How to Avoid an Out-of-Whack Sleep Cycle When Unemployed

It really sucks to have a screwed up sleep cycle.  The stress that results is unreal, and  it’s actually a common bad habit that forms when people become unemployed.  Some folks will literally hit the snooze button for hours in the morning, and eventually just set their alarms to go off for a later time.

Why is this bad?

• Trains your body to wake up later than when you’d need to be up for work
• Can be detrimental to your diet
• Hurts job hunting

How do you stop this bad habit from forming?

Set up phone calls, appointments, or networking breakfasts every morning.  Reach out to people in your industry on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.  I’ve found that mostly everyone enjoys connecting offline  for 20-30 minutes with their online connections.

If you know you need to wake up around 7AM everyday once you start working, then plan your appointments around 8 or 8:30 each morning.   It’s obviously not easy to make something like this happen everyday, but even just a few times a week will keep your body and mind in a more work friendly sleep cycle.

What I love about this strategy is that it not only helps train your body to wake early, but also is an effective job search method.  You’ll be on the phone with other industry professionals who are either working, looking, or maybe even hiring.

Start off slow if it feels overwhelming.  Plan 2-3 calls per week, 4-5 if you’re aggressive.  Having something to wake up for will give you a ton of energy, and a reason to wake up.