1) About staying in touch — online sites like LinkedIn are great, but I’ve also found that unemployment social networks (Free Agents – http://www.freeagentnet.com is one) are a great way to keep your pulse on what other people are doing in the job search world. Its nice to know where people are finding success, and also good to network with people that don’t have jobs. At the very least, its a good place to go with any general questions you have about the process or when you need encouragement.

2) Regarding your severance and termination agreements – they will want you to sign an agreement that states what you can and can’t do with regards to competitors, old customers, etc before you can begin getting your severance. READ THIS CLOSELY, especially if you are planning on finding a new job in the same field. Might even be worthwhile to have a lawyer check it out, especially if you have a decent amount of severance riding on it.

Also, you touch upon it a little, but having a good daily routine will help a lot. Don’t drive yourself crazy thinking you should spend 8 hours a day full time looking for work. 4 hours is more than enough to visit all the job sites, do some research, etc. Spend the other 4 hours doing all the things around the house that you haven’t had time to do. It’ll give you a much-needed sense of accomplishment without feeling guilty about not spending more time job-hunting. If possible, try to expand your skills during those times you’re not looking for work by visiting websites discussing how to program websites, how to quilt, how to create macros in Excel, etc. There are a lot of free resources out there.