PEAS AND QUIET The Green City Market is more manageable, and the pickings are better, during work hours on Wednesday.

5. You can book time at your local library.
Okay, so maybe hanging out at the library is as sexy as Joy Behar in a bikini, but unemployed people can take advantage of some major perks there, including surfing the Web for free and checking out what-the-hell-do-I-do-with-my-life-now books such as What Color Is My Parachute? and The Artist’s Way. Just make sure to hit the door before 3pm—that’s when the just-out-of-school rugrats invade to play Second Life on the computers.

6. Your tan will be perfect.
Sunny, sandy and free, Chicago’s 33 beaches are the perfect place to while away nonworking hours. Take advantage of the crowd-free sand while it lasts—according to the Chicago Park District, beach season ends September 1.

7. You’ll swim circles around working stiffs.
In addition to providing a free place to get your feet wet, 18 of the city’s 77 public pools also offer low-cost community exercise programs such as group lap swimming and water polo throughout the day. Classes cost a mere $20 for three months. Register online at programs.chicagoparkdistrict.com.

8. You’ll have time to TCB, as the King would say.
You know those time-intensive tasks that seem daunting alongside a full workload? They’re not so bad—maybe they’re even a pleasure—when your weekdays are free. While everyone else is at work, you can quickly take care of tasks like: getting your license renewed (Cook County Administration Building, 69 W Washington St, 312-793-1010, cyberdriveillinois.com); and getting your car’s emission testing done (Illinois Air Team Vehicle Emissions Testing Program, 877-927-7587, epa.state.il.us/air/vim/locations.html). Or, if you can’t stop thinking job-centric thoughts, start a blog or website, which in some cases can lead to a new job or a book deal (blogger.com and wordpress.com offer free software). Just ask Christian Lander, who recently landed a $300,000 book deal for stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com.

9. Going green just got easier.
Through August 26, Garfield Park Conservatory (300 N Central Park Ave, 312-746-5100) will give free tours of its City Garden and provide tips for how urban environmentalists can green up their neighborhood. Tours run Thursday 14 at 3pm and August 26 at 10am.

10. You have no reason to skip museums.
“Being unemployed is really the only time I have to bum around the museums I want to hit up but never have time,” says John Zacherle, an architect searching for new work. “Since most of them are free one day per week, I really don’t have an excuse.” While giants like the Art Institute of Chicago (free Thursday and Friday evenings, 5:00-9:00pm) and the Chicago History Museum (free Mondays) may be flooded with tourists, less popular museums such as the The Museum of Contemporary Photography (600 S Michigan Ave, 312-663-5554) and the International Museum of Surgical Science (1524 N Lake Shore Dr, 312-642-6502; free Tuesdays) are off the beaten path and offer plenty of midday peace and quiet.

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