How can saying no help you find a better balance?
Mums, dads, CEOs, managers, do you have a Superman complex? There’s an old saying “if you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself” and for a lot of us, it seems to ring all too true.
It’s so easy to get into that sort of headspace at work, feeling like everything rests on your shoulders and that only you can deal with certain tasks. I’m sure we’re all guilty of it at some point, taking on an extra task when we haven’t really had the time or not delegating because we think that we’ll do a better job ourselves. It’s not easy to just leave something important up to someone else, even harder still when that task has a direct effect on you.
I’ll let you in on a little secret though: You’re not Superman. You might be close but you’ll never make it all the way on your own. This is why it’s so important to know when to say no.
Your time is valuable and you know exactly what it is you need to achieve during your day. Schedules can be tight but sticking to them is what keeps us moving forward, but, how do you expect to get anything done if you’re always taking on new tasks?
It’s incredible how something as simple as learning when to say no can free up so much of your time. Having the confidence in your team, colleagues or partner to deal with something won’t just help your schedule, it’ll help your stress.
This is something that many business coaches have to teach their clients as it’s such an important change to make and it applies perfectly to job share relationships too.
Getting in to a job sharing situation can be strange for many of us, no longer being fully in control of one particular role, especially those of us who think we can do it all. When you enter into a job share you may have to learn not only to say no to the extra tasks, you may have to learn to say no to yourself dealing with something your sharing partner will do.
We all like to think we can do it all, but the reason many of us get into job share roles is because we already are. We’re already looking after the family as well as trying to progress our careers and professional lives, why try and take on even more?
After reading this blog, make sure you take a little time for yourself and next time you’re thinking of taking on even more work, don’t be scared of saying “no”.