The Importance of Being Busy

You may be tempted to sit around and mope during the first 30 days of your divorce, but that will simply allow you to ruminate on the specifics of your failed marriage. Avoid this trap by keeping yourself busy.

Go to your child’s soccer game and stay for the whole thing, or take up an activity or hobby that you’ve always wanted to do but felt that your spouse wouldn’t approve. Take on some extra projects at work to keep you busy and get in some overtime.

Of course, you can keep busy right in your own home. Restore that piece of furniture, try a new color of paint on your walls or plant a vegetable garden. Embark on a major spring cleaning, even if it’s the dead of winter. Escape into a good book, tackle a crossword puzzle or write in a journal. Whatever it is, keep yourself occupied.

Staying busy isn’t avoiding the situation—it’s distracting you from dissecting every little detail. You’ll keep yourself from dwelling on the not-so-pretty aspects of your divorce.