Unemployment metrics
Follow the numbers
On the tour bus, we had numbers.
How many passengers did you have?
How many stops did you make?
How much did you split in tips
How many runs did you do?
At the end of the day I could see the numbers stacking up - like a woodpile I’d split and stacked myself. Something solid. Something earned.
I can see what I’ve done.
With this latest job, how many packages did we deliver?
How many stops did we make?
What was the weight of everything?
How many stairs did we climb?
How much gas did we burn?
How many kilometres did we travel?
But now, with no clock to punch and no boss breathing down my neck, what does a ‘full day’s work’ even look like?”
What’s the equivalent working from home of facing a clock with deadlines and timing and you don’t get to go home until your work is done .
You don’t make a lot of excuses for yourself.
You know, I was only 50% funny because I only had 20 people there.
So, how do you do it when you’re unemployed?
How do you have standards like that?
What metrics do you create for yourself?
Mine include:
number of emails sent
appointments booked
miles walked (that’s the important one)
How far are you willing to go to make things better for yourself?
What are the numbers dear reader?
Because in the end, there’s something comforting about a woodpile—about being able to say, ‘I stacked that. I moved today. I built something, even if it’s just a line in a notebook.