I hate saying no. It makes me feel bad. It makes me feel guilty. It makes me feel like I’m letting someone down.
To the recipient of the no, it’s probably not that big a deal. They find someone else to ask, and maybe that someone else says yes. Or they find out that they didn’t really need help after all, and get it done without help.
My schedule is getting a little crazy this week. I’ve had plans for this Friday for a few weeks now, but suddenly I’ve been asked for my time on Thursday and Saturday, too. And then a second person asked for help on Thursday. And then I’ve been scheduled to work at the cats-only boarding facility on Friday and Saturday morning. Suddenly, my free dance card is double-booked.
And after I said yes to everything, I started trying to schedule out how I’d manage everything. If I leave work at 10:30 on Friday morning and drive 15 minutes home and jump right into the shower and run out again to make the hour drive to my noon commitment… well, it makes me a little anxious about my ability to get everything done. Add that to a late-night Thursday commitment, and I’m counting hours of sleep and begging roommates to walk the dogs and maybe I should have just said no to something.
Time management can be HUGE when it comes to stress level management. Giving yourself enough time to get something important done is critical. Giving yourself breathing room between commitments is important, too.
I ended up backing out of my Thursday night commitment, knowing Friday was going to be crazy. I’ll need that time to rest and prepare — like if I lay out my clothes on Thursday night, I won’t have to freak out about what to wear on Friday after my shower. If I pack some snacks for the hour drive on Friday, I won’t have to be hungry and cranky (or eat something greasy from the drive-through).
As much fun as my Thursday night plans would have been, I think the sanity time will be better for me in the long run.