How I made most out of my “Layoff Period”
Blessing in Disguise
Seeing numerous posts on LinkedIn on Layoffs and how it is impacting people, I want to share my experience on how I handled the situation and what I have been doing to make most of this newly available time. I hope to inspire positivity and instil a sense of gratitude with this article.
I have split this article into sections and subsections, and kept the tone pretty casual. I recommend you to read this article in full, you might find something helpful. If you are short of time, feel free to scan through. 😇
1. Unconditional acceptance is a huge empowerment
It is what it is:
Losing your job can be a difficult and stressful experience. When I found myself in that situation, instead of thinking and crying on “why me?”, I decided to take a positive approach and immediately accept the situation unconditionally. This liberated all the depressing feelings in my mind and the situation no longer had any power over me. The power balance had already shifted. 😎
I knew that losing my job was not the end of the world and that I would find new opportunities in the future. By accepting the situation, I was able to move forward, push away things that I cannot control and focus only on what I could control.
Race against time:
For me, being on H1B visa, I was going to be competing against time. I was soon going to be pushed into a time that kicked of 60 day grace period. So I had to stay productive and motivated (There was really no time to sob, even if I wanted to). I quickly put up few sticky notes in front of me to come up with tasks that I needed to do to stay productive and motivated. I have accomplished most of them and only my first sticky note is left.
2. When surrounded by chaos; focus on the big picture
Wellbeing of my family:
Undoubtedly, the most important element in my life is my family. I checked in regularly to make sure that I have enough savings to take care of my family for at least 3 months of my unemployment. Fortunately, with the kind of upbringing I have, this isn’t an immediate concern. 🙏
Clarity on career path:
As a designer, I am very confident with my craft and the experience I bring in. So I knew, capability is not an issue, time is. I made a decision, that I will not apply/accept a job for the sake of it. I will take a role, that progresses my professional journey as a designer. I am very happy to return back to India and find a job there, if I do not find anything before my grace period ends.
Having this clarity made it very easy for me to stay focussed on the big picture and avoid any self doubt or desperation.
Positive attracts positive:
I made sure to think and talk only positive scenarios. This does not discount planning for negative scenarios, but it helps to keep up the momentum. A trick here is to keep these sentences in responses to concerning thoughts.
- “What if it does work out..?”
- (This one’s my favourite) “I will be fine, no matter what happens”
You will realize that positivity will only attract positive energy, which people generally refer to as luck.
3. People and Relations
I am fortunate to have been around good people. Let me rephrase, I am fortunate to have been around people with good intentions and I was overwhelmed with so many people reaching out to me, I am forever grateful for this.
Role of mentors:
I reached out to my mentors and close colleagues, to understand current market scenario and what I should do from here. It helped me a lot. One of my mentors said “It is ok to feel depressed and express it out”. That one night, I did cry everything out and found myself even stronger from the next day.
Bravest thing to do is, ask for Help:
I attempted and reached out to product and design leaders on LinkedIn to ask for help, explaining my situation. Worse that can happen is they may say “No”. And remember, “What if it does work out?”. I am very happy to share that I have met some amazing people in last one and a half month time, some of them who have tried to help me immensely. There is so much goodness around!
4. Disciplined Routine
This is a list of little things that I did daily to keep myself going. It will be different for every individual. You have to figure it out yourself.
Apply for jobs:
I applied for every job that fit my role. I did upgrade my LinkedIn account to premium to get additional insight. It helps in prioritizing and creating strategy instead of employing pure brute force.
Stay ready for opportunities:
I used my time to improve my skills and knowledge. I have been an IDF member since long and started completing my pending courses I signed up before, 30 minutes a day. I also designed my portfolio website and worked on many design case studies. In this process, I picked up new tools and techniques. I can proudly say that I have used my skills every day. This not only helped me stay productive but also boosted my confidence as a designer.
Reading Books:
I have never been an avid reader and always believed in experiential learning. But, I did spend some time during my day to read at least 10 pages. Few days, I also ended up reading a lot more than 10. 😁
Hobbies and Interests:
I love to paint digitally and used this time to express myself more. It gives me so much peace. I also unlocked a new skill! I never knew I could cook well. I am the weekend chef at my house now 🤣
Mental and Physical Health:
In addition to spending time with my family and pursuing my interests, I made sure to prioritize my mental and physical health during this period. With this newly available time, I made sure to practice yoga and meditation (I always gave time as an excuse before) to help manage my mind and body. In addition, I also completed Inner Engineering course from Isha foundation and checked off one item from my list. I practice the teachings daily and I am in love with my spiritual side. Talking about love, I am excited for the cricket season that starts soon. Yay 😃
5. Gratitude should be an attitude
While losing my job was a challenging experience, I am grateful for the opportunity it gave me to explore new opportunities, improve my skills, and spend more time with my loved ones. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I encourage you to take a positive approach and make the most of your layoff period. Who knows, it might lead you to new and exciting opportunities in the future.
I am grateful for what I had in my past, what I have today, and for everything I will accomplish in future 🙏
If you have made it till here, I hope this article inspired you in someway. I wish you the best! ✌️✨
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
