People mean well. Except for the occasional time tyrant, they usually don't mean to bury you with requests and steal all of your available time - and then some. But they do. And we let them. Then we end up overwhelmed, angry, stressed, and frustrated - emotions that could have been avoided by employing one or more of the following strategies. Try them on for size and see if your schedule doesn't become more manageable.

Get comfortable asking for time to think about requests… When someone asks you to do something, take some time to think about how it fits into your overall plan. Do you have the time to do it? Do you possess the necessary skills or information to the task or project? Is it something you could delegate? Just because someone asks doesn't mean you have to jump in with a "yes.” Modify requests to suit your needs… Taking the time mentioned in the point above allows you to decide whether agreeing to the request as offered is the best option. Perhaps you can accommodate their request, but with modifications. If you offer a reasonable alternative and it's accepted, you're a team player and everybody wins. Enlist their help… If you aren't in a position to be able to refuse the request (perhaps the request is coming from a superior) but it's going to be a serious problem to take on the assignment, enlist thei

r help to help you assess and rearrange priorities. Say "no” and lose the guilt… Sometimes you just have to say "no”. It's perfectly okay to do so - in fact, sometimes you must. If you have a handle on your priorities you can decide if the request reasonably fits into your schedule. Many people feel taken advantage of because they can't say "no”. But no one can take advantage of your time without your permission.

You must be assertive about your time and how people use it. If you don't control your own schedule then someone else will!

 Previous      Next