Do you have a hard time saying ‘no’? Well, it is quite common but being afraid of saying ‘no’ means you are harming yourself. Of course, you don’t want to get trapped in mental slavery. Saying ‘no’ doesn’t mean you are hurting someone’s feelings but you are giving some value to your self-respect as well as your time. Well, you may find the importance of saying ‘no’ in different places and at different times. The key point to make a note here is, know where to say ‘no’ so you don’t need to face any unfavorable consequences later.

Why you find it hard to say ‘no’?

Sometimes you do certain things that you don’t like but you have to do; that is the part of life. You get agree to do those things even when you can easily say ‘no’. This is just because you don’t have the courage or you find it heartbreaking for someone else. You may have seen that people opt for jobs that they actually don’t like, get married to someone they don’t feel sure about or making false promises because they don’t want to say ‘no’ clearly on the face. And the result is, they feel pressurized and regret those things. Another reason is- you want to feel accepted and loved by others while pleasing people and meeting their expectations from you.

Now when it comes to saying ‘no’ at the office, people find it unprofessional. Whether it is about the boss, employees, co-workers or the client, saying ‘no’ means you have personal control over the things. But it is crucial that whenever you say ‘no’, it is in a polite manner and shows your courage and assertiveness regarding more important concerns.

Here are the top 4 reasons why you should have the courage to say ‘no’:

Let others respect your time:

When you are at the office, you always say ‘yes’ to the new project, more responsibility and the additional tasks. But sometimes you want to decline that but you may find it difficult to say ‘no’. Well, if you constantly say ‘yes’ to every request at the office, people will not value your time and you will continue to strive to fulfill their endless requirements.

Saying ‘no’ also means stopping people to lean on you and respect your time. Refusing the request in a polite manner with a genuine reason is always accepted. You can tell your co-workers or boss that why you are unable to do that task, whether you are busy in another project or there are some challenges you are facing with that particular task.

You can manage prior tasks:

If you always work on the tasks requested by other co-workers, how will you manage your tasks, your job and responsibilities? You can say ‘no’ frequently to those requests, it is not because you can’t handle those tasks but because you need focus and enough time to manage your prior tasks. People will find this reason quite genuine and will help you to manage the tasks that you put on in the priority lists.

Saying ‘no’ means you will complete your tasks on time while meeting your targets. Regardless of the designation, it is important not to be too multitasking otherwise, you won’t be able to deliver more efficiency or quality through your work.

It will be easier to stay productive and efficient:

Sometimes you have a clear idea in your mind to finish up any particular task and you really want to make it done in a set timeline. And, suddenly one of your team members come to you for any help to complete his tasks. This is the time you find it hard to say ‘no’. But don’t worry! you can say him ‘no’ for the moment in a polite way unless you really feel that helping him won’t affect your idea of and you will still work on the same project with the same energy and dedication.

When you are in the middle of the project and saying ‘yes’ to do someone’s task will lose your momentum, focus and dedication. you can give any reference to that person in the team who can help him to complete that task and then you check it later if it is done right.

You can decide what really matters:

When you get habitual of saying ‘no’ while focusing on your performance, you will get to know the value of saying ‘yes’. In this way, people will not only know your priorities but they will value your time think twice before asking for assistance from you.
When you already have a lot of tasks to do and someone comes for your help, you may find it difficult to decline his request. To decide what really matters for you at that moment, you should ask the following questions to yourself:

• Does this task really important?
• Will this task affect your productivity?
• How much time this task will take?
• Does this person really need your help?

Concluding this, to avoid any confrontation and guilt, you take more responsibilities? You may dissipate your valuable resources-energy and time just to complete someone else’s priorities. Each time you agree to do something you actually don’t want to do, you again waste your precious resources. Saying ‘no’ sometimes is quite a simple way to perform your tasks before the deadlines while being more productive and efficient at your workplace.

Regardless of the business profile, you work on, network security or Hosted VoIP, business continuity or IT project management, you may get indulged in completing the tasks of your teammate or co-worker. In such a scenario, saying ‘no’ prevents you from a losing concentration on attaining your targets. Also, it creates less stress and anxiety as you are saying ‘no’ to something you don’t want to do. So, just don’t afraid of saying ‘yes’ to say ‘no’!