Author: tracydee

Educator and entrepreneur. Millennial living life to its fullest. Growing, learning, and sharing.
now or never quote
Posted in Uncategorized

Atomic Habits by James Clear: Start Small and Build Better Habits – My Takeaways

Posted on by tracydee

I have to say one of the best personal development books I have read in the past year is Atomic Habits by James Clear. As I was reading, I kept thinking, that makes total sense. Why didn’t I think of that before? So even though most of the knowledge was pretty common, he packaged it in such a way that made it tangible and helpful.

The cover of the book says “tiny changes, remarkable results” and “An easy & proven way to build good habits and break bad ones.”

On a news clip, Clear talks about the fact that it isn’t us that’s our problem with building better habits, but it’s our system and environment. Furthermore, small changes that sometimes can go unnoticeable can actually go a long way and make a big difference.

He says, “if you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done” (p. 15).

James Clear

On the flip side, getting worse has a huge detrimental effect over that one year.

Four and a half years ago I ran a half marathon. I trained, followed my plan, and met that goal. Then what happened? I took a day off from training. Then another day and then another. Before long, I had stopped running completely.

Clear says, “Achieving a goal only changes your life for the moment” (p. 25). His suggestion for changing my system now is to simply put sneakers next to my bed on the first day. Then, maybe add in another article of clothing until I get up and walk for a minute. Then, continue to compound those small changes until my system and routine are changed.

Another point that Clear makes in his book that has stuck with me is how our identity influences our habits. For a long time, I’ve been trying to be more of a morning person and I constantly say that I’m not. Those beliefs have power over our actions. If we want to change our identity, we need to start with small habits.

atomic habits
Photo by Sajith R on Pexels.com

The four laws of behavior change can be used to build better habits. They are cue, craving, response, and reward. Clear says that we need to cue our environment to make habits obvious. Conversely, if we want to break a bad habit, we need to make it invisible. We have to train our brains to pick up clues and not even think about what’s happening.

I was just talking to my accountability partner this week about building habits. I referenced this book, which inspired me to write the post you are reading right now. One of the pieces of advice I gave came from Clear’s book, which is habit stacking.

Essentially, you place a new habit immediately after something that is already a habit. For example, I’m trying to get better at remembering to put moisturizer on my face at night. So, after I brush my teeth (an automatic habit), I put moisturizer on.

Recommendation on Reading Atomic Habits

I’m not going to give the whole book away because I do recommend that you read it. Throughout Clear’s discussion of how to build better habits and how to break bad ones, he gives clear, relevant examples and offers practical steps and advice to make it happen.

He has a cheat sheet that describes the four laws of creating a good habit with advice that you can download and print from his website. Additionally, it’s worth signing up for James Clear’s weekly newsletter that offers 3 short ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question.

Overall, Atomic Habits has been highly influential in changing my thinking and behavior little by little, which I hope in the long run has hugely positive impacts on my life. Hey … I think it’s time I re-read this book for summer! Best of luck in your journey of building better habits!

Note: Affiliate links included in post

HABIT TRACKER on ETSY

photo of person using laptop for graphic designs
Posted in Uncategorized

4 Simple Ideas to Curate Content for Blog Posts

Posted on by tracydee

Are you starting a blog for the first time and looking for ideas on how to create content for blog posts? I recently wrote two posts about starting a blog in 2021 and my method for writing blog posts.

On the second post, someone made a great comment asking for more ideas on how to create content for your blog. While I am no expert with my baby blog here, I have learned some strategies to create content and build ideas for blog posts. Since this blog is about learning, sharing, and growing together, then of course I will share what I’m learning along the way.

I read a lot of other blogs and watch YouTube channels to help build my knowledge of starting a blog. From what I’ve gathered, it takes 6 months to a year to start seeing profits from a blog. And even then, it’s highly dependent on the content you create, the audience you’ve grown, and the quality you provide. One of the more informative channels that I follow is Income School. They have a course you can pay for, but the videos include the majority of the content and strategies for free if you follow them.

I hope to add more value as I continue to learn, but for now I’ll share 4 ideas to curate content for blog posts:


Personal experience

This is probably the fastest and easiest way to generate content for your blog. As you think about things you’d like to write about, draw on your own experiences. For example, I do regular goal planning throughout the year and I shared my process in a Summer 2021 goal planning post. Another example I shared was my experience preparing for and running a half marathon.

