At least that’s what the experts say.

And who am I to argue?

I could be the DIT (do-it-tomorrow) poster boy they haul out to scare people into attending self-improvement and time management workshops.

Dang.

I hope the experts appreciate how much I help them drive up their revenues.

Luckily, I don’t have to shell out big bucks for their obstacle-identification services.

All I have to do is look in the mirror every morning to get a good idea of the work cut out for me.

But the experts do preach a message many of us should heed.

With so many of us feeling stressed and overwhelmed, they point out we’ve got to stop saying “yes” to things without hesitation, so that we can keep our options open for many of the other things we’d much rather do.

Somehow we’ve equated bluntly saying “no” to something as rude.

And it impacts our decision-making.

The experts recommend responding with a simple “buffer” phrase.

“No for now.”

This response will buy you some time to think – without any worries of rudeness – to think about the real-world opportunity costs of your “yes” answer.

So if you’ve ever found yourself saying “yes” to something only to quickly regret how it’s messed up your calendar later, this “no for now” tip could be the perfect antidote.

Since I’m no expert, I can’t predict how successful this strategy will be.

But you’ve got to admit.

It’s easy to remember.

That alone gives it five stars in my book.

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