As the year draws to a close, it's the perfect time to reflect on your professional journey and take proactive steps to reengage with your career. Reviewing what has worked, what hasn’t, and reassessing your interests, strengths, and newly developed skills will help you make intentional decisions for the year ahead.

Your career doesn’t have to remain static. Each year can bring new energy areas and growth opportunities that keep you engaged and excited about your work. On the flip side, if you continue doing tasks you’ve "done to death," you risk falling into the doom loop of stagnation, disengagement, and burnout.
 

What is the Doom Loop?

The doom loop is what happens when you keep doing tasks that no longer serve you, align with your interests, or energise you. Over time, this cycle can lead to frustration, low motivation, and even career dissatisfaction which can result in you leaving your role or worse still staying in it highly disengaged and unhappy.

Image: findingyourcareer.org

To avoid the doom loop, you need to actively recalibrate your career each year, ideally when your satisfactions are still reasonably high. This is a proactive process that puts you in control of where your energy goes and how your role evolves.
 

A simple framework for career calibration

Reflecting on your current role and responsibilities will help you clarify:

• What drives you forward
• What you need to let go of
• Where you want to grow next

Use the following three categories to guide your review:
 

1. What do I want to keep doing?

These are tasks and responsibilities that align with your strengths, energise you, and contribute to your growth or satisfaction. Ask yourself:

• What work feels meaningful or rewarding?
• Which tasks showcase my skills or expertise?
• What parts of my role bring me the most satisfaction?

Examples: Leading team meetings, clinical teaching, research projects.
 

2. What do I want to leave behind?

Identify tasks that drain you, no longer hold value, or don’t align with your long-term goals. Letting go of these responsibilities will create space for new opportunities and growth. Be honest here, stepping away can be difficult but necessary.

Ask yourself:

• Which tasks feel repetitive or redundant?
• What no longer aligns with my interests or future direction?
• Are there parts of my role I’ve been holding onto out of habit, rather than value?

Examples: Administrative tasks that could be delegated, outdated processes, or overcommitting to additional roles.
 

3. What do I want to do more of or start doing?

This is where you identify growth areas and opportunities that excite you. It could be building new skills, exploring leadership opportunities, or taking on projects that align with your evolving strengths and interests.

Ask yourself:

• What new skills or competencies have I developed this year that I want to build on?
• What interests have emerged that I’d like to explore?
• How can I create opportunities to do more of what excites me?

Examples: Developing leadership skills, presenting at conferences, exploring innovation in practice.
 

Putting it all together: A career calibration exercise

Here’s a step-by-step process to guide your reflections and plans:

1. Review your year. Reflect on your role and identify what worked, what didn’t, and what changed.
    
2. Categorise your responsibilities. Use the three sections above (keep, leave behind, more/start) to clarify your next steps.
    
3. Make a plan. Set small, realistic goals for the year ahead to:
   • Keep doing what energises you
   • Let go of what drains you
   • Pursue new growth opportunities
      
4. Revisit regularly. Career calibration isn’t a one-time exercise—check in with your goals every few months and adjust as needed.

Final thought: take control of your career

Career growth doesn’t happen by chance—it’s a proactive process that requires your engagement. By reflecting on where you are and where you want to go, you can make intentional decisions that support your energy, growth, and satisfaction at work.

Avoid the doom loop. Recalibrate your career. Reenergise your role.

If you need support to recalibrate your career or simply want to have a discussion about your career, book a complimentary 15-minute career call with a member of our Development and Career team. This valuable member benefit is designed to help you kickstart your career planning.

For more in-depth support, explore our 1-1 Professional Career Coaching Programs or book a single coaching session to gain clarity and confidence in your career journey.