Multitask for Sanity

The hardest job you will ever have is searching for a job. Especially in a recession searching for a job is brutal 24/7 occupation. Your in competition with everyone who has been recently laid off as well as those who have recently graduated from school. You not only need a seed the world with your resumes but maintain an exterior that is impeccably groomed and insanely positively.

But of course in real life you aren't positive at all. Losing a job can have a tremendously bad psychological effect on you because it disrupts your daily routine. If you don't have other income such as from a spouse it can get down right desperate.

The worst thing you can do is stay in bed. Staying in bed only feeds the depression. The best rule of thumb is to stay at your desk for at least eight hours. Even just sitting at your desk is much superior to staying in bed.

You should wake up at your normal time, bathe and change into work like cloths. If you don't already have an office or a desk, designate a part of the house or apartment your office and go there. It should be a place free from distractions such as television and video games.

Often you will find that it is very difficult to stay focused. The best way to stay focused is to create a to do list. Things on the list should include things such as work on resume, and look for jobs. But it should also include things such as do laundry and clean the house. It is surprisingly easy to let the chores at home slide even though you have more time. A messy living space adds to depression and can add an unclean or stuffy smell to your clothes that you might not recognizes but the interviewer will, the literal stench of failure.

Generally the best plan is to leave the house at least once during the day, do house cleaning and job work every day. There is no paid vacations when you are on unemployment. Try to take more than one day off a week, and certainly never more than two. Rather than rejuvenate you, time off will often only give you more time to worry and make it harder to get back to work.

Depression is a real illness and it will prevent you from working at normal efficiency. Just accept this fact and be gentle with yourself. Do what you can do. Generally the best strategy is to plan to go out of the house early in the day. This encourages you to get dressed and provides a psychological beginning to the day.

You will often find that it is difficult to maintain your attention. This is also a sign of depression. The most important thing is not to give up. Even if you are only getting a tiny bit done keep pressing forward. I find that is often a good idea to mix intellectual and physical work. Work on your resume until you can't make anymore progress and then wash some dishes. Wash some dishes as long as you can and then make some calls.

Reward yourself with praise at every turn. Don't be afraid to praise yourself for washing even one dish. After all you are not curled up in a fetal position in the bed. This will be long and hard. But each little battle is an opportunity to triumph over misfortune and depression.

Put Trash in the Trash

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In tough economic times neighborhoods tend to become less tidy.  People are stressed and forget to clean up after themselves.  Sanitation workers are laid off.  As people leave neighborhoods there are unattended houses that collect rubbish.  Luckily this is a problem that you can help solve. 

When you are on your walks for exercise, carry a little rubbish bag with you.   I am not saying that you should pick up every piece of trash that you come across.  No, I am just saying that if you stop for a rest, why not pick up a piece of trash.  If other people see you doing it they are more likely to do it themselves. 

Here are some general guidlines for part time trash pick up.  

• We think of trash as dirty.  However if the item is dry, and exposed to the sun, it almost sure to have less virusses or bacteria than anything in your house.  
  
• If you have to chose between a aluminum can and a piece of paper trash, pick up the paper trash.  Someone will be by shortly to pick up anything that can be sold to a recycler for money (of course disregard this if you are that person).
• During hard times governments can't do many things but they can make life harder on groups that other people don't like (e. g. skateboarders).  Be extra vigliant in cleaning up trash that would be associated with any group or catagory to which you belong.  This may reduce a lot of unpleasantness down the line.
• The best way to spread this behavior is by engaging in it.  If other people see you doing it they will think about doing it themselves.  Try to resist the urge to crow about your small efforts.  This will simply reduce participation. 
• Remember don't trespas on to others property.  Don't clean anyone elses property, such as car or driveway.  If this kind of cleaning is needed contact your local government.  If the person is someone you know and is unable to maintain the property themselves, get specific permision before doing anything to their property. 

Containers

Spend to Save

One of the most important ways of saving is to understand what you are paying for. For many food items what you paying for the packaging is a large portion of the product price. Sometimes even a larger portion of the price than the item itself. This one reason that some store brands use plain white boxes with just one other color. The multicolor boxes that are used for most products are enormously expensive. But even more expensive are the zip lock features in many bags. For example today the store brand popcorn was $1.29 for 32 ounces of the Ralph's brand product and $2.49 for the Jolly Time product in ziplock bag. The products are of identical quality. Even for nice looking glass container you will break even after less then 10 purchases of the popcorn after then every time you purchase popcorn you are realizing $1.20 in savings. Another example is sugar. For a long time now I have been buying sugar in cardboard boxes with a pour spout. Then I smartened up and bought a glass container that could hold 5 pounds of sugar and have realized incredible savings.

