Kevin Ashton wrote a good, short piece aimed at helping designers in business, and about choosing your work wisely. Here’s a quick excerpt.
“We are not taught to say ‘no.’ We are taught not to say ‘no.’ ‘No’ is rude. ‘No’ is a rebuff, a rebuttal, a minor act of verbal violence. ‘No’ is for drugs and strangers with candy.
“‘No’ makes us aloof, boring, impolite, unfriendly, selfish, anti-social, uncaring, lonely and an arsenal of other insults. But ‘no’ is the button that keeps us on.”
It takes a few minutes to read the rest.
Some years ago I talked about why it pays to say no. It’s the same today. I probably accept about 5 or 10 percent of the projects I’m asked about. It takes a considerable amount of time replying to everyone, but being more selective means I’m a much better fit for the projects I agree to, I’m happier at work, and my clients get a better service.
When I started in self-employment I’d accept almost any job that came my way. But over time I learned how to choose clients more wisely — a huge help with stress levels. There’s a chapter about that in my second book with useful stories from Russell Holmes, Darragh Neely, Tim Lapetino, and Fiona Burrage.
As the late motivational writer Stephen R. Covey once said, “Doing more things faster is no substitute for doing the right things.”
Here a few other reads on the value of that little two-letter word:
Setting boundaries and saying no… nicely, on 99U
Simple ways to say no, on zenhabits
Saying “no” by Jason Santa Maria
Leave a Reply