Workday in, workday out. The days repeats itself with you doing the same or similar tasks over and over again. Embroiled in your work routine, you do not even recognise the warning signs that keep telling you that your current function is not optimal to exploit your potential. Since we spend most of our time at work, it is essential that we really do something that is close to our heart. Here is a checklist to help you recognise the five ‘alarm lights’ pointing that it is time to go for a newer job instead of sticking to your current one.

You do not wake up happily
Every time you awake from a nice dream you feel like you are being confronted with the hard reality of having to go to work and facing it all over again. Or even worse, the thought of staying with your current work makes you feel sad. Instead, if you truly enjoy what you are doing in your professional life, you wake up happily and enthusiastic about the things this new workday will bring. Of course, you will have some days in which you feel less excited about going to the office. That is very normal since every job has components which we less like, even your dream function does include parts that you prefer not to do. However, the overall feeling will be a happy one. So if you notice that most of your mornings start with unhappy feelings and reluctance to begin the workday, it can be a signal that you are not happy anymore with your current job.

You experience no fear
This might sound strange at first: Isn’t a good thing that you have a job in which everything goes smoothly without having you to fear anything? However, it all makes sense when you think about it. The fear is what push us outside our comfort zone to take on bigger challenges. A little amount of fear for unknown new things in the workplace can greatly function as motivation to keep the ball rolling. Anyone can push beyond their fear. When we think we have reached our capability, in reality we are only done for 40%. We still can push ourselves the remainder of that 60%. Still going for the extra mile and nailing it, will give you satisfaction and nurture you. When you feel so bored that you catch yourself checking Facebook or Youtube most of the time, your work does not challenge and push you from your comfort zone enough. It is time to start looking for something new.

You do not talk about your job with excitement anymore
When you are really doing a job you love, you will talk about it with pride to other people. Telling them about your achievements, challenges and office happenings while your eyes are blinking. In contrast, when you do not feel your best at work you tend to sum up all the bad things about it. This flows from your thought of your job being a burden. Sustaining this pattern is unhealthy. So you should tie the knot and find another job that offers better solutions.

You feel exhausted by the end of the day
If you love the work you do, it will give you energy. Even after a 9-5 workday, you still should have the drive to meet up with friends or going to a concert. You can have an extreme busy day once in a while, making you not wanting anything else than going to bed immediately after you are off. However, most of the time your job should not mentally tire you out so that you still have enough strength after work hours to do the things you love.

You cannot see a future in this job
You feel like walking the same route every day again. Your job should have something in store for you, whether it is promotion, new challenges (as mentioned before) or different projects to get involved in. The essential is to let you feel that everyday your job has a potential to offer you something better, even it is just a small positive difference. This way, you will feel excited and motivated about what your work will bring you tomorrow.

Do you recognize yourself in one or more of the above-mentioned situations? Than it is time for a change. Remember it is never too late to change the course and start to do what you love. Do not settle for less. You have everything within you right now to make take a bigger challenge that takes you further. Give yourself a pep-talk and take the move!

I hoped my advice has helped all of you. You can always join the conversation in the comments below. I’d love to hear what your thoughts are.

Until next time!

Love always,

Mee-Ling