Rice Dispenser: Spend Money to Save Money

Rice is one of the cheapest foods out there. But it is at its cheapest when bought in bulk. For example at my store right now a ten pound bag of rice costs $9.99 while a twenty pound bag costs $12.99. Thus a rice dispenser is an investment that can drastically reduce your food bills. This stylish model dispenses one cup for every pull of the lever. Two cups of rice is more than sufficient for two adults. Three cups of rice will feed a family of four. If buy some frozen vegetables and fry them in a little oil or margarine then you have a complete meal. For protein you can add corn and beans which add a nice flavour or small bits of chicken and or eggs.

Food is Not a Necessity

Well a certain amount of food is a necessity, but one of the biggest mistakes one can make is to put the entire food budget in the necessity column. An adult can survive just fine on rice, some frozen vegetables, corn and beans. This is what is necessary. Anything other than that is not necessary. I am not saying don't buy it. But I am saying put it into a category of items that is measured according to the funds available.

For children you will want to be more careful about protein. Unless you really know what you are doing you may want add eggs and/or chicken. But remember I am not saying having a whole chicken every night. Price of chicken meat varies considerably from piece to piece. If you have someone in the household who has time, buying the cheapest pieces and then cutting the chicken meat off to be added in relatively small amounts to rice can save a large amount of money.

If you use food for social purposes or as a pick me up, then recognize it for what it is. Enjoying a Mocha Latte from an Italian coffee bar, or eating out at a restaurant should always come from the entertainment budget not the food budget.

And, remember more people die from using food as drug than from any other drug use. When you try stabilize your mood by stuffing yourself full of a fat you would actually do better to smoke a joint or even snorting cocaine. Comfort food isn't just a waste of money, it will kill you.

Quit the Gym

Door Gym Bar with Longer Hand Grip - Pull up / Sit up / Chin up

Thoughout this blog I will constantly stress the importance of maintaining ones health. So why would I suggest dropping one's health club membership. Have you ever noticed how nice most health clubs are? The various machines available are extremely expensive. They generally have a very high employee to customer rating. And, some employees have special certifications and receive quite nice salaries. Further gyms are a liability nightmare. No matter how safe you try to make the establishment there are so many ways that patrons might be hurt from a weight dropped on the toe to slipping in the shower.

Gym memberships seem expensive but when you think about all the costs of running a gym they are truly cheap suspiciously cheap. The way that gyms are able to offer such wonderful services is that they have many members who never attend the gym for each member who attends regularly. Those who never quite make it subsidize those who do.

If you even view quitting the gym as a possibly ,than you are almost certainly in the former category. One of the realities of tough economic times is that those who experience them can't afford pretense. Further, if you never found time to make it to the gym before your started having financial problems you almost certainly won't now.

But exercise is very important. Here are some reasons that you should not turn to a gym. Firstly there is a time issue. Unless you are lucky enough to have a gym in your office or apartment building you are going to have to get to the gym. This waste valuable time you could be using to look for your third job.

Secondly there is the expense. Even though gyms are subsidized by legions of slackers they are still a big expense that you do not need in your life right now. Aside from the fees, there is also the pressure to dress up to the standards of the others who working out. This can really add up. But most importantly it is vital that every member of the family work out regularly. This includes the children. Even though their are family deals, they add to the price just at a slightly reduced rate.

Unless you have a specific health problem, or are training for a specific sport, walking is all the exercise you need. In future entries I will explain why in the Bush world walking is going to be a major part of your life and why that is good thing. So, instead of getting everyone together driving out to the gym, dressing up like you are about to compete in a swimsuit competition and driving back, everyone can just set off. You should walk at a fast speed where it will be slightly uncomfortable to talk. But even in silence the social nature of walking in a group is very conducive to one's mental health.

A note about running and why it is not a good idea when you are in financial stress. The human body simply was not designed for the amount of running that many runners engage in. Running is addictive. If walking is one glass of wine with diner, running is a bottle of Tequila drunk on an empty stomach in the hot sun. Times of financial stress make one prone to addictions. So, avoid spirits and running.

Further many runners run on sidewalks or roads which is murder on the joints. To mitigate the inevitable joint injuries you will end up spending a fortune in runner shoes which you will literally run through at an amazing rate. Even worse, the federal government provides no partial or temporary disability, which means that unless you live in a state that does, such as California, or you buy disability insurance from the talking duck; if you get hurt and are unable to work your second job, it could be a bad time.

Use the Fine China

Often during bad financial times common meal times are one of the first things to go. With everyone in the family working whatever hours they can get it is often hard to get together for a meal. Also with everyone working extra hours it is hard to have time to cook.

But, it is important to maintain the ritual of at least one common meal a day. The social interactions which occur during meal time are important to everyone's mental health. Also prepared meals are more nutritious and cost less than than fast food.

Instead of letting dinner time disappear go the opposite direction. Bring out the fine china. It is just gathering dust in the china cabinet and you will be surprised how it can dress up a meal of beans and cornbread or red beans and rice. Remember, meal time is a family activity and should prepared and cleaned up as family.