Start with making a list of things that interest you and see if you want to write about any of those topics. Pick the one you have the most to say about and start writing. Now, you may prefer to write one blog post at a time in its entirety or you may choose my method of just tracking ideas and thoughts as they come to me.


Trending topics

Choose to write about trending topics on social media or in the news. I subscribe to a number of bigger blogs such as Medium and PCMag. It allows me to see which type of content is getting a lot of likes or mentions. Additionally, because I write a lot of productivity posts, I follow people on Twitter and LinkedIn to find out what topics are interesting to them.

If you are more advanced, you can use keywords that are popular in searches or invest in technology that helps you identify what those are. I am not at that level yet, but I hope to be in the next 6 months. From Income School, I learned that it takes about 8 months for most blog posts to mature and reach their maximum audience. I just started this blog in February 2021 and really started to ramp up my content in April 2021.

content for blog posts
Photo by Tracy Le Blanc on Pexels.com

Interesting things I read about or listen to

I spend a fair amount of time consuming content. I love to read and listen to podcasts or watch YouTube channels. Whenever I do this, I am constantly learning new things and gathering new ideas. Many times, I send myself an email with notes on what I read or watched because email is like my ongoing to do list and record keeping space.

I have several blog posts in draft mode right now reviewing books I’ve read to share my overall thoughts. In my conversations with friends, I make notes of the things they are interested in and what they are also reading and watching.

Yes, it’s my circle which could result in an echo chamber of sorts, but I love to hear their viewpoints on different topics and it informs me of the things they are interested in as well. The goal planning post and YouTube video was based on personal experience, but also a conversation with a friend on something that could help her with planning, but all helps me come up with content for blog posts.

My blog post on ways to say no was also a result of a conversation with a friend and some coaching to help her get the message across as she intended. Additionally, I’m currently editing a YouTube video on this topic so I can repurpose content from by blog and YouTube to get the message out to a wider audience.


Monitoring posts that do well

I initially started with the WordPress premium account, but I recently invested in the WordPress business account, which comes with a lot more optimization tools to see how blog posts are doing. One thing I am monitoring is which posts are getting more views and more likes. That tells me that those topics are popular and people want to see more information about that.

Another interesting feature of the business account is that I have a headline analyzer function. This helps me to create eye-catching headlines that have a better chance of eventually be picked up by Google (which takes time). For example, this headline has a score of 72 and a good score is between 40 and 60. I can write a follow up blog post in 6-8 months to update on how well this particularly post did.

What I plan to do is improve the posts that do well over time by adding more information to them or expanding even further. I watch the likes come in on different posts. What I’ve found is that I have a few loyal subscribers who like most of my posts and then some posts on time management and communication or email topics that seem to be doing well in the WordPress reader world.

However, one thing to note is that people can view your blog on the WordPress Reader, but not actually count as a view because they’re not on your page. So I encourage you to click directly on the blog and check out some other posts when you’re coming in from the WordPress Reader.

I hope this advice for developing content for blog posts was helpful and I look forward to sharing more with you as I continue on this blogging journey!

focused young woman using laptop in modern apartment
Posted in Uncategorized

Sending and Receiving Emails – Important or Just a Lot of Work?

Posted on by tracydee

Receiving emails is just as much work as sending emails. I was listening to a podcast recently about the nature of emails in the work world. The premise was that it has, in fact, decreased productivity and lessened our ability to engage in deep thinking. This podcast was from The Next Big Idea, hosted by Rufus Griscom and Cal Newport.

The episode discusses the evolution of emails and strategies to continue to engage in deep thinking despite the ongoing distractions of the email barrage. They note “Communication overload undermines your productivity, erodes your focus, zaps your energy, and makes you miserable.” On average, people check their email every six minutes.

Now, people receive over 100 business emails a day. The most recent data I could find was from 2015, with an average of 121 emails per day. Even articles posted in 2017-2019 referenced this 2015 study.

I wanted to test out my emails in and out for one week. My contract work is slowing down so this is to be expected a much slower pace of emails than I have typically dealt with in the past.

