These Answers Will Help You Master a Respectful No
How you can better protect your time.
In 2018, I said yes to almost everything. I was a full-time teacher, ran a startup, organized various group travels, and gave a helping hand to any project in need of one. By the end of each 70-hour week, I felt depleted. I had not yet understood how focus works.
Your focus is one big round yes-cake. On any day, you can decide on the pieces you give away. Say yes to 13 things, and you have 13 small yes wedges. Every recipient gets a tiny fraction of your attention and energy. If you, however, say yes to only three things, the recipients get large shares of your focus.
So the question is:
Would you rather give tiny pieces to the many or big portions to the few?
Your life, your decisions. But keep in mind extraordinary creations root in focus. Or, as Warren Buffet put it:
“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”
Extraordinary people do the opposite of what I did in 2018. They share big yes cake pieces with a few selected projects. They’ve mastered a respectful no.
