Mid-Week Productivity Tip: Say NO

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[media-credit id=1 align=”alignnone” width=”420″][/media-credit]It’s not easy to say NO, particularly if you’ve had a lot of practice saying YES. If you are the helpful type, you might often find yourself saying Yes to everyone and anyone…Yes to that errand and YES to babysitting…YES to help with shopping and YES to plan the office party. There is nothing wrong with saying YES all the time, but when it keeps you from being productive, then there’s a problem.

Here are some of the problems with saying YES always:

• You’re always doing someone else’s stuff
• Your own things never get done or get done really late
• People see you as a pushover
• Resentment begins to grow inside of you.

What is the point of people seeing you as this nice, helpful person if you are beginning to resent them? If you are a mum, yo probably already have a thousand and one things to do and while it’s great to help out every now and then, if you really want to be more productive and get things done, you need to learn how to say NO.

Saying NO does not have to be a drama filled event. You can say NO in a way that people will take you seriously, but not be seriously hurt.

How to say NO

• Be polite…say something like Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t do that today.
• Be firm…don’t let anyone browbeat or blackmail you
• If you’re not comfortable saying NO outright, try a few variations. Here are some from TIME
  • I can’t this time.”
  • Sorry — not today.”
  • “That won’t work for me right now — but I’ll get back to you if anything changes.”
  • “I really appreciate you thinking of me, but I’ve just got too much on my plate right now.”

If you’re wondering if it’s really necessary for you to say NO, the same article on Time.com says:

So think about it that way. If you don’t say no, you could die. Saying yes adds extra stress to you life. It eats into your leisure time. It shortens your life. It increases your blood pressure and decreases our immune system. It could lead to less sleep, less exercise, and a less healthy diet.

There are some things you can never have back. Your time, your health, your virtue, your life. Don’t mess around with those things. It’s fine for people to ask — most likely, in their mind, they’re trying to help introduce you to a great person or opportunity or meaningful cause. And it’s just as fine for you to say no.

There you have it. Just. Say. NO.

 

 

 

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