#25 – ‘No’ seems to be the hardest word

If you’re lucky, it’s a hey, can you just scan this for me before lunch?

If you’re less lucky, it’s a phone call at 4.55pm. ‘Alan, we got a big client today. Take the file home and I expect it done first thing tomorrow’.

As my brain readies itself for another night of double-espressos and Allens snake lollies, my voice barely masks the dread of the sleepless night ahead. In a broken voice, I’ll say:

‘Yeah, no worries, sure thing boss. I’ll do it tonight’

I wouldn’t dream of saying no. It doesn’t matter how much I’ve got on or what plans I have. So I justify it.

I don’t want to let my colleagues down. I want to be a model employee. I’m worried about my standing in the company. I’ve been too slow and need to catch up anyway.

If you find yourself with too much work to handle, it’s time to consider changing your answer from that automatic yes to something else.

A really useful response is to say yes, but speak to a supervisor or co-worker about managing workload. One of my old supervisors had some great ideas for how to manage high caseloads, I still use some of these today. It shows great initiative on your part too.

If you need to put it off a day because you have other work, ask which work takes priority. It’s possible to compromise a deadline if something can be done later. Be upfront about shuffling priorities and appraising your current workload.

If you have to say no, be polite and frank. Have an alternate plan to see the task done. Be prepared for this to be rejected.

Most importantly, think about why you said yes or no. If it’s about time management or managing caseload, have that meeting with a colleague about caseload management. It’s also possible you expect too much from yourself and need to manage your expectations.

If you’re worried about the repercussions of saying no, it might be an issue of corporate culture or workplace discomfort. The discomfort might relate to people-pleasing, stressors, or something else entirely.

Either way, you can’t overload yourself. Saying yes to unattainable targets is a surefire way to get stressed, miss deadlines and start hating your work.

You’re not a robot fueled by 11pm double-espressos and Allens lollies (but sign me up for one of each at 11am any day). Let’s normalise ‘no’.

Next week: Specialisation is for insects