How to say No at work, without saying No

Read Time: 2.5 minutes

Do you have a problem saying No at work, even when you know that saying yes is going to be a work-overload?

Here is a fact: Learning to say No is one of the hacks that will keep you productive.

Greg MCkeown is a bestselling author of Essentialism.

The theme of his book is about ‘Doing less, but better’.

Calculation is very simple - If you have less things to do, you can do it at your best capability.

This is also how you avoid burnout.

Here is how you can say No at work, without saying No:

(Also, please note that I am not promoting laziness. This article is about saying No when your schedule is already full with Urgent To-do tasks.)

Method:

1. Be aware of your workload: 

This is the sole reason why you should say No. 

•  You have a schedule full of Urgent and Important to-do tasks.

•  You are not sure if you will be able to add the new task on your to-do list.

2. Ask Questions:

When you given a new task (say XYZ) which you know will give you work overload, ask the following questions rather than saying No:

1. How important is XYZ task?

Understand the difference between ‘Urgent’ and ‘Important’.

Urgent task should always be done before the important ones.

If your Manager/Colleague says, XYZ is an important task, you need to mention that your plate is full with Urgent tasks for the day (Provided it is the fact and you are not just making it up).

2. What is the deadline to finish the XYZ task?

Task which has an approaching deadline needs to be handled first.

If you have Task ABC in hand which has a deadline close by, you should mention it clearly. At this point, you are clearly saying No (without saying No) and in most cases, your job is done.

However, if your Manager/Colleague is still persistent about it - Go for Question 3

3. I have ‘ABC’ task pending for the day which is urgent as well. I am already working on it and I am in the loop. Taking XYZ task on board will throw me off the loop with ABC. Do you still want me to take XYZ task for the day?

After this, mostly, you will be asked to go ahead with ABC task as you have mentioned about it’s urgency and your determination to complete it.

But in case, your Manager/Colleague still insist on taking XYZ task - Go to Question 4

4. Can you guide me on which task I should work on today - ABC or XYZ?  Because both seem urgent and if I have to do it right, I can only focus on 1 task at a time.

Well, that’s a clear choice and the ball is in other person’s court now. In this case, you will be advised to go with the task in hand.

Try this next time and let me know - how it worked for you?

Until next Monday!

Cheers,

Sneha Kedar

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