No Job? No Prob!

Nicholas Nigro, author of a cheery, new advice book (perhaps too cheery?) titled No Job? No Prob!: How to Pay Your Bills, Feed Your Mind, and Have a Blast When You’re Out of Work (Skyhorse Publishing 2008), offers the following tips for those who suddenly find themselves with time on their hands:

1. Start the day as early as possible--our brains, Nigro argues, tend to be more focused in the morning than in the evening
2. Keep your learning curve perpetually greased--taking classes—either online or in person—might benefit your job search or inspire a future career
3. Cavort with genuinely successful people--not necessarily rich people but people who are good to the core
4. Learn to cook
5. Practice yoga
6. Play smart--exercise your brain: do crosswords, play Scrabble, etc.
7. Contact long-lost friends
8. Become a shutterbug--snap photos everywhere you go
9. Volunteer your time--the more people you know, the greater number of people who will be invested in your job search
10. Try new things all across the board

Great advice for anyone who wants to keep learning and growing, which is the best way I know of to stave off decrepitude.

Note: The above tips were excerpted from the Dec. 26th issue of The Week, which adapted them from Nigro’s book.