How To Bust Through A Career Rut

Collaborative Post

Being stuck in a career rot is incredibly common, even in 2026, but it turns out that there are many things that you can do about it. All it requires is taking the necessary action. Small experiments and things like self-reflection can have a huge impact on your career and enable you to progress, even if you feel stagnant right now.

Here are some practical tips that you can use from a career expert perspective. These are strategies that will really move the needle.

Diagnose what's wrong

You'll want to start out by diagnosing what's wrong. You need to understand what may have been the issue, what may be the issue with your current work, and how you can move forwards.

One problem is often a lack of challenge. If you feel like you've plateaued and your skills aren't progressing, it's a sign that you need to move on. You may also be experiencing misalignment. This is when your values don't align with the work that you do. You may have changed priorities from when you first started.

Reconnect with your purpose

The next step is to reconnect with your purpose. You want to think about what made you excited about taking on the role in the first place. Once you've done that, you can start defining clear goals around this. Figuring out what you want to do next in the short and longer term is crucial.

Boost your skills and visibility in your current role

Another thing you can try is boosting your skills and visibility in your current role. Don't do what 90% of people do and wait for permission to move forward. Instead, create your own momentum.

The best way to do this is through leadership projects. You want people around you to see you as a natural leader for a particular team or organisation within the business. Once you gain this sort of accolade, it often doesn't take very long for people to make their way up the ranks and get into positions with more authority.

If you can volunteer for AI-related tasks, then do so. Make sure you're at the cutting edge of technology in your firm and that you're one of the few people who understands it.

Expand your network

business-people-meeting-discussion-working-office-concept

Unsplash - CC0 License

You can also try expanding your network through websites like JobFlexy or within your existing circle. Things like reconnecting with old colleagues or joining professional communities can be just the sort of thing you need to move the needle.

If you can talk openly about wanting growth, that can help too. Don't be negative about your current position, but point out that you're ready and willing to take on greater challenges.

Experiment with side quests

Finally, if nothing is working in your main career, then you could try experimenting with a side quest. Often these can grow and balloon in proportions over time, allowing you to explore more opportunities.

A proper side quest takes between six and twelve months of effort. By the end of it, you should be able to tell whether it's something that's ready for the big time.

—End of collaborative post—

✨ New Series: How to Become an Early Riser

Discover key methods to make early rising a habit
How to wake up early + energized every morning
Morning routines for health + success

View Series Playlist

Free self-development courses
👇

Tap on any of the courses below to start learning how to:

boost your productivity (with GTD),
get focused (with Deep Work),
or learn the art of influencing others (with the How to Win Friends & Influence People course.)

All for free.
👇