Today’s episode is meant to help you figure out what to prioritize in your work this semester. 

I want you to keep your own mental, physical, and emotional health and well-being at the forefront, and this means SAYING NO to things that do not serve you.

When I talk about saying no to requests, I’m especially referring to service and committee work that can be extremely tiring and time-consuming, but not necessarily valued much by your institution or by academia in general.

What I’m going to talk about today pairs really well with the third episode of this podcast that was called “Create Bulletproof Boundaries with Your Job.”  

Listening to these together will help you make a solid plan for the next few months that will allow you to keep your own writing and life goals front and center. 

Prioritizing your own needs—which sometimes could mean disappointing others—is the best way to ensure that you don’t burn out by giving away too much.

So I’ll be giving you two different strategies to help you assess whether or not you want to accept a new request.

I’ll also give some examples of wording you can use in emails to gracefully and tactfully turn down requests that won’t benefit you much. 

This is so important because you want to protect your precious time and energy while still maintaining good professional relationships. And it’s a delicate balance.