Learning the Power of Saying No

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and more as the weeks become busier.</li><li><b>Family and friends' time is sacred, prioritize those connections and that time. </b>It can sometimes be hard to slow down in life and just be present with family and friends, or even schedule that time to be together. By prioritizing that time, putting electronics down, and just enjoying the moment together is a huge thing to prioritize.</li><li><b>Do not disturb automatically turns on my phone after 6 PM.</b> Yes, this is for everyone. This doesn’t mean I don’t check my phone, but it makes me more present, protects my time to wind down and be with my family while allowing for uninterrupted time at home. I do check it at some point to see if I missed any calls from family members, but other than that I try not to be on my phone at all once I’m “off the clock” for the day.</li><li><b>Mental health, emotional health, and physical health come first. </b>If I’m not feeling 100% that’s a huge priority for the day. Pinpoint what is triggering that, what I can do to turn it around, and start fresh. I’m very conscious of how I’m feeling at all times, especially now, and it’s been a game-changer. It’s not selfish to put yourself first, you have to be healthy in order to help others and provide the best services possible.</li><li><b>No, I won’t “squeeze you in” this month. </b>Web design is a very intricate process and it’s very time-consuming. Although I appreciate the passion some people have to get their projects done as fast as possible, sometimes it’s not possible and you’ll have to choose your start date from the available dates after we chat about your project. I’m a one-woman show at my design agency, so to allow for the best quality possible I try to not overbook as much as possible. If I’m overbooked my creativity is bombarded, I’m exhausted, and I’m not performing at the best capacity as I possibly can.</li><li><b>Decreasing the toxic relationships in your life is a must! </b>Whether it’s friends, family members, relationships, or even just acquaintances that you’re communicating with. A toxic environment is not worth the taxing thoughts, feelings, and insecurities it embeds in your brain. A top priority of mine is creating a circle of relationships that promotes posit

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ivity and happiness. People that don’t respect my boundaries, are constantly toxic, and are rude don’t need to be in my circle and have that effect on me.</li></ul><h1 id="a8dc">What happens when you start to say no?</h1><ul><li>You start to feel more powerful and whole than you ever have before.</li><li>You’re taking control of your energy and mental space more than ever before so you have more space to do what you love every day.</li><li>You start creating a circle of relationships that fill up your cup.</li><li>You book projects that are truly what you love to work on and with clients you truly love and who appreciate you.</li><li>You show people that you need to be respected and if they can’t then that’s fine. You just won’t stick around.</li><li>You start to flourish as the person you’ve dreamed of being. Going after your dream goals, nourishing yourself the way you need to, and truly taking care of you.</li><li>You realize it’s not selfish to take care of yourself because you need to be whole and happy before you can take care of others.</li><li>You wake up with a more positive mindset and you’re not dreading the day.</li></ul><h1 id="8707">Saying no more often has become one of the most powerful tools in my toolbox.</h1><p id="b3eb">As a solopreneur, it gets hard to balance your time between work, relationships, and taking care of yourself. Often times my first thing to throw out if I’m overbooked is taking care of myself, which is against my core values! What’s helped me the most prioritize tasks in my life is to complete tasks on certain days and block my day. Then I know what I should be working on during what times and on what day. It makes me more motivated to get the task done, schedule our social media content, and it actually gets you in a routine of incorporating your values into your day-to-day lives.</p><p id="2af3">If you enjoy reading stories like these and want to support me as a writer, consider <a href="https://medium.com/@elizabethloberg/membership">signing up to become a Medium member</a>. It’s $5 a month, giving you unlimited access to stories on Medium. If you sign up <a href="https://medium.com/@elizabethloberg/membership">using my link</a>, I’ll earn a small commission.</p></article></body>

One of the pieces of advice I wish I had learned a lot sooner.

As a freelancer and entrepreneur, one of the hardest things to do it seems is to learn to say no. Even if a project, potential client, or collaboration opportunity isn’t a great fit, you still say yes. Especially when you’re first starting, you don’t say no often because you want to make money and be successful. You get caught on what feels like a hamster wheel that’s never-ending, it sucks your energy, and you feel left with nothing at times. Have you been there before? I know I have.

