I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.
Today’s tip is to give yourself permission to say no.
This is one of the skills I’ve developed in my career. In fact, at my 10 year anniversary with Redgate, our CEO pointed this out. I tend to say “no” unless I’m 100% sure I can deliver. In general, this is how I work.
I forgot this recently, and agreed to something I wasn’t sure I could fit in. I had to back out, which I hate doing. A good lesson, and this tip was a good reminder for me.
This doesn’t mean I just always say no to things. Instead, I try to gauge how confident I am, realistically thinking about my schedule and workload and home life. Then if there’s no reason I can think of that will cause issues, I’ll agree. If I have doubt, I say no, but offer to revisit or see if I can move things around.
I do try to work with and accommodate others, but I’m happy to say no if I can’t, rather than having to back out, or worse, fail to deliver later.