239. DO YOU CHASE EVERYTHING AND GET NOTHING? Jack’s Redundancy Empowerment - Empowering Redundant Workers - Jack Lookman

DO YOU CHASE EVERYTHING AND GET NOTHING?

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When redundancy enters the conversation, panic can easily take over. One email from management, one vague announcement about restructuring, one rumour in the office, and suddenly your mind begins to run in ten different directions. You start thinking about applying for every job you see. You consider changing industries overnight. You sign up for random online courses. You update your CV in a hurry. You message old contacts without a clear plan. You look at business ideas, side hustles, agency work, remote jobs, temporary work, freelancing and relocation all at once. Before long, you are exhausted, confused and no closer to a solution.

This is what happens when you chase everything and get nothing.

The Importance Of Focus

The instinct is understandable. Redundancy creates fear, and fear wants movement. When your job is at risk, doing anything can feel better than doing nothing. But not all action is useful action. Some activity simply creates the illusion of progress. You may spend hours scrolling through job boards, saving vacancies, tweaking your LinkedIn headline, watching career videos or comparing yourself with others, yet still avoid the deeper work of deciding what you actually want and where you are genuinely competitive.

For UK workers facing redundancy, focus is not a luxury. It is a survival skill. The job market can be competitive, employers can be selective, and recruitment processes can be slow. If you scatter your effort across too many directions, you may weaken your chances everywhere. A strong job search requires clarity. A strong career recovery requires direction. A strong personal plan requires knowing what to pursue and what to ignore.

Do You Have The Right Mindset?

The first reason people chase everything is fear of missing out. You may think, “If I apply for everything, something must work.” But this is rarely the best approach. Applying for every role often leads to generic applications, weak cover letters and CVs that do not speak clearly to the employer’s needs. Employers can quickly sense when an application has been sent without proper thought. A CV that tries to fit every job often fits no job well.

Instead of applying for everything, you need to identify your strongest career lanes. A career lane is a category of work where your skills, experience and interests have a realistic chance of creating value. For example, if you have worked in customer service, your lanes may include customer support, complaints handling, account management, reception, sales support or client success. If you have worked in administration, your lanes may include office coordination, project support, HR administration, operations support or executive assistance. If you have worked in retail management, your lanes may include store leadership, team supervision, logistics, customer experience or area operations.

The goal is not to limit your future. The goal is to organise your effort. When you choose two or three strong lanes, you can tailor your CV properly. You can learn the language of those roles. You can identify the skills employers repeatedly request. You can speak to the right people. You can improve your interview answers. You can apply with confidence instead of desperation.

Knowing Your Strengths

The second reason people chase everything is lack of self-knowledge. Many workers know their job title but not their market value. They know what they were paid to do, but they have not clearly identified what they are good at. Redundancy exposes this gap. When a role disappears, you may feel as if your identity has disappeared with it. But your job title is not the whole of your ability. You need to separate the person from the position.

Ask yourself what problems you solve well. Are you good with people, systems, numbers, organisation, sales, technical tools, planning, writing, negotiation, supervision or crisis management? What tasks do people trust you with? What work feels natural to you? What results have you delivered? What feedback have you received? These questions help you avoid random chasing. They help you build a career plan around evidence rather than panic.

Pick And Choose Relevant Advice

The third reason people chase everything is pressure from other people. After redundancy, everyone may have advice. One person tells you to go into tech. Another says you should start a business. Someone else says care work is always hiring. Another tells you to move abroad. Another suggests freelancing. Another says artificial intelligence is the future. Some of this advice may be useful, but not all of it is right for you.

You must learn to listen without surrendering your judgment. Your career is not a social experiment. A path that worked for someone else may not fit your skills, responsibilities, finances or personality. Before you follow any advice, ask whether it is realistic, affordable and aligned with your situation. A good opportunity for another person can become a distraction for you.

This is especially important when it comes to training. Redundancy can make people vulnerable to the promise of quick transformation. You may see adverts saying you can become a project manager, data analyst, software developer, digital marketer or consultant in a few weeks. Some training can be valuable, but random training can waste money and time. Do not chase courses because they sound impressive. Study job adverts first. Speak to people already in the field. Check whether employers actually value the qualification. Choose learning that supports your chosen direction.

The Next Move

A focused redundancy plan should begin with a simple question: what is the next sensible move? Not the perfect move. Not the most glamorous move. Not the move that will impress everyone. The next sensible move. For some people, that may be securing a similar role quickly to protect income. For others, it may be moving into a related sector. For some, it may be accepting temporary work while retraining. For others, it may be starting freelance work alongside applications. The right answer depends on your financial runway, skills, responsibilities and risk tolerance.

