Someone Has to Hear No

Plenty of people who say they want better time management are asking for something else entirely.

They want to say yes to everyone and still have Thursday free.

They want to meet every expectation, including the ones nobody said out loud.

They want to steer what others think of them by being endlessly available.

They want to absorb everyone else’s discomfort so no one has to feel any.

They want to do two things at once and get full credit for both.

They want to wait until the last minute and have the last minute cooperate.

They want to promise more than they have and deliver anyway.

But time management is a practice of choosing, and that means someone hears NO. Someone has to wait. Someone will be briefly disappointed, and sometimes that someone will be you.

So start with your agreements. Make fewer of them, and make them with intention.