Task-Setting for Writers, Part IV: The Power of “No.”
Welcome to the final installment of Task-Setting for Writers. If you missed a week, you can read the previous three weeks here.
By now it’s been established that we’re here because we need help getting everything done that we want to get done. Case in point, this week I spread myself too thin: date night with Hubby, the final meeting of my old crit group, my second meeting of my new one, not to mention some girl time with a bestie. Oh and probably some housework. Notice how I didn’t mention anything about writing on that list*.
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Part Four: Just Say “No”
In order to achieve our goals, we have to be selfish. Sometimes.
This is harder than it sounds because no one wants to be that way. It comes off sounding terrible and that we’re being uncooperative. We want people to be able to rely on us, but while we’re being selfless, we forget about our own needs. Coincidentally, the chronicness of saying “yes” to everything creates a lot of stress. Something we all know something about.
The Mayo Clinic offers some ways on when and how to say “no.” The most important thing to consider when saying no is whether you would say “yes” due to feeling guilty. This is one that gets me in as much trouble as eager to please. If you feel that you’re trying to impress someone or avoid guilt, you definitely should say “no.”
This week I’m going to work on limiting my engagements to include only things I know I can handle. What are you going to do?
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* Looks like someone hasn’t been paying attention to her own advice.
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Last.fm hit of the day: Haunted by Bella Morte
Saying no is so hard. I used to say yes to a lot more things but I started thinking of writing as a job. It helped me take my writing time more seriously and helped me say no to more things.
Saying no is one of my biggest problems. This is an excelent post, and yes, sometimes we need to be a little selfish in order to get things done.
This is SOO hard for me. I hate saying no because I hate disappointing people. However, the older I get, the easier it is to say no–just not QUITE as easy as I want it to be.
ha! This is my ginormous WEAKNESS!!! Thanks for this – at least I know I'm not the only one.
And I'm working on it. Sometimes I say no to others. And sometimes I say no to sleep. 🙂
Yes! This is key- for all aspects of life, and so hard.
I have the hardest time doing this, but I try to give myself some me time when I need it the most.