Once you know your direction, build a weekly system. Instead of chasing everything daily, divide your effort. Spend time on targeted applications. Spend time improving your CV. Spend time contacting relevant people. Spend time learning one useful skill. Spend time preparing for interviews. Spend time resting. A system gives you structure. Without structure, anxiety will decide your schedule.

Measuring Progress

You also need to measure progress properly. During redundancy, it is easy to feel like nothing is working because you have not yet received an offer. But progress happens in stages. A better CV is progress. A clearer career direction is progress. A conversation with a recruiter is progress. An interview invitation is progress. A new skill is progress. A stronger LinkedIn profile is progress. These steps matter because they increase your chances over time.

However, you must also be honest when something is not working. If you have applied for fifty roles and received no responses, do not simply apply for fifty more in the same way. Review your CV. Check whether you are targeting the right roles. Ask whether your applications are too broad. Get feedback if possible. If you keep chasing without learning, you may repeat the same mistake for months.

Focus also protects your mental health. Constant chasing creates constant disappointment. Every job advert becomes a possible rescue. Every rejection feels personal. Every silence feels like failure. But when you have a clear plan, rejection becomes information, not identity. You can adjust without collapsing. You can keep moving without becoming desperate.

Reflection

Redundancy is difficult, but it can also force a necessary career reset. It can push you to stop drifting. It can make you ask serious questions about your strengths, goals and future. But this only happens if you stop running in every direction. You need to become selective. You need to pursue opportunities that make sense. You need to conserve your energy for the doors that are most likely to open.

So, ask yourself honestly: are you chasing everything and getting nothing? If the answer is yes, do not judge yourself. Fear often creates scattered action. But now is the time to slow down, think clearly and choose your direction. Three strong applications are better than thirty careless ones. One relevant course is better than five random ones. One clear career lane is better than ten vague possibilities.

You do not need to chase everything to survive redundancy. You need to chase the right things with discipline, patience and purpose.

Jack’s Redundancy Empowerment 

Jack’s Curated Business Ideas 

Jack Lookman’s Books 

Suggested Products And Services 

Useful Links 

Jack Lookman’s Websites 

We also monetise through promoting 3rd party products and services via Affiliate Marketing Links. This is accomplished without additional cost to you.

237. DO YOU GIVE YOURSELF TOO MUCH ON THE PLATE? Jack’s Redundancy Empowerment - Empowering Redundant Workers - Jack Lookman

DO YOU GIVE YOURSELF TOO MUCH ON THE PLATE?

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When workers hear rumours of redundancy, many react by doing more. They take on extra tasks, reply to messages at all hours, volunteer for every project and try to prove they are indispensable. At first, this may feel like a smart survival strategy. After all, if the company sees how useful you are, surely they will keep you. But in reality, giving yourself too much on the plate can weaken your performance, damage your wellbeing and make it harder to plan your next move.

Some Realities

Redundancy pressure creates a unique kind of anxiety. You may feel you have to show loyalty, productivity and flexibility all at once. You may worry that refusing extra work will make you look uncommitted. You may accept tasks outside your role because you do not want to appear difficult. You may even ignore warning signs in your body and mind because you believe rest is a luxury you cannot afford.

But overloading yourself is not the same as protecting your career. In fact, it can do the opposite. When you carry too much, your focus becomes scattered. You may start many things and finish few. You may make avoidable mistakes. You may become short-tempered with colleagues or family. You may lose sleep, eat poorly and feel constantly behind. Instead of appearing effective, you may begin to appear overwhelmed.

Stark Realities

This matters because redundancy planning requires clear thinking. You need energy to review your finances, understand your rights, update your CV, search for roles, attend interviews, speak to recruiters, learn new skills and make decisions about your future. If all your energy is consumed by trying to carry everything at work, you may have nothing left to prepare for what comes next.

There is a difference between being committed and being overburdened. A committed worker does their job well, communicates clearly and contributes value. An overburdened worker keeps absorbing tasks without boundaries until their performance and health suffer. Employers may appreciate your effort, but that does not mean the business situation will change. If your role is genuinely at risk because of restructuring or financial pressure, exhausting yourself may not save it.

This can be difficult to accept because many people connect their self-worth to how much they can endure. They believe that saying “I am busy” proves importance. They believe that being constantly needed is a sign of value. But in the modern workplace, sustainable performance is more valuable than silent suffering. You are not a machine. You are a person with limits, responsibilities and a future beyond one employer.

Self Audit

If you are currently at risk of redundancy, one of the most practical things you can do is conduct a workload audit. Write down everything you are currently carrying. Include official responsibilities, extra tasks, emotional labour, unpaid overtime, informal support you give colleagues, meetings, reporting duties and projects that have quietly landed on your desk. Seeing it on paper can be revealing. Many workers discover they are doing far more than their job description suggests.

