How do you cope with being unemployed?

Looking after YOU is your number one consideration.  Health and well being is the basis from which to launch your job search more effectively and cope with all the fluctuations of mood and attitude you are likely to experience.

• Put the mortgage on hold if you have one and take a modest holiday – seriously. If you are under the auspices of Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) you will have to notify them and get permission if you are leaving the country.  While this grates, considering you have probably been in the work force some decades and paid taxes, you are likely to return with renewed energy.
• Take time to have a health Warrant of Fitness. Diet, blood pressure, prostate check and so on.
• Assign a day or two a week as job hunting free days. Endless repetition of any task wears you down and you're likely to suffer Occupational Overuse Syndrome and cabin fever sitting at your computer for too long. You have the advantage of flexibility where your time is concerned so plan a day out to a beach, regional park or a movie and don't forget cheap Tuesdays at cinemas. If partner is still working or your friends away on that trip-of-a-lifetime cruise on a luxury liner, quietly gnash your teeth and go by yourself.
• Don't do as I do but do as I say. Never compare your life with the lives of others. There will always be others better off than you, and many more worse.
• Eat well.  If you can't cook, learn how to. If you are an indifferent cook, learn to cook better. This is a basic life skill. This can be challenging on a lower income when there is more carbohydrate than protein on your plate, but again you have the time. This is particularly important if you live alone, a reminder that you are worth special care and attention.
• Exercise. No excuses again that you don't have the time and this gets you out of the house while increasing your motivation and keeps you healthy mentally and physically.
• Keep up social contacts. Get to know the elderly neighbours; the woman who is always at the bus stop when you are or the man in the newsagents. These days when many of us complain about a lack of community, getting to know your neighbours redresses this to some degree and  loneliness you will experience post employment.
• Garden or undertake house maintenance as much as your income allows. This achieves two things: A sense of accomplishment in your 'downtime' and looking after your precious investment.
• Treat yourself to a good cup of coffee. This is something from the days when you filled up your coffee card on a regular basis and boasted about 'your' barista in the office lobby.  Remember this guy with the tattoos, piercings and the eastern European accent who made your coffee just so?  You'll be surprised just how much more enjoyable this is now at a local cafe - just as long as the coffee is good.
• Be your own unconditional best friend: Don't beat yourself up feeling you would have a job by now if only you tried harder put in more effort, taken the reduced hours that were offered or not talked too much during the interview, etc.
• Express gratitude to whatever you believe in and to others that you have the skills, education, health, energy and supportive friends and family to deal with the current situation. If you do this often enough you might even believe it. 
  Finally give yourself permission to do what you really enjoy doing. Must it have an end goal?  Maybe not. In my case  writing and polishing my craft is an activity I had hitherto not seen as work but rather a frivolous indulgence.  This is  most likely is to do with my-work-before-play 50s upbringing.  (My parents are long dead so I can blame them).  You might be surprised where this indulgence might lead you.