Here is the breakdown of my email usage (sending and receiving emails):

receiving emails

So most days, I was below the average number of emails received. As you can see from my emails out, not every email needed a reply from me. It may have been a subscription or information that I filed away in my folders. I like to keep my emails organized as much as possible.

Another study from Harvard Business Review found that most people have an average of 200 emails in their inbox and only respond to about 25% of those messages.

What Cal Newport argues is that not everything needs to be an email. There is a really nice blog post with 3 rules for reducing emails. Additionally, I recommend listening to the podcast episode to get some takeaways on how to reduce emails and for organizations to create better systems and processes for handling information.

I look forward to reading Cal Newport’s book, A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in Age of Communication Overload. I believe this thought process to be the future of work and it’s time for entrepreneurs to get ahead of the game and find resources to streamline communication. I’ll post a review once I finish reading it!

Posted in Uncategorized

3 Simple Tips To Improve Productivity: Anyone Can Do It

Posted on by tracydee

I am constantly looking for ways to improve productivity in an efficient manner that honors the self care I’ve committed to myself. I’m on a journey of professional and personal growth and I want to share 3 tips that have helped me become more productive (when I follow them).

Now, one book that I read this past year that truly helped me to understand how habits work and why I should start small is from James Clear’s Atomic Habits. It also made me realize why I stopped running long distances after completing my half marathon.

I had a large goal that I reached, but ultimately, I didn’t keep it up because I didn’t have another goal to work towards lined up afterwards. If you haven’t read this book yet, do it, because the advice seems so simple, yet powerful at the same time. It’s really about starting with small manageable steps toward larger goals.

improve productivity
Photo by Julien Bachelet on Pexels.com

Tips to improve productivity

Create a Morning Routine

Another book that I read recently is the Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. While I don’t do everything on his list, I try to implement the practice of being intentional when I start my day. I’ve especially been working on trying to stop snoozing my alarm clock in the morning so I can wake up a bit more refreshed.

In the book, Elrod talks about using the SAVERS method which stands for: silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing. I’ve kind of merged Atomic Habits together with this, so I don’t do the exact lengths of time he recommends. I try to get up, make my bed, stretch, make coffee, and sit to write down my daily affirmations. After that, I go over my to-do list for the day and prioritize what needs to be done first.

Time Batch Similar Tasks

One method to improve productivity is to batch like tasks together in a single time block. For example, I might set aside 7:00am – 9:00am to complete household chores or do laundry. I also recommend only checking email at set times throughout the day. When it is easily accessible on our phones or in our Internet browser tabs, we are more likely to run to do whatever comes across instead of staying focused on the thing that was in front of us in the first place.

Another strategy is to use the Pomodoro technique to work in 25 minute increments with a 5 minute break. Spend 2 hours of your time block utilizing this technique to tackle a big project or report for work or your home life. I spent several months organizing my day using the time blocking method to make sure that I was able to get to everything on my list.

Narrow Your Daily Focus

I used to create these big long to do lists because I thought it made me more productive to have long lists. What I realized was that if I didn’t get to everything on my list, I would get mad at myself for not being as productive as I could have been. When I start my morning routine, I now focus what my priorities will be for the day. I use a variety of different types of to do lists, but I try not to overload or overwhelm myself with listing everything that needs to be done.

I can be proud at the end of the day if I manage to check off the majority of things I wanted to get done.

So what can you do if you’re trying to be more productive?

  1. Get a morning routine
  2. Batch similar tasks in the same time block
  3. Narrow your daily focus

Remember it’s okay if you have off days because that’s life. Best of luck on your journey to improve productivity!

Note: Post contains affiliate links, for which I would earn a small commission if purchases are made at no extra cost to you!

Posted in Personal Skills, Time Management

3 Simple Tips To Improve Productivity

Posted on by tracydee

I am constantly looking for ways to improve my productivity in an efficient manner that honors the self care I’ve committed to myself. I’m on a journey of professional and personal growth and I want to share 3 tips that have helped me become more productive (when I follow them).

