A Slump, a Shift, and a Reset

On the frustrating chaos of career change…and finding your way back to clarity

I had a different post queued up for you today—but I scrapped it.

This one wrote itself in the early hours this morning. I’m trusting my intuition that it is one I needed to write and that at least one of you reading needs to hear.

Readers, I am in a slump.

When I left my full-time role at the end of January, I had a vision: take a few months off, sort out what I wanted next, and be executing that plan within six months. Easy breezy, right?

Wrong.

This has not been easy. And not just in the ways you might think.

Yes, the market is a mess, and it’s a tough time to find a new role, let alone make a bold career change. Yes, remote work is increasingly difficult to find. I knew both things going in and was ready to work through them.

What I didn’t anticipate was how completely randomized I’d become—scattered, unfocused, trying to do everything and getting traction on nothing.

And worse, I didn’t anticipate that I’d be the one randomizing myself.

I’m not a patient person. I like things to happen quickly, efficiently, and without emotional drama. But building something new is none of those things. It’s slower, messier, and more emotional than I imagined.

I’m impatient for progress to happen. There are only so many times a day someone should check Substack stats for subscribers or glance at emails for a contract gig application reply. I’ve hit the unhealthy number.

I’m impatient for this work to feel less like an uphill slog. The temptation to cave to the endless ads in my inbox about easy ways to “earn $5,000,000 a year with THIS ONE TRICK” grows stronger even as my lived experience proves how much these ads are lies.

I’m impatient to feel professionally competent again.

(There’s another post here about growth challenges, too, huh? For another time.)

In response to my impatience, I’ve gone into scattershot mode: applying to roles I don’t want “just to get some traction,” joining forums that aren’t aligned “because visibility is key,” and spending too much time trying to figure out how to engage with LinkedIn. I even told ChatGPT I didn’t know what to post there anymore. Chat had ideas. They sounded like a robot wrote them. Because one did.

The output? Aside from the weird ego blow of radio silence from job applications to roles that I am not even interested in? It’s been the loss of my time and the loss of my focus and the loss of my joy.

When you’re randomized, you don’t do anything well. You churn through low-value tasks, avoid the hard stuff, and feel bad about everything.

When you’re randomized, you lose momentum. You get in a slump.

And I’ve been in a slump.

I’m still showing up, which tells me there’s a way out. But I know it’s time to reset.

Here’s how I’m working my way back—one step at a time:

Step One: Acknowledge you’re in a slump

Naming it matters. So here I am, naming it in front of this audience of accountability partners: I’ve lost focus. I’ve scattered my energy. I’ve lost my joy.

You cany only take action after you’ve acknowledged action needs taking.

Step Two: Return to your own compass

I’m revisiting the tools and reflections I created earlier this year—the ones that remind me what I want (and don’t want) in this next phase. I’ve documented my red lines. I’ve defined what meaningful work looks like to me. Somewhere along the way, I strayed. It’s time to come back.

I’m so grateful that I built this content for myself. Sometimes when we get down these rabbit holes, it can be tough to remember how to get back to where we started.

Those documents are my roadmap back to myself.

Step Three: Ruthlessly prioritize

I need to stop doom-applying. I need to be thoughtful about where I show up online. I need to rework my systems. What I was doing isn’t working. Time to adjust.

And that’s okay. Growth is iterative. What works now might not work tomorrow. The key is paying attention and making changes.

At the end of the day, none of this is easy.

Figuring out how to live your career with intention isn’t something that will come together in a straight line. There will be plenty of peaks and valleys on the journey, and there will always be more growth to be found.

It is all about how you ground yourself.

Do you have folks in your corner to hold you accountable when you’re going off track?
Do you have a clear sense of where that track even is?
Do you have the strength to ruthlessly prioritize your own needs as you grow?

If the answer to any of the above is “no,” then you know where to begin.

Building a career rooted in intention is hard. It’s disorienting and nonlinear. And it asks for trust: in yourself, in your path, in the timing of things. In the community that supports you.

If you’re in a slump, too? If you’ve randomized yourself in pursuit of something that once felt clear? I’m here to tell you that you're not alone.

Let’s reset and recenter together.

Thanks for being here. And for being part of a space where we get to be honest about how messy and meaningful this process really is.

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Hi, I’m Ashley. I am the creator of Beyond the Break—a space for women navigating career transitions with intention, honesty, and heart. Through storytelling and reflection, I explore what it really means to build a sustainable, meaningful relationship with work. We also have a community chat space where you can engage with other women navigating these same waters.

If this piece resonated with you—or if you’re feeling a little lost in your own career shift—I’d love to hear from you. Drop a comment below or send me a message. You don’t have to figure this out alone.

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Don’t forget—the community chat feature launched last week. Check back there for regular prompts and opportunities to connect with other readers.