Another good way to say no and avoid over-commitment is to tediously examine your calendar when you are asked to take on another project. You need to be aware when you have reached your schedule filling point. If you have too much on the calendar, be honest about it. It is important to let people know that you have accepted several other responsibilities, and you are at the point where you can take on no more. If you choose this method, though, be sure that you understand that no one will fault you for already having too many things to do. It is not necessary to make excuses if you do not have any free time. It is not as if you are saying you can never help with projects that person has to offer again, you are simply refusing to help at this point in time. Most people never develop an understanding of their self limits.

You can also avoid over-commitment by only taking on projects that you are comfortable with. Having tasks to complete that you feel uncomfortable doing, or that you feel unqualified to do, only causes stress. There are a number of reasons you might feel uncomfortable with a project including the people who are involved in the project, the type of work that might be involved, any sticky moral situations that might occur, or the time it will take to complete the project. You may also feel unqualified to complete the task for any number of reasons including the fact that you do not have the skills necessary, you do not have the experience necessary, or the project simply seems to overwhelming for you to undertake. If you feel like you will not be able to deliver quality work for any reason, by all means, say no. Your comfort level in completing tasks is paramount to what someone else wants you to do.

Avoiding over-commitment by saying no doesn’t have to mean that you are done with even discussing the project. You can recommend someone who might be better to undertake the task. You meet many people in the course of a lifetime who may be able to offer the same skills and work ethic to the project you are being asked to undertake. If that is the case, be sure to tell the person you are refusing about the other individual. This will not only help to ease the rejection you are about to offer them, it may also help ease their minds because they will be able to find someone to help out.

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