook your way through it.

I was an SAHM until DC went to secondary school. Honestly by the time you been for coffee with friends, been to the gym, been to the supermarket and volunteered for a couple of sessions at school or similar, the week’s gone. Very little time was spent on language learning or even housework. Now I’m basically retired, I volunteer two days a week, meet friends, exercise and spend too long researching holidays and investments (and on MN and FB etc), though more language learning is getting done. Applying for jobs these days is quite time consuming as it is.

I’d do a class or a walk every day.
I would take everything out of every cupboard in the house, loft, garage, shed, sort through it all and do a lot of charity shop/ tip/ Vinted.
I’d go out for lunch or coffee with a friend or my Mum every week.
I’d see the GP for all those tiny niggles like moles etc that I keep putting off.

I only work 2 days a week. I am managing 2 Pilates a week, a bit of Vinted and am currently on a mission to use my Bupa and get all my niggles checked. Not sure why I’m not getting more done!

I'd look for some kind of work to have at least some money coming in while I was hunting for my next "proper" job. Anything really - schools might need exam invigilators for example - dog walking, baby sitting, shop work or bar work, maybe sign on with some tempting agencies - depends what your skills and preferences are.

I couldn't stand the feeling of not working at all, I don't think. And if it takes longer than you hope to find your next "career" job, surely any money you can bring in in the meantime will be helpful.

Sorry you are in this position - it's something I have always dreaded .....

I’m coming to realise my problem - I love to do all of this, but I feel guilty doing it! I just feel like I’m being self indulgent and not ‘productive’ - which I know is ridiculous. So I’m going to work hard to find and do things I enjoy, and actually enjoy them!

Ah I know what you mean! That's a tricky one to get over. I think you just have to make yourself do it. Then you'll see that there aren't negative consequences, and feel less guilty next time

I would plan out your day as if you were working full time, on a calendar if necessary until you get into the swing of it.

So get up normal time.
Job hunt 9-12, then leave it until the next day so you're not constantly refreshing indeed etc.
12-1. Lunch, maybe read a book for 20 minutes, or do a bit of cleaning
1-2. Exercise, ideally out of the house getting some fresh air.
2-4 work on a new skill and/or do some free courses- what this would be would depend on what sort of job you're applying for - understanding of AI will be huge in most sectors, for example, but whatever is relevant to you - look on job ads and if there's some criteria you don't have experience of, look at how to at least get training on those. Can include volunteering here once or twice a week once you find something.
4-5 house chores.
Then can relax when family are home.

Maybe have 1 afternoon/day off a week to meet up with a friend who is out of work/on ML/WFH/works part time once or twice a week, or treat yourself to some window shopping or explore a new local place - we're a long time working so although your main priority is getting a job you want to enjoy yourself a little bit as well!

If you feel a bit stir crazy in the house every day work in a local cafe/free co-working space (if you live in or near a city you'll be surprised at how many places encourage/allow people to use their spaces), or even in the park/garden once it gets warmer.

It’s stressful before the job is found but once you have one it’s better. What kind of work are you looking for?
If you want to say that is

What needs doing in your home? Refreshing white paint on woodwork?
Spring cleaning, washing curtains, re-emulsioning rooms.

I'd redecorate, declutter, tidy the garden. And lots of walking/cycling/running round the local lanes.

Basically what I did during furlough. Having spare time doesn't happen very often. I hope you get sorted soon.

Sort my house out, do all the stupid little DIY jobs that never get done, likewise sort the garden, exercise more, batch cook, craft, draw….can you tell I’ve thought about this before??

Try to enjoy the time. It's happening so why not enjoy it? I took 3 months off last year and loved it. Here are some suggestions:
Join a gym & go 4 x a week
Read books
Do a udemy course to upskill yourself
Go for hikes in beautiful places nearby
See if there's a ladies social meetup group near you
Treat yourself to small things like a massage or facial or infrared sauna
Catch up on admin, house and garden jobs
Network with EVERYONE! Old work colleagues, friends, etc. ket them know you're on the job hunt. Asked them if they can connect you to anyone in your industry or let you know of any jobs at their workplace (cringe I know, but it can work really well).
Play games with your kids.
Write down what you want your next job to look like - location, job title, pay, colleagues, work relationships, level of responsibility, number of days working from home. Whatever is important to you. Use coloured pens, make it look interesting. You'd be surprised how effective it can be.
Do the free rebel finance school course on YouTube.

This time is a gift, enjoy it!

As someone who retired at 55 because of the job I was doing gave me arthritis and making it worse very quickly...I offer the following advice
Have a timetable of what you need to do and when by, procrastination is the theft of time
Still get up early as when you get back to work you will still be in the mindset
You're not hungry, you're board
Don't go to the pub every day, or even more regularly...I have seen too many people end up there earlier and earlier
Ditto drinking at home
Why not write that book you've always planned to. I'm on draft 24 and still haven't got past page one!
Charity's need people, especially if you have office or admin or better accounts experience...there are thousands of little local charities
Or maybe an outdoors volunteering, litter picking, bil is planting a Forrest every Thursday
Big spring clean and declutter
With the declutter set up an eBay business and trawl the local FB groups, charity shops and car boots for bargains
Attend and trade through proper auctions (that's on my list)
Clothes shopping for a complete new look via charity shops

Yes I feel the guilt if I sit and read. So I rationalize and reward...I can read for 10 minutes if I clean the downstairs loo. I've hoovered so I will have a coffee and read

You are in-between jobs so it's not like you've punched the boss in the face and told they to stick their job...you can have some me time. Doing other things to stretch your mind and keep you out of the larder/wine fridge is good

Sorry for the redundancy. Maybe try to add structure to your day to create a sort of routine?

9am - get house straight after drop off, washing, flick round the hoover etc
10am - dedicate an hour to job hunting
11am - gym, walk, workout etc
12pm - lunch and tidy up after
1pm - read a book, deal with family admin, watch an episode of something you enjoy
2pm - Check job hunting emails, prep dinner, lay out uniforms for the next day etc
3pm - pick up

You could intersperse this with meeting up with any friends who may work part time to break up your week. I’d personally wouldn’t be hounding the job sites as I found when I was in your position it became all consuming and overall quite demoralising

I honestly don’t understand this. I have enough projects and things to learn in my queue to last multiple lifetimes.

Make some art, learn a language, study something.

I think maybe the issue I have is a lot of time, but not a lot of mental space? I feel like my brain is on constant overload with worries and considering options, thinking about potential jobs etc etc etc. If someone said to me - you’ve got two months off and then you’ll start a lovely job - I could relax into the time off I think. But the not knowing my next step is super stressful.