You. Are. Not. Superman or, you know, Yes Man

Don’t say yes to every side project

If only time spun out in accordance with the things that you have to do in a day or a week or a month or even a year.

Maybe then, you would be able to get to the fifty side projects you accepted to be a part of.

Unfortunately, time does not work like that. Time is a standard resource that guarantees us, all of us even Bill Gates and Beyonce, 24 hours in a day and no more.

No more! No matter how noble your goals are, no matter how pressing the issue is, no matter how bindingly you worded a promise.

This is why you have to be careful with the way you throw your “yeses” around as a professional.

NO is not a cuss word. It may hurt feelings but it does not kill. It does not steal babies from their cradles or turn into a knife wielding monster and hack people to pieces.

In fact, sometimes, a “no” can be the kindest thing that you can say to a person.

This can, however, be a really hard lesson to learn especially with the FOMO (fear of missing out) that most of us in this age have to contend with.

Imagine the people who must have said NO to Mark Zuckerberg prior to the success of Facebook and who may not have found that type of massive success anywhere else since. If they are not content people, I imagine they will be really unhappy.

Also imagine though, if they had said yes to so many other ideas prior to Facebook and were worn out or totally unable to say yes when the billion dollar idea came around.

With all the reasons you may have to say yes to every promising side project, maybe you need these two to teach yourself how to say no.

You can wear your yes out

It is very possible to wear your yes out. Think of all the people that you no longer trust to keep their word; they have basically worn their yes out.

Maybe they said yes to so many people believing in their ability to multitask and then they were unable to meet up on all the fronts, yours included.

By the time that happens a number of times, chances are that their word does not carry the power that it should anymore.

It is a sad position for a professional to put themselves in. It opens the door to reluctant or downright negative references for the projects that will matter from people who you have disappointed in the past when you could not keep up with all your yeses.

Safer to just say no in the first place and not disappoint people.

Your yes can wear you out

Maybe your level on the multitasking scale is, actually, expert and you can keep a lot of balls in the air at once but why would you want to do that?

Well…except you are a professional juggler then carry on.

If, however, you are not, I don’t see the point of carrying on like the only available hands in the world are yours. For one thing, that is one of the fastest ways that you can find yourself hating something you once loved.

I think if I had to “force write” 10000 words everyday on topics that I care not a whit about, my love for writing would probably take a backseat and the entire activity would become a chore.

Work that you have to put yourself under an incredible amount of pressure to do would most likely not be enjoyable and will most definitely wear you out even if you produce results at the end of the day.

Focus is the name of the game

The major key in learning to say no to side projects is determining your own goal or focus.

Is the goal extra money? Pick the jobs that offer you the most pay.

Is the goal learning a skill? Pick the jobs that leave you enough room to learn as you do.

Is the goal exposure? Pick the jobs or projects that actually have exposure.

You get the point! Nail down your focus at different instances in your career growth and then choose side projects or jobs that coincide with it.

Main thing to remember; your no has merit and the choice is always yours.