# Say Yes To Less ### Overwhelm and Overcommitment What are you planning to do after reading this? Perhaps you need to work, get groceries, handle some bureaucracy, help a friend, pursue personal goals, fix that thing that’s been broken for weeks, or maybe even all of the above. Especially now when a new year has just started and promises of "new year new me" have been pilling up, it’s no wonder we often feel overwhelmed, like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Even if the days were twice as long, it might still not feel like enough to clear our endless to-do lists. The commitments we juggle - to ourselves, to friends, to our partners, and to the lifestyles we aspire to create - can easily become overwhelming. This constant pressure leaves us frustrated or, worse, guilty for failing to meet our own expectations and those of others. The feeling of not doing enough, of not being enough, becomes an ever-present shadow. ### Do Less to Achieve More The truth is simple and unavoidable: there will never be [[Scarcity|enough]] time. As long as we fail to set [[boundaries]] and say no, we’ll remain trapped in the cycle of trying to do it all. And while doing it all might sound admirable, in reality, “all” includes both the significant and the trivial. Our time is limited, we must learn to be [[Triage|selective]]. [[Saying no]] is about more than refusing requests - it’s about choosing what to focus on. Saying yes to less allows us to devote our energy to what truly matters, making meaningful progress on priorities instead of getting stuck in the endless churn of [[Hustle Culture|busyness]]. By doing less, we can ultimately achieve more. Saying no is hard, especially to ourselves. Our dreams are endless and our time so limited, but this is precisely why we need to narrow down, to prioritize what we spend time on, and have the strength to say no to the trivial. When you know what's important to you and why, it's easier to say no to the rest. ### Actionable Tips to Simplify and Prioritize 1. **Audit your commitments:** 1. Make a list of everything currently on your plate. Identify which commitments align with your core values and goals. 2. Highlight tasks that can be postponed, delegated, or removed entirely. 2. **Set boundaries:** 1. Practice saying "no" to new commitments that don’t align with your priorities. 2. Communicate openly with others about adjusting expectations to manage your workload realistically. 3. **Focus deeply:** 1. Choose one or two high-priority tasks to focus on each day. Channel your energy into these instead of spreading yourself thin. 4. **Let go of guilt:** 1. Remind yourself that doing less is not failure - it’s a strategic choice to dedicate your best efforts to what truly matters. ### The Takeaway Feeling overwhelmed isn’t a sign of weakness - it’s a signal to reassess and refocus. By doing less, you can free yourself from guilt, make meaningful progress, and give your best to the commitments that matter most. ### Ask yourself 1. Imagine your life from scratch, commitment free. How would you feel? How will it be different? 2. Now when the slate is clean. Which commitments on your plate are the most meaningful to you? 3. What’s one promise or task you can let go of? 4. What’s one area of your life where you could set clearer boundaries to protect your time and energy? %% ## Development Summary:: We often feel overwhelmed, we have too many things on our plate and we can't seem to make headway in any of them. We feel guilty because we let ourselves and others down. Therefore, we have to do less, to remove commitments completely or lower what we promised to do in order to have time to sufficiently advance in the commitments that matter to us the most. Pitch: Saying no is hard, especially to yourself. We have so many dreams, so many different versions of ourselves that we want to bring to life, but the truth is that many of those dreams wouldn't see the light of day. I'm not saying it to depress you, rather most likely that believing it will lead to depression. That many goals = an endless to-do list and an insatiable desire to squeeze every minute of our day, to be as productive and efficient as possible. We are not machines, and even they crash from overloading. There will never be enough hours in a day, never enough time to do it all, and it's better to let some of these dreams go, so that others could come to life. And it all starts by saying no. Continue reading here - Subscribe to my newsletter here - %%