Overview

Prioritizing requests and avoiding becoming a “yes” person requires a combination of effective time management, clear communication, and strategic thinking. Many people find this challenging, especially if they are natural people-pleasers who try to avoid conflict at all costs. The good news is that this is a skill you can develop! To ease the discomfort of saying ‘no,’ it is helpful to remove yourself from the narrative. Instead of saying, “I don’t have time,” respond from a more neutral perspective to avoid creating a me vs. you conflict scenario.

It is imperative to keep your focus on top priorities and goals, ensuring that all tasks align with these objectives. This gives you a clear focus and helps you eliminate tasks that pull you away from that direction. When faced with excessive requests, shift the burden of reprioritizing tasks back to the requester. You can indicate your willingness to take on additional work by asking what they would like to deprioritize to accommodate the new task. Effective communication is key, as the requester may not understand what other tasks are already on your plate.

Remember that people aren’t intentionally malicious in wanting you to take on more than what’s possible; they are likely just focused on their own tasks and meeting their own deadlines. That’s why it’s important to be your biggest advocate for your boundaries and understand that you can always find a middle ground through collaboration and teamwork.

Leading with empathy and understanding why the requester considers the task important can help foster a collaborative team mentality. Working together to find a solution through compromise can be highly effective in maintaining a productive and harmonious work environment. Reinforce the mantra that ‘we’re all in this together’ to figure out how to get things done within the guardrails set by your capacity limits and strong time management.

Remember, automatically saying ‘yes’ to requests that push your boundaries reinforces that behavior, making it more likely that you will receive additional, similar requests. If you always say yes, people will assume you can accommodate those requests repeatedly, leading to burnout and resentment. Below is a quick cheat sheet for utilizing these strategies to avoid such situations and maintaining the zen workplace culture we all strive for.