Suppose a co-worker asks you to take on some extra projects. If your goal is to get a promotion or raise, and helping out on extra projects is a way to get there, then you might be more inclined to say ‘yes’. But that doesn’t account for everything else you could be doing. Remind yourself what you’re saying ‘no’ to. Playing in the park with your kids? Catching up with a friend that you haven’t seen for ages? A good night’s sleep?
— ❐ Feel-Good Productivity with an ⌣ opportunity cost frame for ~ say “no”
Every time we say yes to a request, we are also saying no to anything else we might accomplish with the time
— Tim Harford quoted in ❐ The Ultimate Productivity Hack is Saying No