Do you take (or you are loaded with) work which you can not handle under the given work conditions?
What you can do to handle such problem is ‘Learn to Say “NO” and know when you can afford to say so’
Saying ‘NO’ is not all that simple as it sounds.
It is natural that we succumb to the forces/ pressures like-
• Fear of loosing position, value, relationship or job etc.
• Fear of possibility that the other party will not accept the ‘NO’ in true spirit and will take it personally or personal insult.
• It is an easy way out to say comfortable ‘YES” in place of uncomfortable ‘NO’ and hope that you will learn new skills or build new relationship in the bargain.
• Fear that you may be branded as difficult person socially by saying ‘NO’ many times.
These feelings are very common but can be tackled easily by learning to analyze a given situation logically and cool-mindedly. There are no fixed solutions. You have to analyze each situation individually on merits by taking a holistic view. You have to realize the implication and difference of saying yes or No. Accepting a request or order is a commitment and it will (sometime drastically) restrict your further choices and you may have to reschedule some of your plans.
You should know your limits in a real-world situation. It can be very different from your capability under ideal work conditions. If you start accepting everything which you are capable of doing, you may either reach to your breaking point or dilute the quality of work.
Don’t let others take you for granted. State loudly and clearly whether you have accepted the request/order or you decline to do so (give an explanation of your choice if required)
You should realize that whenever some request is made to do some job you have two choices –accept it and reject it. Of course, you owe an explanation of your rejection if the job is being given by your boss or client or some other authority. Normally if you don’t react, it is taken for granted that you have accepted it.
Your life will be simple if you learn to analyze the situation and exercise your choice and declare in a healthy way. When you accept it, you should display confidence and faith. If you reject the request, don’t feel uncomfortable or guilty about it. Otherwise, the negative feelings conveyed through your tone, body language or choice of words will steals all the focus and suddenly you will be forced to go on defensive track due to that.
If the problem is not solved in the above-mentioned way, you should consider improving your efficiency also. This can be done by-
Leverage action - Find some software or gadget that will be helpful in your work. Research the market, you may find some solution made for you.
Delegation -If you are in a position to delegate the job (or portion of it) to others, try this.
Intelligent work -See how others are doing the job. Learn the tricks from the experts. You will have to invest some time and attention for this.
Deepak Dixit is an engineering graduate from IIT, Roorkee, India (erstwhile University of Roorkee). He has served for more than 22 years in 'Indian Army' as an officer and has taken a pre mature retirement after that. He has also served in corporate world for about 5 years. Presently he is focusing on writing.
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