By the time people call me they often know that the job they have is not the job they want – and they want out. The reasons are plentiful – a micro-managing boss, a stagnant culture, less than challenging work, overwork to the point of burnout, or a commute that just gets longer by the day… the list goes on.

When you line up the disconnects there seems to be a compelling argument to leave. Yet it can be hard to break up with your job. The dis-comfort zone prevails and inertia sets in.

The #1 reason I hear why talented people stay in untenable positions is that there is simply no time to get a job search underway. Being super-busy at work gets your employer’s needs met at the expense of your own. Exhaustion at the end of the day and diving for downtime over the weekend adds up to little time or energy for your personal priorities.

My encouragement is that any effort you make on job search will help you feel in more in control. If it takes a month or more of ‘bootleg’ time to get your resume organized, acknowledge that you’ll never have the clear chunk of time you want, and get on with the ‘bits and pieces’ approach. You can update your LinkedIn and set up some career alerts on job boards using incremental time. Likely you can get out for lunch at least once in a 4-week period, so plan ahead and make it a networking lunch.

Your ability to gather up your resources and make change happen despite constraints is one of the biggest personal gains you can make in managing your career. Tenacity counts.