Using the "no" with extra care﻿﻿• Usually, all productivity advice says: “Say NO often, make time for other things.”﻿﻿﻿ • This sounds smart but isn’t always practical﻿ • Eg: You can’t always say NO to your boss. You can’t always say NO to your partner in doing household chores.﻿ • What to do instead? : Learn to ask a better question.﻿

Just Say No” Is Bad Productivity Advice﻿use

<h1>“Just Say No” Is Bad Productivity Advice</h1><img src="https://www.nirandfar.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/schedule-syncing-and-productivity.png" alt="“Just Say No” Is Bad Productivity Advice" width="588" height="308" srcset="https://www.nirandfar.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/schedule-syncing-and-productivity.png 1080w, https://www.nirandfar.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/schedule-syncing-and-productivity-980x513.png 980w, https://www.nirandfar.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/schedule-syncing-and-productivity-480x251.png 480w"><div>Try schedule-syncing instead.</div>You’ve probably <a href="https://www.nirandfar.com/the-power-of-no/" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">read this advice</a> before: “The best thing you can do for your productivity is to say no more often.” By <a href="https://forge.medium.com/31-important-things-you-should-say-no-to-for-a-happier-life-a34a1e947579" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">freeing yourself from unnecessary tasks</a>, the thinking goes, you can spend more time working on the things that really matter.At first blush, this sounds smart. Many things people ask of you aren’t really necessary or can be accomplished more efficiently by someone else. But in practice, this advice often backfires. After all, while you can set boundaries around your work, you can’t straight-up refuse a task when your boss asks you to take it on. In the same way, simply bowing out of a <a href="https://forge.medium.com/its-time-to-reset-your-relationship-s-power-dynamics-2cbd4eae6677" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">partner’s requests to share the household labor</a> won’t exactly make for a happy home.But you can figure out a better question to ask, which will in turn lead to an actionable solution. Here’s how:<h2>Figure Out What Kind of Worker You Are</h2>There are two types of workers: schedule-makers and schedule-takers.Schedule-makers go to work and decide how to spend their time and attention every day. Knowledge workers tend to fall into this category—salespeople, marketers, managers, software engineers, and most other white-collar laborers are schedule-makers. If you have a say in how you spend your time (as long as you get your work done), you’re a schedule-maker.Schedule-takers show up to work and generally have their schedules made by someone else. Customer service reps, restaurant workers, manual laborers, and other operators fall into this category and are often paid hourly.It’s rare that a job is entirely either schedule-making or schedule-taking, but most tend to skew toward one category or the other. Even if you can decide how you’ll spend most of your time at work, for example, there may be mandatory meetings you have to attend.A schedule-taker can’t tell their boss, “Nah, I don’t want to” when they are asked to do a task. They’re on the clock, and, in the trade of time for money, they agree to do what they were hired to do under the terms of their employment.For the schedule-maker, though, things get more complicated. Since these kinds of jobs require workers to make their own schedules, managers often have no idea how employees spend their time. As long as their work is delivered on time, most managers don’t care much when it gets done or how long it takes.This can be where the trouble starts.<h2>Instead of Saying “No,” Ask “When?”</h2>Without an understanding of how a schedule-maker <a href="https://forge.medium.com/how-i-manage-to-work-a-5-hour-workday-c633370dcfa3" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">spends their time</a>, managers can heap on more and more tasks until the employee is burned out and work has slipped through the cracks. The result is frayed nerves, poor quality work, and stressed relationships.But instead of saying “no” to your boss, try schedule-syncing.Schedule-syncing gives others transparency into how you intend to spend your time, and it’s a practice that will change your life, at work and outside of it. You can schedule sync with colleagues, managers, and even family members—anyone to whom you owe some amount of time and attention.

Saying no to tasks and interruptions isn’t always possible, whether they come from your spouse or manager. Here’s a better way to stay productive.

productivity

Productivity

“Just Say No” Is Bad Productivity Advice

You’ve probably <a href="https://www.nirandfar.com/the-power-of-no/">read this advice </a>before: “The best thing you can do for your productivity is to say no more often.” By <a href="https://forge.medium.com/31-important-things-you-should-say-no-to-for-a-happier-life-a34a1e947579">freeing yourself from unnecessary tasks </a>, the thinking goes, you can spend more time working on the things that really matter.

At first blush, this sounds smart. Many things people ask of you aren’t really necessary or can be accomplished more efficiently by someone else. But in practice, this advice often backfires. After all, while you can set boundaries around your work, you can’t straight-up refuse a task when your boss asks you to take it on. In the same way, simply bowing out of a <a href="https://forge.medium.com/its-time-to-reset-your-relationship-s-power-dynamics-2cbd4eae6677">partner’s requests to share the household labor </a>won’t exactly make for a happy home.

But you can figure out a better question to ask, which will in turn lead to an actionable solution. Here’s how:

There are two types of workers: schedule-makers and schedule-takers.

Schedule-makers go to work and decide how to spend their time and attention every day. Knowledge workers tend to fall into this category—salespeople, marketers, managers, software engineers, and most other white-collar laborers are schedule-makers. If you have a say in how you spend your time (as long as you get your work done), you’re a schedule-maker.

Schedule-takers show up to work and generally have their schedules made by someone else. Customer service reps, restaurant workers, manual laborers, and other operators fall into this category and are often paid hourly.

It’s rare that a job is entirely either schedule-making or schedule-taking, but most tend to skew toward one category or the other. Even if you can decide how you’ll spend most of your time at work, for example, there may be mandatory meetings you have to attend.

A schedule-taker can’t tell their boss, “Nah, I don’t want to” when they are asked to do a task. They’re on the clock, and, in the trade of time for money, they agree to do what they were hired to do under the terms of their employment.

For the schedule-maker, though, things get more complicated. Since these kinds of jobs require workers to make their own schedules, managers often have no idea how employees spend their time. As long as their work is delivered on time, most managers don’t care much when it gets done or how long it takes.

This can be where the trouble starts.

Instead of Saying “No,” Ask “When?”

Without an understanding of how a schedule-maker <a href="https://forge.medium.com/how-i-manage-to-work-a-5-hour-workday-c633370dcfa3">spends their time </a>, managers can heap on more and more tasks until the employee is burned out and work has slipped through the cracks. The result is frayed nerves, poor quality work, and stressed relationships.

But instead of saying “no” to your boss, try schedule-syncing.

Schedule-syncing gives others transparency into how you intend to spend your time, and it’s a practice that will change your life, at work and outside of it. You can schedule sync with colleagues, managers, and even family members—anyone to whom you owe some amount of time and attention.

"Just Say No" Is Bad Productivity Advice

Just Say No” Is Bad Productivity Adviceuse

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