Too much to do and too stressed?
Perhaps, you need to consider why you are so busy in the first place.
Who is loading up your work-list anyway?
Chances are… it’s you.
When was the last time you said no to yourself?
Saying No to Yourself
When you find yourself with too much to do, you probably have only yourself to blame.
We often talk about saying no to others, but just as important is the ability to say no to yourself.
“Before you can say no to others, you have to be able to say no to yourself.” (Tweet Quote)
What do you need to tell yourself no about?
Here are 5 Times When You Need to Say No to Yourself:
- When It Doesn’t Make Sense – Sometimes all it takes is a little common sense. Say no when the task at hand is counter-productive (or even self-destructive.) Take a moment to step back and consider whether you need to “just say no.”
- When You Are Stressed – Much of stress is self-inflicted. You take on too much or agree to do things that you shouldn’t. When you are tired or running ragged is the time to hold your ground and say no to yourself.
- When You Are Overloaded – You can’t do it all. When there is simply too much on your list, you need to be able to say no to some of your tasks.
- When It’s Not a Priority – It’s easy to do the easy things. The ones that really don’t matter. It’s harder to do what you should be doing. You have to be able to choose between what you want to do and what you need to do.
- When It’s the Wrong Thing to Do – Never compromise yourself or values, even when you are under pressure. Don’t take the easy route when it goes against what is correct. Always do the right thing even if you have to say no to your inner voice.
When No is the Right Answer
Your inner voice may be telling you that you can “do it all.”
However, that can be a recipe for disaster.
You can’t do everything, so be realistic.
Sometimes you need to say no, even to yourself.
Question: When was the last time you said no to yourself? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Great article Craig! The last time I said “no” to myself and I was very proud of it was when I came up with a new product idea but it was not fully aligned with the direction of my business. I said no to something that could’ve been very profitable, but it does not fall in line with the greater plan. So say no to distractions is one thing I would add to the list of 5 you already have.
Great Advice! Sometimes, it helps to go over your day or week and compare what you spent your time with to what your goals were. This can help identify things you need to stop doing so that you can use your time more effectively. It’s easy to justify some less important activities in the moment, but when you see that they are adding up to be significant time-wasters, it’s best to cut them back. Planning your activities can help you to focus on your priorities and put your other interests into perspective.
Thanks for the advice! Sometime, society puts too much pressure on a person to become a “yes man” (or woman), who simply agrees to everything. It takes an assertive yet reflective individual to say no to a task that might seem simple but as Jon M said below is not an effective use of your time. Recognizing that pressure to become a “yes man” is a key part in relieving stress and saying no.
This weekend! The big Christmas tree is not up….the lighted garland and geo mesh are not adorning neither my front, nor my back door. The mantle is line it is every day! BUT I have given myself permission to say, “it’s okay!” I’m not going to punish myself with more stress and then spend my time off to take all the decorations back down!!
This is a great article — I love the ‘5 times to say no’ angle you’ve taken and I couldn’t agree more.
I used to find it difficult to say no at work, even when I was completely overwhelmed, but I always found it really easy to say no at home to make room for all of the work.
Sometimes just reminding people of how easy it has been for them to say no at home, gives them the motivation to start saying no more often at work, too.
Sometimes we’re the hardest person to say no to. The trick is to figure out why we think we need to do things especially when no one is really demanding them!
I don’t say no to myself as often as I should but I did say no to myself at Thanksgiving. I always host Thanksgiving at my house but we moved into a repo on November 18th. Thanksgiving was November 28th. My repo house didn’t have a kitchen. We were going to try to rig the kitchen so I could cook and host. But right before we moved I realized it wasn’t a very good idea to try this. So I moved the meal to my daughter’s house. I was still going to try to cook, though. But as it got closer to Thanksgiving, I knew I couldn’t do that either. So I asked the rest of the family to pick up the slack for me. They were more than willing to and I enjoyed a stressless Thanksgiving – because I said no to myself.
Now if I could just do that more often. . .
Great article… Need to think about that for 2014 !