Now, one book that I read this past year that truly helped me to understand how habits work and why I should start small is from James Clear’s Atomic Habits. It also made me realize why I stopped running long distances after completing my half marathon. I had a large goal that I reached, but ultimately, I didn’t keep it up because I didn’t have another goal to work towards lined up afterwards. If you haven’t read this book yet, do it, because the advice seems so simple, yet powerful at the same time. It’s really about starting with small manageable steps toward larger goals.

Create a Morning Routine

Another book that I read recently is the Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. While I don’t do everything on his list, I try to implement the practice of being intentional when I start my day. I’ve especially been work on trying to stop snoozing my alarm clock in the morning so I can wake up a bit more refreshed.

In the book, Elrod talks about using the SAVERS method which stands for: silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing. I’ve kind of merged Atomic Habits together with this, so I don’t do the exact lengths of time he recommends. I try to get up, make my bed, stretch, make coffee, and sit to write down my daily affirmations. After that, I go over my to-do list for the day and prioritize what needs to be done first.

Time Batch Similar Tasks

One method to improve productivity is to batch like tasks together in a single time block. For example, I might set aside 7:00am – 9:00am to complete household chores or do laundry. I also recommend only checking email at set times throughout the day. When it is easily accessible on our phones or in our Internet browser tabs, we are more likely to run to do whatever comes across instead of staying focused on the thing that was in front of us in the first place.

Another strategy is to use the Pomodoro technique to work in 25 minute increments with a 5 minute break. Spend 2 hours of your time block utilizing this technique to tackle a big project or report for work or your home life. I spent several months organizing my day using the time blocking method to make sure that I was able to get to everything on my list.

Narrow Your Daily Focus

I used to create these big long to do lists because I thought it made me more productive to have long lists. What I realized was that if I didn’t get to everything on my list, I would get mad at myself for not being as productive as I could have been. When I start my morning routine, I now focus what my priorities will be for the day. I use a variety of different types of to do lists, but I try not to overload or overwhelm myself with listing everything that needs to be done.

I can be proud at the end of the day if I manage to check off the majority of things I wanted to get done.

So what can you do if you’re trying to be more productive?

  1. Get a morning routine
  2. Batch similar tasks in the same time block
  3. Narrow your daily focus

Remember it’s okay if you have off days because that’s life. Best of luck on your productivity journey!

Note: Post contains affiliate links, for which I would earn a small commission if purchases are made at no extra cost to you!

Posted in Goal, Manifestation

5 Inspirational Quotes I Live By From Famous People

Posted on by tracydee

When I was a teacher, I used to have inspirational quotes hanging all over my classroom.

I love anything inspirational or motivational and my friends and family know it. My favorite candy is Dove chocolates because of the sayings on the wrappers. Of course, I do like chocolate as well, but the quotes are what keep me coming back to Dove. I get lots of gifts like inspirational calendars or cards that I can reference or hang up in my work space.

In this post I want to share my top 5 favorite inspirational quotes and how I interpret them for my life.


“If you’re always trying to be normal, you’ll never know how amazing you can be.” – Maya Angelou

I love this quote because it reminds me that I don’t have to be like anyone else in this world. Also, normal is an abstract thing because what is normal anyway? It also encourages me to take risks. If I just stayed complacent with where I am, I may never discover that next new amazing thing that brings me happiness.

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

Michelangelo

Now this is a quote I often use in my courses when I teach goal-setting strategies. It kind of relates back to the first quote I mentioned here. As the first person in my family to graduate college, I saw an opportunity to keep going and now I have a terminal degree. I set my goal for the highest education possible and while it was challenging and time consuming, I did it. And if I hadn’t set the goal, I may never have known how much I was capable of.

inspirational quotes
Photo by Bich Tran on Pexels.com


“Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.” – Oprah Winfrey

As an aspiring leader who hopes to make a positive impact in this world, this quote really stands out to me. I’ve really tried to become a person who displays empathy and encourages others to build this quality. I think I’ve gotten better at it as I’ve gotten older and experienced lots of different life circumstances. I may not fully be able to understand someone’s unique situation, but I can provide grace and space as much as possible.

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.”

–Helen Keller

This is one of my favorite inspirational quotes because it’s a reminder that opportunities are always in front of us and we have to let go of the past in order to embrace the possibilities of the future. It’s easy to dwell on negativity or rejections because it’s not great to feel those emotions. And it’s okay to feel them and recognize them, but I cannot let it bring me down so much that I miss out on something even more amazing right behind that new door.


