ARE YOU OVERCOMMITTED?

You can be over committed professionally and outside of the office. Does this sound like you? Maybe you want it all and are trying to have it all - at the same time. Perhaps it is better to have it all but not all at once. You may have:
● Too many clients
● Too many projects
● Too many leadership positions
● Too many speaking engagements
● Too many conferences

Usually people can maintain the juggling act of overcommitment for awhile before things start to fall apart, then the negatives begin to show:
● Work product declines, quality and quantity
● Communication and timeliness go by the wayside
● Business and personal relationships suffer
● Commitments are missed
● You become someone not to be counted on
● You suffer from overwork and stress
● Lack of sleep becomes a problem

So how can you avoid being overcommitted and learn how to say no. Reasons you may want to say no:
● Scattering energies and accepting all invitations can
cause others to undervalue your participation
● You could wind up spending 90% of your time on low priority projects
● For each opportunity you accept there will be others that you will have to decline

So how do you say no to other people, activities, and your boss? You can say no without using the actual word. Basically, it a yes but situation so figure out which works best in a given situation:
● Say something like: “That's an interesting project. I'm
really busy with the XYZ assignment right now, so let me
know if you want me to re-prioritize.”
● Suggest a timeline that works better with your other commitments
● Suggest another specific person who could do the project
● Seek assistance, if you can only do the work with help ask for it up front
● Let them know what else you have going on they may not know about

Sometimes to achieve a bit of balance for something very important to you ie: your child’s birthday or your 10th anniversary, shut off the phone and turn off the BlackBerry. Try to safeguard those times and live in the moment.