Once you have listed everything, divide your work into three categories. The first category is essential work: tasks that are clearly part of your role and directly linked to business needs. The second category is useful work: tasks that help but may not be urgent or may be shared with others. The third category is unnecessary or poorly owned work: tasks that have fallen to you because nobody else claimed them, because processes are unclear, or because you find it difficult to say no.

Strategic Workload Management

This exercise is not about becoming lazy. It is about becoming strategic. During uncertain times, your goal should be to perform well where it matters most. If you are trying to do everything, you may not do the most important things properly. A worker who delivers three meaningful outcomes is often more valuable than one who is exhausted by ten scattered tasks.

You also need to learn how to communicate capacity. Many people think boundaries sound rude, but professional boundaries can be respectful and practical. Instead of saying, “I can’t do that,” you might say, “I can help with this, but I will need to move another deadline.” Instead of silently accepting more work, you might say, “Which of these tasks should take priority?” This shifts the conversation from personal refusal to workload management.

Communication And Emotional Overload

If your role is under review, documenting your workload can also help you speak clearly during discussions. You may be able to show the range of responsibilities you currently handle and ask whether these duties will continue if your role is removed. This does not guarantee that redundancy will be avoided, but it gives you a more informed basis for conversation. It may also reveal whether parts of your work could support redeployment or a revised role.

Beyond work tasks, many redundant or at-risk workers also take on too much emotionally. They become the strong one at home. They reassure their partner, hide their fears from children, support colleagues, worry about bills and still try to appear normal. This emotional overload is real. Losing a job or fearing job loss is not only a career issue; it can affect identity, confidence, relationships and mental health.

That is why planning should not be done in isolation. If you are carrying too much, speak to someone you trust. This may be a partner, friend, union representative, careers adviser, mentor or financial guidance service. You do not need to share every detail with everyone, but you do need support. Silence makes pressure heavier. A conversation can help you organise your thoughts and reduce panic.

Financial Planning

Your financial plate also needs attention. Some workers avoid looking at their finances because they are afraid of what they will find. But uncertainty becomes less frightening when you know your numbers. Review your rent or mortgage, utilities, food, transport, debts, subscriptions and essential commitments. Then identify what can be paused, reduced or renegotiated if needed. This is not defeatist; it is responsible planning.

If redundancy becomes likely, avoid the temptation to make emotional financial decisions. Do not rush into expensive courses without checking whether they genuinely improve your prospects. Do not drain savings to maintain appearances. Do not ignore creditors if you are struggling. Do not assume redundancy pay will last longer than it will. A calm money plan can protect you from deeper stress later.

Career Planing

Career planning also becomes harder when your plate is overloaded. You may say you want a new job, but if your evenings are consumed by exhaustion, you may never apply properly. A rushed CV, generic applications and poorly prepared interviews can reduce your chances. Instead, create realistic time blocks. Even thirty focused minutes a day can help if used well. One evening can be for CV improvement. Another can be for researching roles. Another can be for contacting people. Another can be for learning.

The goal is not to rebuild your life overnight. The goal is to stop carrying everything without direction. Redundancy planning is a process. It requires prioritisation, not panic. When you reduce unnecessary weight, you create space for action.

Practical Realistic Measures

It is also important to separate guilt from responsibility. You may feel guilty for resting when your job is at risk. You may feel guilty for not doing more. But rest is not laziness. Rest is part of resilience. A tired mind often sees only danger. A rested mind can see options. You need clarity to make good decisions about your future.

If you have been giving yourself too much on the plate, now is the time to pause and reassess. Ask yourself what you are carrying that truly belongs to you. Ask what can be delegated, delayed, discussed or dropped. Ask what future-focused actions you have been avoiding because your present workload is too heavy.

Redundancy can make life feel unstable, but overloading yourself will not create stability. Structure will. Boundaries will. Clear priorities will. Honest conversations will. A practical plan will.

You do not need to prove your worth by breaking yourself. You need to protect your energy so you can use it wisely. The next stage of your career may require courage, learning and persistence. Make sure you are not too exhausted to step into it.

Jack’s Redundancy Empowerment 

Jack’s Curated Business Ideas 

Jack Lookman’s Books 

Suggested Products And Services 

Useful Links 

Jack Lookman’s Websites 

We also monetise through promoting 3rd party products and services via Affiliate Marketing Links. This is accomplished without additional cost to you.

Why You Can't Think Straight After Redundancy - Jack’s Redundancy Empowerment - Empowering Redundant Workers - Jack Lookman - Ola Carew

Why You Can't Think Straight After Redundancy (And It Might Not Be Your Fault)

Losing your job does something strange to your brain. One day you have a routine, a purpose, somewhere to be. The next, you're staring at the ceiling at 2am, running through every conversation from your exit meeting, wondering what you should have said, what you'll say to your family, what you'll say in the next interview.