“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” — Alice Morse Earle

The quote above keeps me grounded in the reality that every day and every moment we have with one another is precious and we shouldn’t take it for granted. As someone who relives past mistakes and creates future problems, it’s also a quote that speaks to fact that I should focus on the here and now. I can’t change the past and I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that today I can be kinder, work hard, and appreciate the many blessings that I do have.

Please leave a comment if you’d like me to do any more blog posts on inspirational quotes I enjoy!

Posted in Goal, Inspiration and Motivation, Manifestation, Personal Skills

5 Inspirational Quotes I Live By

Posted on by tracydee

I love anything inspirational or motivational and my friends and family know it. When I taught K-12 students I used to have quotes all over my classroom. My favorite candy is Dove chocolates because of the sayings on the wrappers. Of course, I do like chocolate as well, but the quotes are what keep me coming back to Dove. I get lots of gifts like inspirational calendars or cards that I can reference or hang up in my work space.

In this post I want to share my top 5 favorite inspirational quotes and how I interpret them for my life.


“If you’re always trying to be normal, you’ll never know how amazing you can be.” – Maya Angelou

I love this quote because it reminds me that I don’t have to be like anyone else in this world. Also, normal is an abstract thing because what is normal anyway? It also encourages me to take risks. If I just stayed complacent with where I am, I may never discover that next new amazing thing that brings me happiness.

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

Michelangelo

Now this is a quote I often use in my courses when I teach goal-setting strategies. It kind of relates back to the first quote I mentioned here. As the first person in my family to graduate college, I saw an opportunity to keep going and now I have a terminal degree. I set my goal for the highest education possible and while it was challenging and time consuming, I did it. And if I hadn’t set the goal, I may never have known how much I was capable of.


“Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.” – Oprah Winfrey

As an aspiring leader who hopes to make a positive impact in this world, this quote really stands out to me. I’ve really tried to become a person who displays empathy and encourages others to build this quality. I think I’ve gotten better at it as I’ve gotten older and experienced lots of different life circumstances. I may not fully be able to understand someone’s unique situation, but I can provide grace and space as much as possible.

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.”

–Helen Keller

I love this quote because it’s a reminder that opportunities are always in front of us and we have to let go of the past in order to embrace the possibilities of the future. It’s easy to dwell on negativity or rejections because it’s not great to feel those emotions. And it’s okay to feel them and recognize it, but I cannot let it bring down so much that I miss out on something even more amazing right behind that new door.


“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” — Alice Morse Earle

The quote above keeps me grounded in the reality that every day and every moment we have with one another is precious and we shouldn’t take it for granted. As someone who relives past mistakes and creates future problems, it’s also a quote that speaks to fact that I should focus on the here and now. I can’t change the past and I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that today I can be kinder, work hard, and appreciate the many blessings that I do have.

Please leave a comment if you’d like me to do any more blog posts on quotes I enjoy!

Posted in Uncategorized

My Strategy for Writing Blog Posts

Posted on by tracydee

Everyone has their own strategy for writing blog posts. Since I just started working on my blog a few months ago, I’m still finding my groove in how to develop posts. I’ve done some research on how to write posts and what length to target. A lot of things I read actually have quite lengthy blog posts as the ideal. However, I’ve been focusing on shorter posts that get right to the point. I suppose I’ll have to invest in some longer ones and compare how they do.

Now at first, I didn’t know what I was doing (and probably still don’t know nearly enough), but I’m starting to develop some strategies for content development and ideas. My initial plan was to keep a list of running ideas in a Google Sheet and then add to them as I came up with fresh ideas. I was planning to create a whole monthly calendar, set aside a couple of days to write everything, and then schedule the posts to run.

As an organized person, I still think of that method as my ultimate content creation goal. However, as a busy person with a brain constantly filled with tasks and new knowledge, I discovered another way to write content for blog posts.

blog posts
Sparked curiosity leads to my blog posts

What do I do now for my blog posts?

