What existentialism is about, like most other philosophical schools, is to get you to think about the subject matter. What does it mean to live? To gain a true selfhood? You might want to know what Kierkegaard, Camus, and Sartre had to say about it, but in the end, you must formulate your opinions and answers to the questions the existentialists raise.

Good philosophy, like existentialism, is thought-provoking. Philosophy that changes your outlook on life; that confirms or challenges your beliefs, is a valuable experience.

Since "existentialism" focuses on the Self in its particular situation, its ontology often leads to ethical positions; this is particularly true with the French existentialists Sartre, Camus, and DeBeauvoir. Engagement, revolt, and the ambiguity of choice are central to much existentialists thinking.
DeBeauvoir's The Ethics of Ambiguity, or Hazel Barnes's An Existentialist Ethics discuss some of the ethical considerations based upon "existentialist" philosophy.

Hello Albert Camus, I belong to a society named after you :smartass:

Here are 2 examples of existentialism put into practice:

(1) Existential therapy

Existentialism is a philosophy that needs to be lived to be understood. As an existential psychotherapist I spend my working day helping people put existential ideas into daily practice.

(2) Academic societies

At the Albert Camus Society we promote Camus's philosophy not simply out of historical interest but because we think that he has something relevant to say in terms of political philosophy. This is a second way in which existential ideas can be used (daily) in a practical way.

Our open meeting *plug *plug on 25th July in London will be looking at putting existential ideas into practice.

Personally I think Sartre's message of avoiding bad faith, Camus' of accepting absurdity and de Beauvoir's portrait of the other are all aspects of existentialism that should probably be mandatory learning at school, so important are they to practical living.

I don't know if I would say that most philosophies don't have any practical day to day use. Even the more academic analytic school of philosophy can be used towards practical day to day problems. Existentialism, however, is more about life experience than analytic philosophy. It deals more with value philosophy than analytic philosophy does.

No matter what school of thought you consider, when applied to life, philosophy is about living the contemplative life worth living.

Practical (pragmatic?) application depends not on the content of the Philosophy in question but on the individual's capacity and alacrity for drawing conclusions in the abstract that have real implications. You can draw "day-to-day" wisdom from any philosophy, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.