There's a high price for continually saying yes to the thing you just don't want to do.

• Over one week, observe how you spend your time and energy. Keep note of how many times you say yes, no, or maybe to a request. Notice and record how each request made you feel.
• Identify the times you say no and everything still works out fine. This...

There is a difference between a hard “No, thank you” and a softer “Thanks so much for asking, but I’m not able to this week.” Another example: “Thank you so much for asking me to do this project. It sounds fascinating, but I don’t have the bandwidth for it at this time....

Writing down your data helps you distinguish between when you feel excited to say yes to something and when it feels like an obligation.