When I picked up my mail and saw the new issue of "Real Simple" magazine, the words on the cover really spoke to me:  "Say Yes To Saying No."  The subtitle was "finding more time for the things you love," such as family and personal time.  But I'll add that saying, "no," can also help to save sanity.  Especially during this stressful time of  year with requests and demands coming from everywhere.

As I'm getting older, I'm getting more comfortable with saying, "no."  Just within the past several days I've declined an invitation to a karaoke party, turned down free tickets to a concert, and told my friends I'm cancelling the upcoming Solstice party.  I had to set those boundaries so that I could prioritize what I really have to do this week which is:  wrap Christmas presents, shop and pack for my upcoming vacation, and take care of year-end administrative stuff related to my voiceover business.

Sure, I WANTED to see the concert, and spend time with those friends, but I know there will be opportunities for fun with them in the new year.  Declining invitations and cancelling that party instantly gave me about 15 hours to put towards the stuff I NEED to do.   And I'm feeling good about speaking up and saying, "no."

It takes some time to build that "saying no" muscle!  "Real Simple" suggests practicing so it gets easier over time.  They offer lots of other great tips in this article:  http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/10-guilt-free-strategies-for-saying-no

Have you had to say, "no" to some events and projects this holiday season?

 

More From 92.7 WOBM