Do you say no enough? Probably not. Most of us are people pleasers, and that means we say yes even when we don’t want to. I’m a big fan of saying no, but like you, don’t say it often enough. While it’s easier for me to say no to people, it’s harder to say no to myself and my business. It feels like I owe it to myself to learn as many new things as I can to help my business to grow.

However, this year, I’m going to be more selective in what new things I learn. I’ll say no to learning new things which I don’t need to know about. I’ll even be saying no to those I do need to learn if they aren’t on my to-do list. Why am I doing this? Because in life, there is such a thing as information overload. Having a brain exploding with ideas about what else I should be doing just isn’t high on my priority list this year. Nor is learning something new just because everyone else is, when I’ve still got last year’s learning to implement. This year, I’m going to say no to new business related information, and today I’m explaining why you should be too.

When You Say No, Have a Plan

Did you know that when you learn to say no, you have mastered the best tool you have? Your say no tool helps increase your productivity by focusing on the things that matter to you. In terms of your business, when you say no to something which doesn’t fit or feel right, you are instead able to spend your time on doing what does.

While society has taught us that it’s our role to be obliging and avoid confrontations by saying yes, all too often that’s not in our best interests. Saying yes means we are committed to doing something, committed regardless of what our diary, business plan or mission statement says. In taking on new information and learning something new, if it doesn’t meet the needs of your business, what’s the point?

Having a plan as to what you will and won’t focus on learning during the year is something I recommend. It should contain information about your goals, mission statement and specific topics you want to learn about. These topics need to be very specific. By this I mean you need to nail down exactly what you want to learn. For instance, wanting to learn about marketing is great, but that’s too huge a subject. You need to be more specific and state something like, I want to learn about how to market my business on Facebook using pre-recorded videos.

Why This Year You Should Say No to New Learning

If it’s not in your plan, say no. Okay, we’ve got that. But I’d like to discuss further a huge reason why this is the no more new learning year. It’s called the past. In the past, you learnt a lot of things. In the past, you also decided to do a lot of things. But most importantly, in the past, you didn’t put into action the things you learnt about.

Be honest: have you implemented the information you learnt in that course last year? What about all of that reading you did on SEO? Have you revisited your brand identity following all of the advice your graphic designer gave you last year? All too often, the business related learning we do remains as an idea and not an action. Sure, you know how to best market using social media. But do you do it, now that’s the question.

I want this year to be a year of consolidation, a year where you follow through on what you promised yourself you’d do last year. How you will do that is up to you, but I’ll give you some ideas next.

Saying No to New Information is a Positive Step for You & Your Business

Life is busy and as a business owner, it’s even more so. Last year you spent time and possibly money on completing an online course, doing some research or finishing a degree. That’s really great: investing time and money into your business is something I recommend. But if you are at the stage of wanting to find something new to follow up with this year, say no.

Let me go back to my point: life is busy. This year you will instead spend time implementing the learning you invested in last year. Until you have mastered it, repeated it successfully and are seeing a benefit to it, you’re not ready to learn something new. What you are ready for is putting into action last year’s learning and benefiting from that. Do you see where I’m going?

Saying no is a positive step because it allows you the time to devote your attention to something you feel will benefit your business. Or, at the very least, something you thought last year would benefit your business. Unless you were completely off the ball, fell for a really good sales pitch, or your industry has changed drastically, what you did learn is still relevant for this year. It’s now time to put that into play.

Okay, But How Do I Say No?

You’re all fired up and ready to say no. The problem is, it’s not that easy to do. Whether you’re saying no to yourself or someone else, there’s going to be a little bit of guilt that goes along with it. As humans, we’re designed to please and when you tell someone you’re not doing something, that doesn’t please them. That brings me to the question, what is the best way to say no? Well …

• Just say it. Straight out and clear, no beating around the bush. If you hum and haw, you send the message that you’re not too sure and that you will do something. Being firm in your answer gives no room for negotiation and that’s the way it needs to be.
• Be assertive, but polite. Explain you can’t help or can’t do something, but when or if you get the chance to, you’ll let them know. Take back the power: you’ll contact them if things change and you can do the tasks.
• Set your boundaries. Before you get asked, set boundaries regarding your work and personal life. If you get asked to do something but it falls outside of this scope, you already realise you need to say no.
• Put your needs first, not theirs. You know you can’t please everyone, so focus on pleasing yourself first. Sorry, but I’ve got prior commitments, is a perfectly acceptable thing to say.
• Don’t get into bargaining. If someone really wants you to do something, they’ll keep on about it. There’s no negotiation when you say no, just say no and reiterate that is your final answer.

Steve Jobs once said, “Focus is about saying no.”

You’re focused on achieving your goals and meeting your needs, not theirs when you say no. That’s why this year, I’m saying no.

If you’d like help identifying what you could or should be saying no to, please book in a 1:1