Well, I found that adding headings and bullet points to my posts seems to help them track better in views. Even though I’m focusing on shorter content for now, I noticed that longer posts have more space for advertisements. In turn, that would equal more revenue if I made the effort to create longer content.

That could be financially beneficial down the line.

The method I use now is not fancy, but it’s working, so I’ll continue to use it until I’ve got a better routine. I often listen to podcasts, read news articles, and follow lots of productivity gurus.

Just like how Marie Kondo tells us to keep items that spark joy, I keep tidbits of information that spark curiosity.

As new ideas or innovations come to me, I add them to my draft posts right away. And if I don’t have access to my WordPress site at the moment, then I text or email myself the idea so I can put it there later. In my current draft post folder I have 17 different posts that I have started.

As I learn more, I continue to add to that post until it’s ready to go out into the world. Sometimes when I have designated time on my calendar to work on blog posts, I’ll pick the idea that sticks out to me the most and I’ll work on adding information to flesh it out.

In my research, I read that it takes about 8 months for blog posts to reach their highest viewer audience and after a year, I should track the posts to see which ones are most popular. Right now, I periodically review the post insights to see which topics are trending or have more likes.

For example, my original short post on time management tips actually has the most likes out of everything I’ve written. It’s simple, but shows me that there is more room to add time management content with more blog posts. Interestingly, super specific time management strategies, such as using the Eisenhower Matrix, doesn’t seem to be as popular as just a short list of ways to make a to-do list.

I’m sure my methods will evolve as I continue to grow in knowledge on how to create useful content and share it with others.

Be on the lookout for more posts because I’ve got at least 17 more ideas on the back burner!

Posted in Blogging

My Method For Writing Blog Posts

Posted on by tracydee

Since I just started working on my blog a few months ago, I’m still finding my groove in how to develop posts. I’ve done some research on how to write posts and what length to target. A lot of things I read actually have quite lengthy blog posts as the ideal, but I’ve been focusing on shorter posts that get right to the point. I suppose I’ll have to invest in some longer ones and compare how they do.

Now at first I didn’t know what I was doing (and probably still don’t know nearly enough), but I’m starting to develop some strategies for content development and ideas. My initial plan was to keep a list of running ideas in a Google Sheet and then add to them as I came up with fresh ideas. I was planning to create a whole monthly calendar, set aside a couple of days to write everything, and then schedule the posts to run. As an organized person, I still think of that method as my ultimate content creation goal. However, as a busy person with a brain constantly filled with tasks and new knowledge, I discovered another way to write content for blog posts.

What do I do now?

Well, I found that adding headings and bullet points to my posts seems to help them track better in views. Even though I’m focusing on shorter content for now, I noticed that longer posts have more space for advertisements, which in turn would equal more revenue if I made the effort to create longer content. That could be financially beneficial down the line.

The method I use now is not fancy, but it’s working, so I’ll continue to use it until I’ve got a better routine. I often listen to podcasts, read news articles, and follow lots of productivity gurus.

Just like how Marie Kondo tells us to keep items that spark joy, I keep tidbits of information that spark curiosity.

As new ideas or innovations come to me, I add them to my draft posts right away. And if I don’t have access to my WordPress site at the moment, then I text or email myself the idea so I can put it there later. In my current draft post folder I have 17 different posts that I have started. As I learn more, I continue to add to that post until it’s ready to go out into the world. Sometimes when I have designated time on my calendar to work on blog posts, I’ll pick the idea that sticks out to me the most and I’ll work on adding information to flesh it out.

In my research, I read that it takes about 8 months for blog posts to reach their highest viewer audience and after a year, I should track the posts to see which ones are most popular. Right now, I periodically review the post insights to see which topics are trending or have more likes. For example, my original short post on time management tips actually has the most likes out of everything I’ve written. It’s simple, but shows me that there is more room to add time management content with more blog posts. Interestingly, super specific time management strategies, such as using the Eisenhower Matrix, doesn’t seem to be as popular as just a short list of ways to make a to-do list.

I’m sure my methods will evolve as I continue to grow in knowledge on how to create useful content and share it with others.

Be on the lookout for more posts because I’ve got at least 17 more ideas on the back burner!

