The Benefits Of Delaying A Decision… Or Just Saying No.

Meditations for Career Changers

The Benefits Of Delaying A Decision… Or Just Saying No.

As a New York City-based Career Coach and NYC Career Counselor who has worked with thousands of individuals over my career, I have come to realize and understand the benefits of delaying a decision related to employment. And sometimes, those decisions end up being a “no.”

We are all bombarded with decisions and our to-do lists every day. But how do we determine what gets done, delayed or eliminated?

Here are several tricks to consider:

Old School vs. New School
I am personally a fan of the old fashioned pencil, eraser, and calendar. This tip is also relevant to today’s electronic world. If you have a goal, personal or work related, make an appointment with yourself to get it done. Whether it is writing in your personal blog, planning a presentation, or buying a new couch, the day when it pops up as a to-do item on your calendar and it is not feasible to complete that day, I suggest moving it to the next week, delaying it a bit. After 3 attempts, if you do not get around to working on it, you might need to evaluate and assess the importance this has in your life right now. You might want to delay it even further for a few months. If it still does not seem appropriate, perhaps you need to drop it and/or say no.

Furthermore, your drafts folder can become your friend. You can save incomplete messages or projects there and re-visit the folder at a later date to determine if it is a priority to complete.

We constantly need to prioritize and re-prioritize our decisions, tasks, and goals. Hopefully, these simple examples/techniques and tricks can ease the challenge.

If you would like to know more about decision making as it relates to your job and career, please read my other meditations and strategies for NY career success, or call me at 212-289-5197.

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