In your professional life, there are few things that suck the life out of you more than the “U-word.” Chances are you won’t find much humor, but you’ll get copious amounts of stress when you struggle to pay off bills and loans—especially as colleagues in your LinkedIn network keep hitting those annoying work anniversaries.

Whatever misfortune or happenstance got you to U-town, don’t dwell there. Here are four things you can do right now to maximize this “opportunity” and maintain your sanity. The one thing you have right now is time. Invest it wisely.

1) Hit the gym: What’s the No. 1 excuse that people don’t work out? Not enough time. Your old job could get crazy busy 24/7, right? Well, now you’ve got time in spades—and the endorphin release will stave off some of that stress to boot. Without a full-time job, there’s no reason not to be in the best shape of your life.

2) Learn new tech skills: Chances are you don’t have the cash or the need to go back to school, but that doesn’t mean you stop learning—especially computer skills, which most jobs require these days. Do job listings in your field ask if you know Google Analytics? Is basic HTML still a foreign language? Have you been vowing for years to master Photoshop? There’s no shortage of online tutorials and most are free. Plus you’ll add another skill or two to pad the resume. (And if a potential employer wants real-world samples of your work, do a freebie for a colleague, client or friend).

3) Visit family: If your people are scattered across the country like mine, and you only get to see them a few times a year, now’s the time to get in some quality family time. Get out of your own head and get immersed in another person’s problems for a few days. (Don’t forget to ask your folks to help cover the gas or the plane ticket).

4) Reinvent yourself: Maybe you’ve always wanted to be a writer but were stuck in a technical job. Or your last accounting position was a bore but you didn’t have the courage to try something else.If you were hating life at your last gig, the silver lining is that you can reinvent or rebrand yourself. If making a change is within reason and you’ve got transferable or new skills, retool that resume and see what response you get.

Let’s face it, unemployment bites. But no one says you have to label yourself “unemployed” (other than on an EDD benefits form). When it comes up in conversation, you can say you are consulting, transitioning or working on a project basis. After all, you never really stopped working. You’re just working on finding a job.