"The most important activity for the unemployed is job hunting: they should not waste time on other things."

• Get up at a regular and early hour and "go to work" to look for a job You need to be reading the vacancies in the paper, contacting potential employers, researching the job market, visiting the careers or guidance centre to see what vacancies there are, writing your CV or letters of application. Make as many contacts as possible with anyone who could help you. Record what you've done and what you've got to do, by when. Keep a note of useful addresses and phone numbers.
• Spend a full day's work on the task of looking for work or making yourself more employable - getting useful extra experience perhaps, or learning a new skill, or doing a course.
• If at all possible set aside a space in your house as a workplace or desk where you can keep your papers, your files in order and where you can work uninterrupted on your job applications and job hunting activities. If you can't manage this at home, can you find anywhere else - perhaps a public library where you can work in peace - and where you can take your job search papers and notes in a special briefcase, perhaps?
• Agree with other members of your family that that is what you need to do, and get them to respect your right to space and time to do your job searching in.