10 Times You Should Definitely Say ‘No’ And Do Your Own Thing

There are a number of silly, destructive and persistent social norms or status quos that say we should put up with a lot of things that we really shouldn’t put up with. Under the guise that “life is hard,” people often want you to just buck up and be happy, when, really, you should change the things that aren’t making you happy.

Saying “no” can be really hard if you’re a go-getter or you don’t like giving up, but here are 10 times you should say “no” and do your own thing. Because that silly cliche about putting you first is actually something you should put up with.

1. Say “No” To Friends Who Bring You Down
2. Say “No” To A Doing Things Without A Reason
3. Say “No” To Any Job That Doesn’t Fulfill You
4. Say “No” To Overworking Yourself
5. Say “No” To Meeting Other People’s Expectations
6. Say “No” To Trying To Control Everything
7. Say “No” To A Relationship That Isn’t Working
8. Say “No” To Crazy Diets
9. Say “No” To Judgement
10. Say “No” To Hate And Negativity

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8 Ways to Nip Procrastination in the Bud

Putting things off is career hampering, stressful and bad for your health. Here's how to get working.

Change your scenery.
Get rid of your Internet.
Quit waffling between projects.
Quit Facebook.
Keep a detailed to-do list.
Figure out which tasks you don't like doing and why.
Don't expect perfection.
Tell someone you respect when you'll finish.

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24 Ways to Save an Hour

Daylight Savings is stealing an hour every day. Here are 24 ways to get more done with the time you have left

1. Batch your errands--hit the post office, bank, and market in one trip, not three.
2. Turn off email and text alerts on your smartphone so you're not interrupted.
3. Set aside one specific hour each day for returning client calls and emails.
4. Budget limited time for Farmville, Angry Birds, and Mafia Wars.
5. Practice the 3 D's of management--delegate, delegate, delegate.

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Info-graphics: What is your preferred method of wasting time at work?

While Americans put in some of the longest hours of workers around the globe, how many of those hours are really spent helping their employers? If you’re in charge of managing your company’s bottom line, you may not want to know the answer.

Here’s an infographic that explores the various ways employees spend their time when they’re at work, but not working. Use this Infographic (created for BOLT by Infographic World) to help you more easily visualize and retain this information to protect your business and increase your workplace productivity.

View the info-graphics

Better Time Management Is Not the Answer

Managers tell us all the time they have "a time management problem." Their days, they say, are often hijacked by unplanned events, interruptions, crises — matters that can't be ignored. They go to work planning to do certain things as a boss and at day's end they realize they've done none of it.

"How do I cope?" they want to know. "How do I do what I'm supposed to do in the middle of chaos? When do I do the work of being a boss — things like working toward goals, developing people, building a team, and creating and sustaining a network?"

Make Prep-Do-Review a practice that you consistently, systematically, and routinely pursue. By using this simple but powerful approach, you can convert many of the activities that crowd your days into management tools for moving your people forward individually and as a group.

Read this HBR blog post