How often do you say no at work? Chances are you say yes a lot more often. While it may seem harmless, it can affect your productivity negatively.
These two letters make it seem like saying it should be easy. However, saying no can be difficult for many people, especially if you are the type of person who wants to please others or wants to show that you are capable of handling anything at any time. It may look like it has a good outcome, but your inability to say no can hold back your own productivity.
Here are four reasons why you should learn to say no more often.
For Focus
They say that one of the true keys of success is the ability to focus and prioritize your tasks every hour of the day. Knowing what you absolutely need to accomplish within the day and what you can put aside for the meantime will help you schedule the time you are going to give each task. Remember that your time is valuable, and if you just say yes to every request that comes your way you won’t be able to give your best or finish the major tasks you have planned for the day.
So Others Can Step Up
When you say yes to every request that arrives, you are actually taking opportunities away from someone else. Great leaders know how important it is to help their team grow. This means that they should understand the concept of delegation. Sometimes you need to say no so somebody can say yes.
By letting others step in, you create a mentoring environment as you will be helping your team develop new skills and succeed rather than just depending on you to do the task.
Source: Elearning Industry
So you don’t waste valuable time
Have you ever tried not being able to do any work at all because you were asked to attend so many meetings? Not only does it suck the productivity out of you, it fills up your whole day! Remember that you have duties to fill in the company as well. You don’t need to attend every meeting, choose to attend those that are really critical towards delivering against your priorities.
So you can take care of yourself and others
If there is a skill that every employee should learn, it’s work-life balance. A part of learning this, is to understand that you cannot handle everything–so you should learn when you need to say no. If you cannot take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of the people around you.
The concept of saying no may be difficult for many people. But sometimes, saying no can do a lot of good in your career, so you can put yourself first.
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