If you've been made redundant recently, you already know this feeling. What you might not know is how much it's costing you.

Have You Considered This?

The Sleep Problem Nobody Talks About

Redundancy is ranked among the most stressful life events a person can go through; right up there with divorce and bereavement. But while there's plenty of advice out there on rewriting your CV or networking your way into a new role, almost nobody talks about what redundancy does to your sleep.

Here's the honest version: your body doesn't know the difference between "I lost my job" and "I am in danger." Either way, it floods your system with cortisol. Your mind races at night because it's trying to solve a problem it can't actually solve while you're lying in bed. So, you toss, you check your phone, you replay the meeting again, and somewhere around 4am you finally drift off, only to wake up exhausted and dread the day ahead.

Does this sound familiar?

Could This Be Helpful?

Is It Affecting Your Productivity?

It probably is, even if you haven't connected the dots yet.

Job searching after redundancy is its own full-time job. You need sharp focus to tailor applications, perform well in interviews, and network with confidence. But poor sleep doesn't just make you tired. It slows your reaction time, weakens your memory, and makes you more irritable and less resilient to rejection, which, let's be honest, is a normal part of job hunting.

If you've sent out twenty applications this month and can barely remember which ones, or you've gone into an interview and blanked on a question you knew the answer to, sleep deprivation could be playing a bigger role than you realise.

Could This Be Beneficial?

Are You Underperforming Without Realising It?

This is the part that catches people off guard. You don't feel "tired" in an obvious way. You feel flat. Unmotivated. A little foggy. You sit down to update your LinkedIn and somehow an hour passes and you've achieved nothing.

That's not laziness. That's what chronic sleep disruption looks like when it's been building for weeks. Your brain needs deep sleep to consolidate memory, regulate mood, and reset your stress response. Without it, even simple tasks start to feel heavier than they should.

If your output has dropped since the redundancy and you've been blaming yourself for it, it might be worth looking at your sleep before you look anywhere else.

Will You Give This A Try?

Have You Tried Different Remedies Already?

Most people have, by the time they admit there's a problem. Maybe you've tried:

• Cutting caffeine after midday

• A stricter bedtime

• Meditation apps

• Reading instead of scrolling

• Over-the-counter antihistamines that knock you out but leave you groggy the next morning

Some of these, help a little. Few of them touch the actual problem, which is a nervous system that's stuck in high alert. Generic sleep hygiene advice is built for ordinary stress, not the specific kind of mental noise that comes with sudden job loss and financial uncertainty.

This is usually the point where people start looking for something more targeted. Not a sedative that forces you under, but something that actually helps your body wind down the way it's supposed to.

Could This Make A Difference?

What Actually Helps: Supporting Your Body's Natural Sleep Process

One option that keeps coming up in conversations among people rebuilding their routine after redundancy is Yu Sleep, a liquid sleep supplement built around a blend of magnesium glycinate, L-theanine, and a measured low dose of melatonin, alongside supporting ingredients like 5-HTP and tart cherry extract.

What makes it worth mentioning here is that the formula is designed to work with your body's natural sleep pressure system rather than just sedating you into unconsciousness. Magnesium glycinate helps calm the physical tension that builds up in your shoulders and jaw after a stressful day. L-theanine eases the racing-thoughts feeling without making you drowsy during the day. The liquid format means it absorbs faster than a capsule, so for people who lie awake with their mind spinning, it's built to help that process settle within twenty to thirty minutes rather than the sixty to ninety minutes typical of older-style sleep aids.

Users have reported falling asleep faster, waking up less during the night, and feeling clearer in the mornings, which matters when your mornings now involve job applications and interview prep, instead of a commute. It's also non-habit-forming, manufactured in an FDA-registered facility, and backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee if it isn't the right fit for you.

Could This Give You Your Life Back?

Are You Willing to Give Your Sleep the Same Attention You're Giving Your Job Search?

You've probably spent hours this month optimising your CV, rehearsing interview answers, and refreshing job boards. That effort matters. But none of it works as well as it could if you're running on broken sleep.

Redundancy is temporary, even when it doesn't feel that way. But the habits you build while you're in it, including how you treat your rest, will follow you into whatever comes next. Protecting your sleep isn't a side project. It's part of how you get through this with your focus and your confidence intact.

If you've tried the basics and you're still lying awake more nights than not, it might be worth giving your body something that actually supports the process instead of fighting it.

Could Yu Sleep Like I Sleep?

Always speak to a doctor before starting any new supplement, especially if you're on medication or managing a health condition.

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