We have all heard of the saying, “if you want something done, give it to a busy person.”
Are you that busy person? Are you saying “yes” too often and not getting to the most important things that are going to make the biggest difference?
Learn to say no.
I have found two techniques that are very useful.
1) When someone asks you if you can do something or if you are interested in doing something say, “thank you for thinking of me, however at this stage I cannot do that, should anything change I will let you know”. Now this is a rather direct approach and may not work well for everyone.
2) This is not quite as efficient as the first, but it still works well. Thank the person for thinking of you, let them know you will just need to check your diary and then you can get back to them. This gives you time to access if what they are asking you to do or are offering you, fits in with what you are trying to achieve and if not, you can politely decline.