Posted in Uncategorized

3 Ways to Respectfully Say No to New Projects or Commitments When You Want to Say Yes

Posted on by tracydee

So you want to say no to new projects. Do you feel guilty saying no when someone asks you to do something at work or a favor from a friend? Do you say yes even when you don’t want to so you won’t let someone down? It’s easy to say yes because you feel like you have to, but true reflection is necessary to decide which things are worth saying yes to. And sometimes you may think you’re saying no to something, but your message comes across as ambivalent and you feel it’s too late to back out at that point.

I was just having a conversation today with a friend who thought she said no to something, but still got an excited email about continuing to be part of a project. I had her read me the initial message she sent and let her know that it indeed did not come across as a no as she intended. She ran her response by me to check that it was clear and the new tone of the message was still friendly and encouraging, yet set a clear boundary on participation in the project.

Now, this blog post will focus on generic ways to respectfully say no, but I’m happy to write new posts catering to both professional and personal life boundaries. Before saying flat out “no” to an opportunity, gathering, meeting, or project, it is okay to ask clarifying questions. For example, about 6 months ago I was asked to take on a 4-5 month consulting project. It would have been an awesome learning opportunity for me, but I already had 2 part-time commitments and was completing my final semester of grad school. Part of my response included:


I feel confident in my abilities to meet the requirements of the position, but I want to make sure I have a clear understanding of the expectations and relative time commitment.

After the response became clear that this would be a 20-30 hour per week commitment, I knew that I could not add that to my workload. I really wanted to say yes and do it, but I also wanted to make sure that I could carry out the responsibilities to the level of competence I wish to display. And this comes from previous experiences where I did overload myself and not perform to the best of my abilities.

Discerning when and how to say yes and no to opportunities is a lifelong practice of finding balance in your life. There is not necessarily a one size fits all method to this. I was listening in to a conversation on Clubhouse last night and someone said that it’s easier to start with no and change to yes later than to say yes to everything and have to eventually say no.

Here are 3 ways to respectfully say no to new projects and manage your time effectively.

Say no to new projects: Ask them to check in at a later time

This strategy works if the ask is something you’re possibly interested in saying yes to, but just don’t have the time at the moment to commit or to learn more about it. Your schedule is packed and you just can’t imagine taking on one new thing. Say you are not available at this time, but they can check back in with you in XX number of weeks or months. And if the person follows up and it comes back around and you still cannot commit, clearly state that unfortunately, you will not be able to take on this project or endeavor. Here is a sample of what I would say:

Thank you so much for reaching out to me about this opportunity. I am interested in this possible partnership, but unfortunately cannot commit at this time. Will you check back with me in 3 months if you are still interested in collaborating?

say no to new projects
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2.Express support in other ways

Now, this is the response that my friend used to make her no clear to the people in the email thread. She was truly excited about the project idea, which was expressed in the initial communications. However, she didn’t want to be one of the main people involved in the idea creation and the day to day of the project. This was a time she needed to say no to new projects.

So she sent a nice message back stating she was fully cheering them on in this opportunity, but could not take an active role. However, she left room for them to check back in if they had a specific task related to her area of expertise. Therefore, she was not committed in any way, but could offer support on very specific items if time permits later and there is a need.

3. Suggest an alternative

This is a great comprise “no” answer. Perhaps you don’t have the time or capacity to take something on, but you know someone who is. Check with that other person and then make the recommendation or connection. Personally, I like to check in with my contact before sending the other person to them that way I know if they are truly interested in the opportunity. It also creates a more positive interaction for everyone involved.

Maybe you want to say yes, but you can’t commit to 2 hour weekly check-in meetings. Clearly define your boundaries and say that you would be available to meet every other week or once a month. It is much better to set those boundaries up front from an overly cautious time commitment and then later decide to become move involved if you are able to do so.

In order to properly provide an alternative to whatever the ask is, it’s important to continue to build up your social and professional network. Take advantage of opportunities to meet with others in your field and areas of expertise. This way when you say no to new projects, there is a shared understanding and respect.

At the end of the day, if something is a definite no for you, make that clear in your response and wish the person well. You don’t necessarily owe an explanation and this is something I’m working on. I feel the need to justify my time by saying “oh, I already have this commitment and this commitment”, but the reality is simply saying no so you have time to take a break and protect your mental health is just as important.