If you wake up each morning to repeated alarm snoozes and a sense of evaporating passion for your current job, it's high time to make some changes to your mundane work routine. It's a common struggle that plagues many of us - we kick off a new role with grand ideas of success and accomplishment, but months and years of stress, office politics and unrealistic client expectations can dampen the spirits of even the most optimistic people.

Professionals often hit a career plateau - a point where they feel most of what they can learn has been absorbed, and the challenge of succeeding at the workplace is a thing of the past. Instead of slumping into the comforts of a steady paycheck or looking elsewhere for a new opportunity, sometimes all it takes is a little initiative to get out of the rut and enjoy heading to the office.

1) Pull together a development plan

Regardless of the stage of your career or your age, setting goals helps keep you focused and committed to developing new skills and facing new challenges. If you haven't already, make time to speak with your boss about the areas you'd like to develop in order to improve professionally, then map out a development plan. This accomplishes three things - your boss will recognise and appreciate that you're taking charge of your professional development, you will have your boss buy-in when you're seeking new opportunities, and you'll understand with clarity what you need to achieve post-discussion.

2) Sign up for a course, up-skill or further your education

Many courses - both paid and unpaid - are available to help you pick up new skills or be better at what you do. Be it learning to write better, improving your Mandarin or navigating the intricacies of Adobe Photoshop, making an effort to up-skill shows your initiative and interest in developing your career. Several prestigious universities such as Yale and Harvard offer free online courses on a variety of topics ranging from humanities to finance that don't require registration. For those seeking in-depth learning, signing up for a degree program will up your credentials, broaden your world view and open doors to new career opportunities.

3) Volunteer for a new project

If you feel like your creativity and sense of purpose has dried up, try stepping out of your comfort zone by volunteering on a new project or working group either in your workplace or community. You will develop expertise on new subject matters, learn new ways of doing things and get to know new faces. Your volunteer project could be as simple as sitting in on more brainstorms in other departments or contributing to new company initiatives, to organising a field trip to help paint a school in a neighbouring country. It will provide some spice to your work life and improve your profile in the organisation.

4) Ask for a secondment to a new department

Secondments come with logistical challenges, but angling for a transfer will help you grow professionally, personally and boost your profile in the company. Most companies only send employees to another department if they have transferable, applicable skill sets such as project management or budgeting, so highlight these to your superior. The best way to start the process is to request working on a specific initiative, which could be a company event or major corporate social responsibility push. Take the opportunity to learn as much as you can - don't be afraid to make mistakes and ask questions even if you're in a more senior role, and you'll be able to bring back new ideas - and most importantly new enthusiasm to your current role.

5) Be posted overseas

Uprooting won't be easy, but learning to live in a completely different culture, meeting people from diverse backgrounds, and carving a niche for yourself in an overseas office is a great way to grow your career in an increasingly global work market. Identify which overseas offices you'd most like to work in and which would benefit from your expertise. Highlight your skills as you bring your case to your managers and put the wheels in motion soon as possible as administrative procedures tend to take a while.

6) Look for a business mentor and coach

There is always someone out there more experienced than you. All you need to do is scan through your list of professional and personal acquaintances to identify a good fit, then ask them out for a weekly cup of coffee. Make every meet-up fruitful by preparing a couple of questions, such as problems you're facing at work or their thoughts about certain business issues, and pick their brain as you're catching up. This is an excellent way to develop your soft skills, decision-making and leadership skills, and your mentor will be very flattered that you sought out and valued their opinion on such matters.

7) See a career counselor

The value of a career counselor is often overlooked. They are not just for lost souls! Career counselors can help you determine your strengths and weaknesses, what you enjoy doing at work, plan your professional roadmap and work with you to solve workplace conundrums. Check in periodically with career counselors to consciously plan for your next steps and identify skills you need to work on. They can also help with lateral moves or opportunities for you to expand outside your current expertise.

It takes effort and determination to break free of your career limbo, and the best person to help make that happen is you. With perseverance and a healthy hunger for a new adventure, you'll be on your way to the next level of your career.