<ul><li>We agree to many requests not because we want to do them, but because we don't want to be seen as rude, arrogant, or unhelpful. </li><li>Often, you have to consider saying no to someone you will interact with again in the future.</li></ul>

Why We Say Yes

<ul><li>Upgrading your no doesn't mean you'll never say yes.</li><li> It just means you default to saying no and only say yes when it really makes sense.</li><li> To quote the investor Brent Beshore, “Saying no is so powerful because it preserves the opportunity to say yes.”</li></ul>

Upgrading Your No

<ul><li>More effort is wasted doing things that don't matter than is wasted doing things inefficiently. </li><li>And if that is the case, elimination is a more useful skill than optimization.</li></ul>

The Power Of Saying No

<ul><li><a href="https://deepstash.com/idea/262067/stop-doing-whats-not-working">This is similar to the well-known “Hell Yeah or No” method from Derek Sivers.</a></li><li>If someone asks you to do something and your first reaction is “Hell Yeah!”, then do it. If it doesn't excite you, then say no.</li></ul>

When To Say No

"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all."

<ul><li>Saying no is an important skill to develop at any stage of your career because it retains the most important asset in life: your time. </li><li>As the investor Pedro Sorrentino put it, “If you don’t guard your time, people will steal it from you.”</li></ul>

The Role Of No

<ul><li>Not doing something will always be faster than doing it. </li><li>This statement reminds of the old computer programming saying, “Remember that there is no code faster than no code.”</li></ul>

Saying No

<ul><li>Saying no saves you time in the future.</li><li>Saying yes costs you time in the future.</li><li>No is a form of time credit. You retain the ability to spend your future time however you want.</li><li>Yes is a form of time debt. You have to pay back your commitment at some point.</li><li>No is a decision. Yes is a responsibility.</li></ul>

Upgrading Your No

Similar ideas to Upgrading Your No

Stop Saying Yes When You Want to Say No

You need to learn when to say both “yes” and “no.”

3. Idiom Soup