Are you considering quitting your job? Would you know if you are even ready to quit? This is a very important decision to make, and should not be taken lightly. However, you would be surprised how many people rush into this decision and then almost immediately regret it afterwards.

With this in mind, I've come up with the following three questions that you should ask yourself BEFORE you quit your job.

• Do you DREAD going to work every day? - Let's clarify this: There is a big difference between "Dread" and "Not feeling like it". The second option is what most of us feel on an occasional basis. Maybe we're tired, hung-over, or what have you. However, dreading going to work is a whole new ball game. Every day, you hate going to work. It might even make you feel a little bit sick to your stomach. Sometimes, you call off sick because you just can't stand going to work that day. This is dread. If you're feeling like this, then that's a good sign you might want to get a new job.
• Does your attention constantly wander at work? - Most people cruise the internet every once and awhile at work, just to take a small break from whatever they're working on. However, in this case, you are constantly doing something, anything, besides working. You know you have deadlines, but you just don't care (more on this in the next question). Excessively long lunch breaks, wandering around the office constantly, cruising the internet all the time, these are all symptoms that you might not be satisfied with your current job.
• Do you care about what you produce? - This is another big one. If your work comes out great, good for you. If not, no big loss. That's how this kind of attitude works. Basically, if you don't care about the outcome of your assignments, then you probably need a new job OR a new role on your current job (big "OR" here). The "OR" here is important because this might just signal that you need a new project or task to work on. Before you take the drastic step of quitting, you should investigate whether or not there is something else you could be doing in your current job that would be more satisfying.

The thing to keep in mind here is that you don't necessarily have to answer "Yes" to all three of these questions to show that you're ready to quit your job. Maybe only one of these apply, maybe only two. Conversely, just because you answer "Yes" to one or all three of these questions, it also doesn't mean that you have to quit your job. Keep in mind that only you can end up making this decision, these questions are meant to act as more of a guide to help you make it rather than making it for you.

Kevin Augustine is the administrator for Workplace Life - Where Every Cubicle Has a Window. Visit us for helpful articles on common Microsoft Office software such as Microsoft Word and Excel. We also have articles on career management, surviving in the office, professional email tips, and bits of humor to lighten up your day.