Nowadays, it is common to see small to medium-sized businesses that are managed by very few people. Entrepreneurship and freelancing are becoming very popular among the younger generations, and to that, I mean Millennials and Gen Z’s. And, of course, we still have those big companies with hundreds or even thousands of employees, as well as some new combinations of specialists that team up to work together on common projects.
But it is safe to say that no matter the size of the company or the team, we all feel like every day we are taking on more and more responsibilities. We are at a time where being productive is synonymous with doing as much as humanly possible in a given amount of time, therefore pushing our boundaries and limits further from what is healthy and recommended.
As freelancers, remote workers, and so on; struggling with time management couldn’t be more common. Sometimes we think that we need to take on every project and deliver it with perfect quality ASAP.
Other times we believe on the premise that we might not know something, but we could learn how to do it, and we take on the project anyway… and don’t get me wrong, being an independent fast learner is a great quality, but we need to be realistic when making a commitment.
Boundaries keep everybody safe, they keep you from burning out and your client from receiving anything less than your best quality work. As the saying goes Don’t bite more than you can chew. And to be able to do that, you need to learn how and when to say no.
Here are some tips for that:
1. Review the request
Ask the client, supervisor, teammate, or whoever is submitting the task to be specific. You need details about what you are expected to do in order to deliver an answer and make a commitment. It often happens that by asking for more information on the task small easy projects turn out to be more complicated than they seemed and vice-versa, complex projects end up looking far more simple.
So, unless it is something that will take shorter to do than to gather the information, don’t be afraid to ask. By asking you are not agreeing to complete the task, but you are showing the other person that you care about their needs and take them seriously, even if you end up not helping them.
2. Be honest
The first person you need to be honest with is yourself. Be real, do you really have the time to take on that third project for this month? Are you qualified to do the task, or at least have enough time to prepare for it? Is this project aligned with your goals? What are the real costs of it, are you willing to pay them? Are the benefits of doing it (Payment, experience, connections, and more) enough compared to the costs?
Don’t be afraid to ask yourself tough questions. Set your boundaries in a healthy spot and respect them. Saying no can be hard and uncomfortable for most people, you are not alone on this one. But it is also a great way to take care of yourself and even your work. If you over-compromise yourself for not saying no to anyone, you might end up delivering poorly made work or not being able to meet all the deadlines, and that can be very harmful to your company, your reputation, and even you.
The discomfort of saying no to a task you can’t fulfill is smaller than the heavy heart after letting someone down or knowing you could’ve done better if you hadn’t that much on your plate. It is important not to take too long evaluating the request, so if you decline the other person still has time to find someone else to complete the task.
3. Make the choice and communicate it
So, you have deeply evaluated the requested task and decided that you won’t be able to do it. Some things that might help you decide are, for example, if the task can’t be done during the requested time; if it requires skills that are not within your area of expertise; if doing it will have more costs than benefits; or if you have other compromises and don’t have the time to do it.
In any of those situations and for other reasons that we didn’t mention is valid and okay to say no. But… How to do it? Well, for starters, try being assertive and honest. Communicate why you can’t do it professionally. Maybe even offer your services for another occasion, or recommend someone you trust can do a good job with it.
Some people might not get why you said no, but that’s okay too, as long as you are okay with your decision and you respect your boundaries, you will be also showing respect to the other person’s needs and time.
Knowing when to say no, also teaches you to say yes, and value all those yesses. Take on projects that inspire you, even some that challenge you, and take risks, but all in a healthy way. You don’t have to say yes to everything to be acknowledged for your good work, for that you only need to say yes to the right things. And which are those? if you know how to say no, you’ll learn how to invest your energy wisely and therefore find those right yesses once you see them. Why don’t you give this a try?
