Three things you should do while you're out of work

1. Read biographies of people whom you admire - as trite as it sounds, these people probably overcame some kind of adversity, just like you're doing right now. At the moment I'm reading a biography of Dorothy Fuldheim, my first childhood hero (excluding Miss Piggy). Dorothy used the first money she ever earned to buy French perfume and a fancy hat. In that spirit, I am going to use my first book advance to buy a room-sized Persian rug. (My rooms aren't very big, but that will probably wipe out the entire advance.)

2. Do something that is regularly scheduled and gets you out of the house. Preferably something you pay for, whether it be a yoga class or a continuing ed workshop, so you won't blow it off.

3. Every day, do something with tangible results (that others can see). It's important that others can see them, I think - I can show my husband the three pages I wrote when he gets home, but three pages of fiction doesn't look like much, given all the brooding and wondering that went into it. My suggestions: bake some bread, weed the garden, or paint a wall. (That's what I've been doing, at least.)