Today I met my best friend from childhood, Anita. I asked her "how are you?". She spontaneously replied a huge list of thing she was involved into. It sound mind blowing but little ignorance to self-development.
Then I asked her again "How are you really?" and she promoted with the real side that while she was putting more time in managing all the work, she was not able to get any personal time with for herself or family. It appeared she was taking up too many things that could have been passed on and had very little time for things that were more important to her. When she was assigned things to do, she kept of taking it felling obliged to work.
Many of us say ‘Yes’ more often than we actually should, the reason being, it is harder to say ‘No’ and displease someone. Nobody likes to be the bad guy. In trying to make significant contributions for the betterment of others, we expend a portion of time for ourselves . Anita realized that working on many different activities, made a cluster of all things and made it difficult to manage her time, which resulted in lack of satisfaction in the work she actually liked to do.
Anita was under the assumption that by saying ‘No’ she might miss an opportunity and someone else will benefit from it. She was afraid that saying no will result in people ignoring her next time for new work on her way to come. On the flipside saying ‘Yes’ all the time was limiting her much more, so than saying ‘No’ ever could. She realized that working continuously is not always the right path to success. Sometimes working based on one’s potential can actually produce better results . It is said successful people are absurdly selective. After discussing these thoughts with Anita, she felt a bit lighter, she realised that by taking selective work she will not be losing out on newer opportunities but will have more time to make most of the opportunity that she currently had.
"You can do anything, but not everything. --Anonymous
Time is a limited commodity. We work a maximum of 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Saying ‘No’ will allow us to invest the all important time on other activities that desire our attention.
On a personal note, since the time I started getting at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a day, I’ve noticed a change in me, a positive change at that. I became a lot more productive and got a lot more work done than when I worked 16 hours a day. Who would have known sleeping; such a simple activity would contribute to a better me the next day, a better software developer!
"The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself." --Mark Caine
When we keep asking ourselves how we’re going to measure and optimize everything we do. The more energy we spend on activities that we truly want to be committed to, the more productive, innovative and successful we will be. Being productive not just about time management but equally is managing your energy in that duration as well. It is the business of life. We need to learn how to spend optimal amount of energy on a task to get the most benefits.
I am so lucky to work with an amazing company here in Virar. Everyone always challenges me and helps me sort my priorities to become more productive. I have learned to reduce my work week from 80 hours to 40 hours, and now get a lot more work done in the process. In other words, less has become more for me.
"Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value." --Albert Einstein
The simple truth is that behind every impressive accomplishment stands a long list of things we didn't do. Those who can’t say no have less time, on average, to devote to a greater number of activities. We have a greater likelihood of success in our commitments if we devote more time to fewer endeavours. It‘s important for us to take time for reflection.
"It took me years to finally start saying no to things that would take me away from what really needed my attention. Time is the most valuable thing you have. Make sure you invest it wisely."- Rene Warren
Sometimes we find solutions when we’re not looking out for them. We can’t become more productive overnight. Like everything in life, it requires efforts and patient. Change doesn’t happen if you just sit there and wait for things to turn towards you. The more we optimize the usage of energy for desired actions, the more we enhance our ability to jump-start positive change. Lowering the activation energy for work we want to adopt and give a raise to the activity we want to avoid.
“Saying no at the right times is a skill,” - Grella
In order to maintain relationships despite having to say ‘No’ , we can make it clear to those doing the asking what the rationale reason for our decision was. Allowing someone to peek inside and understand why we responded the way we did rather than just hearing our response. Explaining the 'why' makes the 'what' simple to digest. We need to be more than just nice because being nice alone does not help someone see your perspective.
Saying yes to those opportunities within your talent range gives greater satisfaction and more time to live a healthy, satisfied life. It’s important for all of us to learn more about ourselves and find ways to optimize our energy for a more successful and happy life.
As Warren Buffet says, “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything."
So ask yourself, what goal and purpose makes you say "Yes!'' and pump your fist? What makes you really happy? For me, it’s using technology and developing application/software to make a difference in the world. What is that for you? Figure out what it is and start saying ‘No’ to things that doesn’t help you get there.
