Your Job Is Draining You, But You’re Not Sure What You Want Instead (Including AI Prompts!)

Do you wake up dreading work in the morning? Or perhaps you open your laptop, take a peek at your calendar through one eye and cringe each day.

Or maybe, you quite simply just don’t care anymore. Your job doesn’t bring you joy or fulfilment, and it’s draining you of energy and happiness.

You unlock your phone, click on the closest social media app, and all you see are successful, happy faces, rubbing your nose into the fact that they are living the life of their dreams. And you, my darling, are not.

We will discuss what to do when you’re in this ‘in-between’ phase. The phase where you’re body is firmly in one place, but your mind is elsewhere. And how to get out of that.

First things first.

Is Your Job Really Draining You?

Or are you just having a bad week? Or a bad month? Or is this just a challenging client? Or is a colleague being a bit of a knob?

I know. I had to ask. You hate it. It’s been shit for years. Ok, let’s move on.

It’s More Than Just a Bad Week

When you start noticing a pattern of behaviour that runs for a long period, it’s time to take action. Many people will sadly go through their entire lives feeling like this is ‘normal’.

Everyone hates their jobs, right?

Wrong babes. It’s not normal to despise 40 hours of your life every week. And then probably despise the multiple hours surrounding those 40 hours that you spend worrying about the 40 hours! You get the picture.

Your Job Is Draining You: The Sideline Judges

‘But everyone else is going through this too, what makes me special?’

Suppose you have people around you who are telling you to ‘just suck it up’ because you’re ‘lucky’ to have a job. Or ‘you're not different from everyone else’. Or ‘well, it’s too late to start again’, I’m here to tell you, fuck those people.

There’s one of two things going on here. Both negative.

Their lives are shit, and they want yours to remain shit like theirs so they don’t have to feel as bad about themselves. Your growth will only highlight their stagnation.

They’re used to you being the way you are. You’re reliable. You’re available. You’re relatable. They don’t want that to change.

You get a few goes around the sun. For the most part, the world is a glorious place to be. And you’re missing it, sitting behind a desk worrying about the ROI of a client who you don’t give a shit about.

You certainly don’t want your potential future to be stifled by your own doubts. But worse than that is having it stifled by other people’s doubts.

If you find yourself feeling so tired and drained that you can’t focus. Staring at a blank wall is more enticing than working. Or if you are struggling to find pleasure in the little things you used to enjoy. Then it’s time to think of what’s next, even if that feels scary.

Your Job Is Draining You: Not Repeating The Same Patterns

Some people who are in the position that you’re in will think about what jobs they can shift into. What other 9-5 is out there that pays well?

I’ve done this before.

I’ve moved from one corporate job to another. The one I was moving to always felt fresh and different. But it never was. A few short months exposed that job for what it was. And that is, a carbon copy of the one that came before it.

The teams might be different, the systems might be updated, but the company goals are always the same. And those goals were not aligned with mine.

If you’ve moved jobs more than once and each time found yourself in the same mindset, then you’ve outgrown this narrative. You need to find something else.

So What Is Next?

That is completely up to you. Which is probably not what you came to this article to read. So let’s figure it out together.

There are a few questions you need to ask yourself, and a plan of action you need to put in place to get you to your destination (or close to it) as safely as possible. And by safely, I mean in a way that does not impact your finances, earning capacity, housing situation, and important relationships.

You could easily turn around and quit your 9-to-5 job tomorrow, but you do need to have a contingency plan in place. If you have responsibilities, then this is unfortunately not something you can just do without a backup plan.

That does NOT mean that you can’t do ANYTHING, though.

Answering Soulful Career Questions

Open your notes app and paste in the questions below.

Over the next few minutes, hours or days, I want you to answer them.

If you know all the answers right now, then by all means, type away. But if you need time to dwell on these, then do so. The answers here are quite important and will shape what you do next, so don’t just write anything.

Identity & Energy

When do I feel most like myself?

What parts of me feel ignored or squashed in my current job?

What energises me so much that I lose track of time?

What consistently drains me, even if it’s “not that hard”?

Values & Meaning

What feels meaningful to me, even if no one else thinks it is?

What have I always been drawn to, even if I’ve never pursued it?

What do I secretly admire in other people’s lives or careers?

What kind of impact do I want to have?

Lifestyle & Environment

What kind of rhythm does my ideal day have? Early starts, slow mornings, bursts of energy, quiet time?

Where do I picture myself working? At home, in nature, around others, moving around?

What kind of environment makes me feel calm, capable, and focused?

Needs & Limits

What do I need more of in my life right now? What do I need less of?

What am I no longer willing to tolerate, even if it pays well or looks “good on paper”?

What does security really mean to me? Is it money, routine, autonomy, creative freedom?

Desires & Possibilities

If fear wasn’t a factor, what would I try?

If I knew it would work out, what would I walk toward?

What’s something small I could do right now that feels exciting, not terrifying?

Legacy & Long View

When I look back in 10 years, what do I want to be proud of?

What do I not want to regret?

Looking at these answers alone might give you the insight you need into what you want to do next, but if you feel like you’re staring into a void, and don’t know what to do with this information, then use this ChatGPT prompt.

Acting as a lifestyle and careers advisor, can I provide you with the answers to a set of specific questions, and with these answers, can you please let me know what types of careers I should be focusing on?

[and then paste your answers].

Disclaimer: Chat GPT can make mistakes. Check important info.

AI isn’t going to be the silver bullet to all of your problems, but it can help to provide a broad brush overview of your skills, experience and preferences, and give some examples of careers that may suit those.

I Have An Idea of What I Want To Do… But What Now?

Now you need to start implementing habits.

You’re probably not going to be able to quit your job this very second and start on a new venture (if you could, you probably wouldn’t be reading this article).

So work backwards from your goal.

If your goal is to retrain completely and start a new career, then make a plan of how you’re going to get there.

What course do you need to take? Where can you take that course? Is it online, or do you need to go to classes? How long will it take to complete?

The same goes for any action you decide to take. Whether that’s retraining, moving industries, or starting your own business.

Final Thoughts

If you are in a job that is destroying your soul, just know that you’re not alone. And know that there is a way out. You just haven’t discovered what that is yet. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

Key takeaways here are: don’t listen to people who you wouldn’t swap places with. Trust your gut. And open your mind to new possibilities. The minute you tell yourself something isn’t possible, your mind shuts off the possibility of that thing happening for you. So shut off nothing, and explore everything.