How to get “UNSTUCK” in your job

Are you struggling with liking your job at the moment?

I know I’ve wanted to throw in the towel at times in the past in some of my roles. The sheer stress of some jobs, the lack of purpose or just feeling tapped out are what I can remember. So often this is the exact reason people connect with me. They just don’t feel any fulfillment or joy in the work they are doing. They lack direction in their career. Or they are joining “77% of people just this year who have stated they are burnt out from their job. “ Deloitte

 So, what can you do if you are feeling STUCK in your job? When you feel overwhelmed more often than usual. When you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel?

Here are FOUR STEPS you can begin RIGHT NOW to get “UNSTUCK”:

1) Make a LIST of what you loved about your job when you started.

2) Make a LIST of all the things bogging you down in your job. The things you dislike or what is stressing you out the most at this time.

3) Ask yourself “HOW can I do things differently?” “How can I show up differently?”

4) How can I become more proactive in my role versus reactive?

This happened to me just over 10 years ago when working for a brand I loved! What I realized is I was allowing myself to be reactive to everything rather than proactively working towards the things that would make a difference. I needed to be PROACTIVE and DETACH from the things that were less important or less impactful to delivering the ultimate goal for my position and the brand.

Making this list should help you get a bird’s eye view on what might be happening for you. Where you can make a difference on the areas you can control versus cannot. It should help you start to understand if you can fall back in love with the work you are doing or make the decision to eventually move on.

Only until you understand what is really going on for you, can you then assess and plan to change it. You can’t change what you don’t know needs altering right!? You must get clear on what is really the culprit to the “stuck”, the overwhelm, the burnout. It may surprise you in the process.

So, if you’re over the feeling of being stuck, constantly frustrated, or even talking about it. It’s time to take the steps to help you move through it. Often, we don’t realize that we are caught in a spiral of defeat.

If you have colleagues singing the same tune you likely feed off each others energy over the negative. So, here’s a thought. Ask those in the same shoe to have a final “brain dump” session and get out all the frustrations (the list of things bogging you down). Ask each other what they would do to change it and you may find a new perspective.

“Birds of a feather flock together” as William Turner states. So, why not use the time together to spin a positive tune and bring some light to the conversation.