4 Ways to Stop Overcommitting

Last week, I had the privilege of facilitating a discussion about work/life balance in executive coach Kim Meninger ‘s weekly discussion group.

A question came up about the habit of overcommitting. I shared some strategies to stop overcommitting, which I list out below.

Sally Helgesen has a whole chapter dedicated to the unhelpful habit of “The Disease to Please” in her book How Women Rise. As women, we tend to say “yes” too quickly. We do this for a variety of reasons. One reason is because we want to be seen as helpful, contributing to the wellbeing of “the tribe”.

I’ve learned to be selective about what I say yes to. I say no much more often than I used to (in both my personal and professional lives). When I get a request that requires a time commitment from me, I rarely say yes right away. I have developed the habit of what I call “practicing the pause”. If it is clear that the request is a win/win, then I say yes quickly. If I’m not sure, I will ask for a delay in my response so that I can assess whether or not I have the time or desire to commit to the request.

4 Ways to Stop Overcommitting

1. First, know what your strengths are and make the decision to only commit to projects in which you will be able to contribute with your strengths. My favorite resource for discovering your strengths is: Strengthsfinder
2. Have an accountability partner or group in which you regularly check in with each other about your goal of not overcommitting.
3. Create a weekly reminder on your calendar to assess how well you did with the commitments you made that week.
4. Practice the pause before answering a request that requires your time and energy. See above. :)

I’d love to hear from you! Do you struggle with overcommitting? Have you learned how to stop overcommitting, and, if so, how did you do it?

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.