When people ask what you’re doing with your life, “working on it” is a full answer.

The question assumes there is a finished plan to report, and most people asking do not need one; they are making conversation. Scrambling to produce an impressive summary turns a passing remark into an audit you run on yourself. Not having the answer yet is an ordinary condition rather than a gap to apologize for.

Keep a short reply ready and say it without flinching. Then change the subject, or hand a question back across the table. Anyone who genuinely cares will ask something more specific, and those are the conversations worth having.