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Don’t let people steal your time. There is power in saying “no.” And it’s ok to say it. Try this. Next time someone asks you to do something you don’t want to
by unstatusthequo 4y ago
Don’t let people steal your time. There is power in saying “no.” And it’s ok to say it.
Try this. Next time someone asks you to do something you don’t want to do, respond with “How am I supposed to do that?” It flips it on them and makes them solve the problem they created.
Credit Chris Voss for this. He helped me realize no is fine, and a great way to fulfill a defensive time position. Time is money, but time is also life, so don’t let others steal it from you.
- TechBro8615 4y agoIf you are working for a wage, someone is already stealing time from you, they're just paying you nominal amount for it.
- pixelfarmer 4y agoBut why is someone's time more worth than someone else's? Why are people being paid an amount they cannot even live from (i.e. their time investment is net negative from an economical point of view)? Looks like this value replacement for time has some major flaws and issues ...
- yetihehe 4y agoHow would you fix that?
- ivanche 4y agoThis! At first I felt uncomfortable saying that to people (and, more or less, all other things about which Chris wrote in his masterpiece) but oh boy it works like a charm every time.
- DeathArrow 4y agoIf someone asks “How am I supposed to do that?”, I'm going to explain it to them. If you don't want to do something, simply say: "No."
- ivanche 4y agoThat is exactly the point of such a question! Your counterpart wants you to spend time and energy to solve their problem, while concurrently you'll think the whole time you have control over situation. If your counterpart is any good, they'll gently push you towards the solution they want implemented. In the end you'll be under impression it's your solution and your relationship with the counterpart was excellent.