Why You Should Start Saying No, with Salaam

Assalamu alaikum - a small thought from my early days in the corporate world. "Did you update the list?" I asked. "Yes, here is the updated list with only the most important projects in order," my colleague replied. "But you just removed one project from a list of 14," I said, puzzled. "Yes, all the others were important," she answered. I’m still quite new to this environment and I notice new things about people every day. I try to look at situations a bit differently. I’m a big fan of Robert Greene and I often test some of his ideas in real life-one thing I’ve noticed is how cheerful some people seem when given tasks even though they secretly hate them. A big issue I see is coworkers becoming people-pleasers, agreeing to work that isn’t in their best interest and that will be impossible to finish by the deadline. I live by a simple idea: essentialism. It’s basically the ability to say no to tasks that aren’t essential or that can be postponed without harm - the stuff that won’t affect today’s priorities. Ask yourself: - Is spending an extra five minutes on this slide more important than being on time for my meeting? - Is saying “yes” to this request really aligned with my priorities, or am I just avoiding discomfort? - Is staying late today building my future, or taking away energy for tomorrow? - Is multitasking making me faster, or just sloppy? When people keep saying yes to everything, they probably think they can do it all: finish the work, attend a cousin’s walimah, and go to a show at the same time. Often they end up doing none well, or doing everything half-heartedly. If all 14 projects are labeled priority, then what is a priority? Next time you’re asked to take something on, quietly ask yourself: is this really worth my time right now? Can it be delayed without harm? If yes, you’ve likely just saved yourself unnecessary stress and protected your energy. Take care, and may Allah make our choices easy and beneficial.