The key to a successful job search day is to have a successful morning. A good rule of thumb is that you want to treat a job search like any other job, meaning that you want as productive of a morning routine as possible to get yourself going. This is what it takes to start the day right when you have a job search on your hands:
Take a Shower
Your day doesn’t start until you take a shower. The truth is, showering will help you in several ways. First and foremost, it will make you feel clean and ready to go. More importantly, it will wake you up. Taking a shower in the morning takes a lot of effort, especially if getting up is the last thing you want to do. By the time you have gone through your showering routine, you’ll feel more awake and more willing to start your job search than you would have if you just rolled out of bed and right to your computer.
Eat a (Healthy) Breakfast
It’s sort of a cliché to say that a healthy breakfast is the cornerstone to a successful day. Just because it’s a cliché, though, doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. Coffee will wake you up, but if you want to really feel ready to go you want to eat a balanced breakfast. A piece of cake or leftover Chinese food isn’t the way to go; you want fruit, complex carbs, and some protein.
Select a Space Where You Will Be Comfortable (And Focused)
The last thing that you want during your job search is distractions. The thing is, different things distract different people. This is where you have to be honest with yourself. Some people are fine having the TV or radio on in the background while they search. On the other hand, if it is going to distract you, find a room in the house where you don’t have a TV, and thus won’t be tempted to turn it on (if you need go to a coffee shop to get away from household distractions, do that). In addition, make sure that you have a comfortable chair, a comfortable climate, and whatever else you need to stay focused during your search.
Start Slow: Commit To Ten Minutes and See Where That Takes You
Don’t burn out during a job search session. While several hours of research and applications may seem daunting, start out slow by only penciling in ten minutes or so. If you are feeling it, keep going for another ten minutes, and so on and so forth. If, on the other hand, you just can’t seem to concentrate on your job search, do something for ten minutes (like a walk around the block) and then come back to it. There is no need to force yourself into looking if you aren’t going to be paying attention.
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