WHY YOU SHOULD SAY "NO" MORE OFTEN

In his book Essentialism, Greg McKeown encourages us to discern 'the essential few from the trivial many'. He recommends focusing only on essential tasks, those things that make the highest value contribution to achieving our vision or purpose. (By the way, its a great read / listen. I highly recommend it).

In order to make your highest value contribution, you need to say "No" more often.

You should say 'No" when ... you are saying "Yes" just to be nice or please someone else. We all want to be liked, but we will create a difficult situation if we become a "Yes person". Leaders need to get comfortable with not being liked.

You should say 'No" when ... you know that saying "Yes" will set you up for failure. When you know you can't deliver on what is being asked, you have to either decline or negotiate a different time frame. This isn't being rude, just assertive.

You should say 'No" when ... you know that the task is not your highest value contribution to your vision or purpose. You have a responsibility to be as productive and efficient as possible and being caught up with tasks that someone else could do defeats this purpose. Delegation is the key here.

You should say 'No" when ... being authentic is important to you (and it should be). Saying "Yes" when you know you should be saying "No" means that you are compromising your values. Being authentic sometimes means pushing back.

You should say 'No" when ... you need time to think, create, plan, recharge. We can't be at our best when we are too busy. We need to eliminate non essential activity and focus on 'protecting the asset', as Greg McKeown puts it. Don't feel guilty about looking after yourself.

Saying "No" to a lot of things means that you are saying "Yes" to just a few, but it is the laser sharp focus on the most important stuff that the best leaders apart.

FOUR THINGS TO DO MORE OF IN 2017 (& SOME COOL LINKS)

Read / Listen - Audio book sales are growing at 40% per year. They are a great way to learn and grow productively. Get a free 30 day trial of Audible here. It's an app that you listen to audio books on.

BONUS TIP: Essentialism by Greg McKeown is the best book I've listened to in the last five years.

Sleep - there is strong evidence that we perform better when we are well rested. If you want to be at your best you must get enough sleep. Here is a great TED talk by Russell Foster on the importance of sleep.

Laugh - 'living lightly,' as Marty Wilson puts it, helps us build resilience and boost our mental health, Marty is a friend of mine, professional speaker and ex Australian Comic of the Year. In this TEDX talk he shares the wisdom he has gained from interviewing over 1,00 high achievers.

Meditate - I am amazed at the difference meditating for just 10 minutes each day makes to how productive I am. Calming the 'monkey mind' makes everything better. Calm is a great free app that guides your meditation practice. Check it out.

What good habits are you going to make in 2017?