I suspect that we are all engaging with former colleagues, friends and family members that have recently been furloughed from the corporate world. 

A few that I have spoken with are struggling to adapt to the new reality and are finding themselves floundering as they struggle to replace the comfortable routine of getting up and going somewhere with wandering around the house wondering what to do and where to start.  

Here are some ideas that I’ve either learned myself over time or have gained from others that have mastered the art of working alone and managing themselves without the services and security of a mother ship.  I would love to hear your suggestions as well

7 Suggestions to Survive and Prosper in your Period of Corporate Independence:

1. Define your new work, establish goals and create and work your plan. 

If you are looking for a job, that is your full time job.  Set goals for yourself. Create plans to achieve the goals and dive into your new work.  A number of people I know like to establish daily targets for networking and prospecting activities.

If your new work is reinventing yourself or pursuing a venture other than a job, it may be a bit harder to set goals…but you need to identify the priority activities that will move you towards your objective and focus on those activities.  Exploration, networking, research, plan development, vetting, more networking and so on. 

2. Create a new routine.

Allow yourself to enjoy the break from fighting traffic every morning, but don’t lounge away your time reading the paper.  I like to hit my home office with cup of coffee in hand by 5:30 a.m.  I allocate 45 minutes to write a post and then I’m off to the races on my priority tasks. (Note: not all of the neurons are firing this early, which explains my occasional typos and editing lapses!)  Breakfast consists of a run for another cup of coffee, enough time as it takes me to assemble a bowl of oatmeal, add milk and raisins, heat it in the microwave and return to my desk.  Elapsed time: about 3 minutes.

Depending upon what I’m working on, I’ve identified optimal times for networking calls and prospecting as well as time for content creation/preparation for the next engagement etc.  It took some experimenting, but there are better times to catch people than others, as any salesperson will tell you.

 3. Give yourself a routine break and work off stress.

Some new independents have a severe guilt complex if they vary the routine off of work.  If that ‘s you, get over it.  There’s nothing more energizing for me than the mid-day workout at the health club.  As long as I’m comfortable that I am not missing prime networking opportunities, an investment in one hour at the club returns huge dividends in the form of stress relief and energizing you for the next part of your day. Oh, you can turn this into a networking opportunity.  Unplug the headphones from your ears and say hello to the person next to you on the treadmill.  It might just be the CEO of the company down the street that is looking for someone like you.

 4. Learn to leverage the new technologies but don’t become consumed.

I’m a huge fan of the power of social networking technologies and am active on LinkedIn and Twitter.  I do however set strict time limits on my use of these services.  I allocate 15 minutes per weekday.  Otherwise, it would be possible to get lost in an on-line existence. 

I’m still under 1-month new to Twitter, but I’ve met a number of great professionals who are now part of my extended network. A few benefits thus far: I’ve conducted and have scheduled numerous phone calls with prospective clients or partners that I met on Twitter.  I’ve been invited to be interviewed for a podcast aimed right at my target market, and I’m talking with other successful bloggers about exchanging guest posts.  My blog traffic is up considerably thanks to the Twitter referrals and the free access to new prospective readers. Plus, I’ve reconnected with former associates in a way that a simple phone call would never allow.  We are interacting daily…140 characters at a time. There’s something to it, and you need to approach it with clear objectives in mind. 

Also, as an fyi, that was a long commercial for Twitter.  LinkedIn offers some remarkably powerful professional networking tools.  You should learn how to leverage this great service. It may be one of your best friends in a job search.

5. Invest in yourself.

I don’t care what you do, but do something that shows that you are concerned about your own personal/professional development.  Take a class, read books, start a blog and immerse yourself in a topic to feed the creation of posts.  Start your MBA or explore courses that fit with your business or career aspirations.  Do something productive with your brain or it will atrophy or worse yet, it will allow negative thoughts to take root and grow like wildfire. 

6. Help others. 

Strive to give way more than you are asking for.  Help others with their networking activities.  Help at school, at church or check to see if your county has a Volunteer Center.  I am now on the board of my county’s Volunteer Center and excited to be helping this organization recast its vision and strategy.  

7. Stay positive, celebrate your victories and your progress.   

Don’t preoccupy on the defeats and rejections.  Again, every great salesperson knows this style of thinking.  They have to stay positive or the rejection would push them over the edge.

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There are many, many more ideas.  Feel free to share your own in the comments. 

My bottom-line for now is: keep moving, keep thinking, keep planning, follow-up and keep improving.