Prompts · Work
Say no to extra work without sounding difficult
A short message that turns something down and doesn't apologise four times.
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Updates as you typeI'm being asked to take something on and I want to say no. The ask: Run the new starter onboarding sessions every fortnight. It's landed on me because I did it once in July as a favour and it went well. Who's asking: my manager's peer, runs another team, no formal authority over me but he's well liked Why I can't: It's half a day a fortnight plus prep, I'm already behind on the migration, and honestly it's not my job and nobody's offering to take anything off me. What I could offer instead: I could write up what I did in July so someone else can run it Write me two versions of the reply. Both under 80 words, both as a message I could send today. Version one: no, with the alternative I offered. Version two: a straight no, no alternative, still not rude. Rules: - Apologise once at most. Not at the start and the end. - Give one reason, the real one, in plain words. Don't stack three reasons, it reads as an excuse. - No "unfortunately", no "I'd love to but", no explaining my whole workload. - Don't leave a gap they can negotiate into unless I asked for one. Then tell me: whether my real reason is safe to say to this person as written, or whether it needs softening, and which specific words would cause a problem.
What you get: Two short replies you can send, and a check on whether your real reason is safe to say out loud.
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One reason, not three
Piling up reasons feels thorough and reads as guilt. It also hands the other person three things to solve. One real reason lands better and can't be negotiated away one item at a time.
The last question is the useful one. Sometimes the honest reason is fine to send and sometimes it's a sentence you'd regret, and it helps to be told which.
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