@ MJByron: You could ask your boss to prioritize your projects for you, so (ignorant silly little you) can learn from his (the big boss, the dude, mister perfect) experience. That's a good way to force him to make choices you don't want to make.

Nepkarel

This only works if you actually CAN say no to your boss. When you and your co-workers are pretty much the lowest rungs on the ladder, there's no way to say "I have too much work, let me show you the other projects you've assigned me, the correspondence I've had going, the time I've spent and itemized, etc." We're a help desk that does pretty much the grunt work for IT - testing, research, rollouts, etc.

There's no way around a boss that wants you to do something. I wish we were asked "Would you like to take on this new Citrix environment rollout?" instead of "I'm assigning you the new Citrix rollout, it's a high priority along with all your other tasks."

MJPByron

Not very good advice for those in a military career (like me). :p

ParaXnoia

@Nepkarel: Yes, this is a great tip. If you can make a list of your projects on a white board, it's easy to say, "okay, where does this new task fall in priority compared to these?"
This works great in an environment when everything is the [sic] utmost #1 priority, and has spared me many headaches.

TheMensch

When you say no to a boss or to a customer, even if you are really smart and gentle about it, there is always the risk of upsetting them or burning a bridge. I would only ever do this as a very last resort.

vered

Here's how I say no to my boss: "Sure, I can do that."

onesix18

I found its best to keep a visual list of your priorities along with a rough draft of your schedule. That way when you're asked to do something you point to your list and ask your boss what this new request takes priority over, and if it would not take priority then show them an estimated date of when you could start it. That works great for me a few times every week.

NICU

I have a problem with this article (though the advice is good). She talks about Boomers and Gen Y, but completely ignores that there is another generation out there straddling both of these. Sorry to go off topic, but this burns me up. There is a lot to learn from Gen X about how to deal with BOTH of these generations.

And, we have our own issues too. For example, I prefer to be contacted via email. I work with Boomers who can't stand that they can't get ahold of me on the phone and Gen Yers who ignore email messages and you have to IM them or track them down. Am I the only one who sees that Gen X has been completely forgotten in the literature on workplace relations?

fefu

I tackle these in three ways:

1. If I do have a lot of tasks on my plate and I know that they are a higher priority as compared to the new task, I do say no to my boss and ask try to collaboratively work out how the new task can be handled, whether I can monitor someone who will work on it.

2. I list other tasks that I have and ask for a priority re-assignment.

3. I take it on (sometimes you are not sure whether you have the time or not). However if at any time I feel that I am not going to be able to get to the task, I talk to my boss well ahead of time and we do either 1 or 2.

whoisvaibhav

@MJPByron: jobs are commonplace enough in IT at present that you can threaten to quit and have your boss fold. A friend of mine lost his job and found his next position approximately 30 minutes later, for example.

Prolific Programmer

I think the thing to remember is that these are not one size fits all. Some bosses are more meek (or more reasonable) and will quickly respond if you push back in these ways. Others may be outwardly positive but then resent it in other ways. And of course, others might be derisive to your face.

Probably just work keeping in mind that the strategy should always be to be positive and make it overt that you and your boss are on the same side. These aren't magic words that will automatically work with every boss.

Bing

I've found this to be useful with turning down social opportunities as well.

ChrisGriswold

Asking your boss for some help prioritizing where this new project fits in is an excellent way to enable a micro-manager and have them question how long you are taking on everything else you are doing. It can be a recipe for disaster.

Personally, I think it is better to simply say that, given current commitments, you can't do it. If they press, then ask about eliminating another specific project or responsibility that would free up the time for you to take it on.

But going through everything you are doing is something your boss should already know, and if she doesn't, you should review it with her at some other time (such as a performance review) and not when she is asking you to take on something new.

srjenkins

Yeah I tried this tactic right here and I got laid off.

Joseph

Brilliant! reduce work load by telling your boss(es) 'no'. I will start this tactic immediately. ; )
C'mon lifehacker...

Gerald

This hack won't work for every career. I would guess salaried positions are a lot more likely to get this to work. I work a salaried IT position, and saying no to my boss is essentially part of my job description.

My manager simply doesn't understand my work enough to make good estimates of my workload, and shouldn't be expected to understand my work that well. In general, the company guidelines make it pretty clear that many positions are expected to manage their own workload and write it into descriptions of the job (worded as "Estimates time to complete tasks accurately" - which you can't do unless you let your manager know when new tasks will change old estimates).

Unfortunately, I struggled with saying "No" like this at first. I worked out about 70% of this hack with a little guidance from my manager (yes, that's right - my manager helped me learn how to say "no"). In the meantime, however, I made some major mistakes and now have to play "catch-up" to patch up my damaged reputation.

If you are being honest about your workload (and really do need to say no), and if your manager doesn't listen when you say that taking this project on without dropping something else would be bad for both of you - you have a bad manager. Or your manager's manager sucks, and your manager knows he is being unreasonable but would be fired otherwise, or something similar - but something is wrong with that situation. Unfortunately, in some types of work (low-level help desk positions included, judging by my husband's experience) bad managers who don't take even important feedback well are epidemic. Also, if many of your coworkers are perceived as being slackers, or if you are perceived as a slacker, that could hurt your manager's ability to trust your judgement.

This hack literally saved my job. Don't shrug it off without due consideration, if you are overworked.

ethele