80.

Exercise

Exercising is good for you. It releases endorphins. If you exercise routinely while you're looking for work, it will also give your day some structure. Additional benefits include the following:

• You'll look better.
• Your mood will be enhanced.
• Your well-being will benefit.
• You'll feel a sense of accomplishment.

If you can't reach your goal of finding work during a given week, at least you reached your goal of, say, going to the gym four times and working out for 90 minutes each time. Yes, I know it's not the same as finding work. You'll need to play games with yourself—to fool yourself during your “looking for work” period into believing that you spent your time productively and accomplished something.

You may feel that whatever you do when you're not being paid to work is a waste of time, that your life is “on hold,” or that you're somehow worthless if you're not a productive member of the labor force. But what you're actually doing—what you need to own and be fully present to with both your mind and body—is looking for work and supporting that effort in any positive way you can. Yes, going to the gym is a distraction. So what? That could be one of the things you need to do to keep yourself sane and support your well-being.

While you're searching for work, it's important that you find alternative ways of reminding yourself of your ability to accomplish things. It's good for your self-confidence. Exercise is a wonderful way to do this. Create a routine—say, 30 minutes on an elliptical machine, followed by a certain number of bench presses, curls, etc., and 20 minutes of stretching. Then increase your time on the elliptical, the number of reps in your weight training, and the amount of time you're stretching. Yes, I know it's not the same as finding a job, but you can't look for work 24/7. You might as well use the time you can't look for work to do something else productive.