I used to think you had to say yes to every project at work

I was in a meeting in our Chicago office last year when my boss asked me to take on a third major client. I said yes, then missed a key deadline for my first two because I was spread too thin. I had to go back and ask to drop the new client, which felt awful. Has anyone else had to learn to push back on extra work the hard way?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron_ellis428d ago

Ugh, been there, it's the worst.

claire647d ago

Yeah, @aaron_ellis42, that feeling is just the pits (and it takes forever to shake off).

alice2428d ago

That Chicago office story sounds rough, but honestly, how big of a deal was that missed deadline? Sometimes we make these work mistakes into huge life lessons when they're just a normal Tuesday. I get what you and @aaron_ellis42 are saying about feeling awful, but bosses usually just want the work done right, not you killing yourself. Learning to say no is good, but beating yourself up over one mess up seems like overkill.