Roses are red;

Violets are blue;

Help! My career passion has gone stale;

Tell me, what should I do?

When you’re scrambling to meet ever-evolving deadlines and your task list is multiplying faster than you can blink, it can be hard to feel the passion you once felt for your career. This is especially true if your work tends to bleed into your home life. With smartphones, laptops, and other technology always within reach, it’s difficult to effectively separate work from the rest of your life.

Learn Something New

Many of us lose enthusiasm in the day-to-day grind because we’ve stopped learning. If you’re curious by nature and love to learn, the constant routine can often squelch our ability to be lifetime learners.

Perhaps there is an aspect of your job or industry you’ve always been intrigued by but have never had exposure to. Or maybe there is a specific skill set you’ve been interested in learning but have lacked the time or opportunity.

Seek out your professional peers, colleagues, and superiors to see if they would be willing to schedule knowledge transfer sessions or mentorships to teach you these new areas. While it may create more work for you in the short-term, you will feel reinvigorated at the prospect of continual learning. Plus, strengthening professional relationships with your colleagues will also help rejuvenate your love for the job.

Stop Working After Hours

This could easily be a blog post of its own, since so many factors dictate your need to work overtime. When a deadline looms or you just need the extra time to cut through backlogged projects, sometimes working into the night is unavoidable.

However, are you’re constantly checking your work email in the car, at home, or at social engagements? Are you pulling out your laptop to “check something quick” on the weekends? If so, the lack of separation between work and personal life may feed the exhaustion you feel with your career.

Whenever possible, turn off email notifications on your phone so you’re not tempted to check your inbox with each new email. We also recommend instituting a personal goal to store your laptop and other work-related materials away each night and every weekend, so you’re not tempted to “check in.” Many of us feel anxious at the prospect of not being always-on with regards to work-related matters. But being able to turn your brain off, and power down will help ensure you don’t get burned out in the long-term.

Reevaluate Your Career Goals

If you’ve lost all passion for your job, and you’ve yet to find a remedy, you may need to rethink your career path. If you’re constantly worn down by the corporate culture or you’re frustrated by your position within the company, finding a new job may be the missing link.

Reach out to your professional network to touch-base and feel out any opportunities that may be a good fit for your skillset and career goals. Start actively monitoring online job postings on mobile to ensure you’re receiving real-time updates for new and relevant job listings. Lastly, connect with a recruiter in your industry to help identify new job opportunities that may not be listed online. If you can provide solid guidance on your career goals, desires, and needs, a recruiter will serve as strong assets in your job search arsenal.

While writing limericks may help ease the sense of loss you feel after falling out of love with your job, use the above tips to fuel your quest to regain the love you once felt for your professional pursuit.

Burchard & Associates specializes in accounting and finance recruiting across all business sectors, including manufacturing, retail, wholesale/distribution, healthcare, financial services, and more.