It finally happened. After months of on-the-edge-of-your-seat possible government shutdown, we officially closed on Friday. There’s no telling how long the government will remain shutdown. In fact, as Senate continues to seek a deal throughout the weekend – we may be reopened by the time you read this.

But in the off-chance the government has not yet reopened – and that the shutdown drags on for several days or weeks – I wanted to give you some ideas of what to do during a government shutdown.

Fun things to do during a government shutdown

  1. Visit the National Zoo, other national parks, and the Smithsonian museums. At least, through Monday January 22nd and then Smithsonian will update their status.
  2. Take advantage of the shutdown themed food and drink specials.
  3. Binge watch on Netflix or Hulu
  4. Check out Meetup.com to see if there’s any local activities that you could participate in.

Things to benefit your career during a government shutdown

  1. Update your LinkedIn profile. Don’t have a LinkedIn profile? Take this time to create one.
  2. Read something like:
    1. Tackling Wicked Government Problems: A Practical Guide for Developing Enterprise Leaders (Innovations in Leadership)
    2. The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership: Government
    3. A Passion for Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from Fifty Years of Public Service
  3. Take a class through Coursera or Udemy
    1. Coursera classes might include: Leading people and teams, business analytics, design thinking for the greater good: innovation in the social sector.
    2. Udemy classes might include: Learn how to give effective feedback to employees, better management through understanding yourself; project management fundamentals: the art of scheduling.
  4. Update your email address for Fedability to your personal address. If you entered your government email address, you won’t be receiving your weekly newsletter. You can do this by requesting one of our free downloads either towards the top of this post or on the right side of the screen.

Healthy things to do during a government shutdown

  1. Sleep in! None of us really gets enough sleep. Why not turn off your alarm and see what happens.
  2. Work out. If you’re obsessed with watching the news on the government shut down, you can keep watching on the treadmill. You could even give a coworker a call and see if they want to meet you at the gym.
  3. Review your personal finances. Part of the stress associated with the government shut down for many employees is whether they can afford to go without a paycheck. Why not take some time now to see where you could cut costs. For instance, give your cable company a call and see if you can get them to reduce your monthly bill. You could check out your cell phone plan and see if there’s something less expensive that would meet your needs.
  4. Reach out to those in your family or close group of friends. Research finds that social support during stressful periods can help dramatically

If you have other ideas of things to do during a government shutdown, share them in the comments below!

Still need some tips? Check out our article on recharging your resilience where we recommend another great book to read while you’re home: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less