To learn the art of saying no and what you need to say no to, you first need to fully understand your values and what’s worth your time and energy.

Once you decide on those things then you can start your journey of guarding your time, energy, and creativity fiercely. The world around is will take as much as it can from us and if we don’t set boundaries and demand respect, then you’ll slowly deteriorate. As an enneagram 2 myself (a caregiver) it’s hard for me to set boundaries, say no, and not risk everything to take care of someone. The second I started prioritizing myself and what I need to flourish is when real growth began. To spark some inspiration I’ve shared some of my own boundaries and values below. Yours will probably be very different than mine, as we’re all human and need different things to feel “full” as a human.

Examples of my own boundaries:

My business hours are 9:00 AM — 3:00 PM CST, so that’s when business-related topics happen. All business conversations, business work, and all of those related tasks happen during that time. I’ve guarded my time outside of those hours more and more as the weeks become busier.

Family and friends' time is sacred, prioritize those connections and that time. It can sometimes be hard to slow down in life and just be present with family and friends, or even schedule that time to be together. By prioritizing that time, putting electronics down, and just enjoying the moment together is a huge thing to prioritize.

Do not disturb automatically turns on my phone after 6 PM. Yes, this is for everyone. This doesn’t mean I don’t check my phone, but it makes me more present, protects my time to wind down and be with my family while allowing for uninterrupted time at home. I do check it at some point to see if I missed any calls from family members, but other than that I try not to be on my phone at all once I’m “off the clock” for the day.

Mental health, emotional health, and physical health come first. If I’m not feeling 100% that’s a huge priority for the day. Pinpoint what is triggering that, what I can do to turn it around, and start fresh. I’m very conscious of how I’m feeling at all times, especially now, and it’s been a game-changer. It’s not selfish to put yourself first, you have to be healthy in order to help others and provide the best services possible.

No, I won’t “squeeze you in” this month. Web design is a very intricate process and it’s very time-consuming. Although I appreciate the passion some people have to get their projects done as fast as possible, sometimes it’s not possible and you’ll have to choose your start date from the available dates after we chat about your project. I’m a one-woman show at my design agency, so to allow for the best quality possible I try to not overbook as much as possible. If I’m overbooked my creativity is bombarded, I’m exhausted, and I’m not performing at the best capacity as I possibly can.

Decreasing the toxic relationships in your life is a must! Whether it’s friends, family members, relationships, or even just acquaintances that you’re communicating with. A toxic environment is not worth the taxing thoughts, feelings, and insecurities it embeds in your brain. A top priority of mine is creating a circle of relationships that promotes positivity and happiness. People that don’t respect my boundaries, are constantly toxic, and are rude don’t need to be in my circle and have that effect on me.

What happens when you start to say no?

You start to feel more powerful and whole than you ever have before.

You’re taking control of your energy and mental space more than ever before so you have more space to do what you love every day.

You start creating a circle of relationships that fill up your cup.

You book projects that are truly what you love to work on and with clients you truly love and who appreciate you.

You show people that you need to be respected and if they can’t then that’s fine. You just won’t stick around.

You start to flourish as the person you’ve dreamed of being. Going after your dream goals, nourishing yourself the way you need to, and truly taking care of you.

You realize it’s not selfish to take care of yourself because you need to be whole and happy before you can take care of others.

You wake up with a more positive mindset and you’re not dreading the day.

Saying no more often has become one of the most powerful tools in my toolbox.

As a solopreneur, it gets hard to balance your time between work, relationships, and taking care of yourself. Often times my first thing to throw out if I’m overbooked is taking care of myself, which is against my core values! What’s helped me the most prioritize tasks in my life is to complete tasks on certain days and block my day. Then I know what I should be working on during what times and on what day. It makes me more motivated to get the task done, schedule our social media content, and it actually gets you in a routine of incorporating your values into your day-to-day lives.

If you enjoy reading stories like these and want to support me as a writer, consider signing up to become a Medium member. It’s $5 a month, giving you unlimited access to stories on Medium. If you sign up using my link, I’ll earn a small commission.