if you havent done time dont talk like you have

Offer a specific date or time when you could help. Don’t use the phrase “I don’t have time.” Let the other person know you’re hard at work, finishing up a project to meet a deadline, or that you have an existing engagement. If you’re legitimately swamped, be honest. However, there are ways to protect your time while being of assistance to others. That’s a surefire way to become a stressed and unproductive person. There’s a lot of value in learning to say “no”: A failure to do so ensures you’ll always be putting other people’s priorities ahead of your own. It’s just not possible to help everyone and accept every request that comes your way. What You Can Say Instead of ‘I Don’t Have Time’ Leaders are often held to a higher standard, and your failure to manage your time may lead to a very real fear for your teammates: If you can’t get your stuff together, what hope do they have?

If you keep lamenting how little time you have - but expect others to make time for you - you’re failing to “walk the talk.” Not only does this prevent your teammates from trusting you, but it also may lead to resentment because they perceive you as a hypocrite. In other words, you need to “walk the talk,” and this is also true with time management. If you’re constantly arriving late, you can’t get furious when co-workers do the same. It’s similar to that feeling of inviting someone to a party who makes it clear he’s coming only if something better doesn’t come along.īeing too busy shows you can’t “walk the talk.”Īs a leader, you have to lead by example. It’s the fact that she lied to you and considered something else more valuable. You’re probably not upset because she’s doing something without you. How valued would you feel if you’d invited a friend to a social function and she turned it down, “swamped”? Later, you see via social media that she’s out and about, clearly “swamped” with fun. This is especially true in a world where people share their lives on social media. “So we’re more likely to distrust the excuse that they don’t have time for us, and this ultimately impacts how close we feel to them.' 'It seems that because we think others should have more control over their time, we think they should be able to make time to do the things in life they really want to do,” writes Donnelly. Research from Ohio State University’s Grant Donnelly found that “I don’t have time” is a bad way to decline a request. In either case, this puts a strain on relationships - you’ve damaged your credibility and reliability. If this becomes a common occurrence, they’ll eventually stop asking for your assistance because they don’t view you as someone they can depend on.

You may not have availability at that exact moment, but when you tell others you’re too busy, they take that as a sign that you’re avoiding or neglecting a responsibility. If his response was “Sorry, I don’t have time,” how did that make you feel? Deep down, you know he could have found the time - he just didn’t want to.

It could have been as simple as asking for a client’s contact information or more time-consuming, like staying late to finish a project. Think about a time when you asked someone to help. When you do, you’ll realize you’re not as busy as you thought.īeing busy damages your credibility and reliability. There’s no right or wrong way to manage your time effectively, but you need to clearly identify how you’re spending your hours so you can eliminate time wasters.

If you havent done time dont talk like you have