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Furloughed: What to Work on When You Can't Work

Wednesday Jun 17, 2009

Helpful tips on improving your life and career when your boss tells you to stay home


Recent Comments




David Ecale
FiLifer
5 months ago

Hmmm... Well... Now might be a good time to do a little (low cost) home improvements (if you own your home). Here are a few inexpensive examples of things that I have done (on weekends, mostly) over the years: 1) Paint the outside of your home (or a portion of it). Example, the garage doors, a front, side, or back wall, or the garage, if it is detached. 2) Repaint a room, or two, or three. 3) Replace the carpet in a room (tools cost about $100 & remnents are 1/3 - 1/2 price of carpet on the roll). 4) Do some serious car cleaning & garage junk purging. Then hold a garage sale. A little more expensive (&, or, more difficult): 1) Insulate, sheetrock, tape, mud, prime, & paint your garage. You can do this in stages. 2) Rescreen a screen porch. While the screens are off, repaint the porch. 3) Do a complete clean & detail job on your car. 4) Fill the cracks & resurface your driveway (if it is asphalt). You can also just have some fun: 1) Fix up a bicycle & go on a bicycle ride. 2) Go to the beach. 3) Go and ride your motorcycle (if you have one). 4) Go to a museum (check out the free days & go then if the museum has them). 4) Write a children's book for your young kids (if you have young kids). Saving lots of money & give maybe give the taxing authorities a pay cut: 1) Quit drinking. (No more liquor taxes.) 2) Quit smoking. (No more outrageous tobacco taxes!) 3) Quit the health club & start walking/hiking. 4) Take the dog (if you have one) for a long walk. Spend a little money: Get a herding dog (I have an Austraalian Kelpie) & go out and train the dog to herd sheep. Then enter some competetive trials & have a great time. (And learn the principles of modern management: You control the dog & the dog controls the sheep!) (And, yes, this *can* be applied to your job when you go back!) So, there are lots of things to do with a short furlough. Plan to enjoy your time & you will. David Ecale



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