The Art of Saying No: Your Most Powerful Productivity Tool
Warren Buffett says the difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything. Here's how.
The most productive people in the world aren't those who do the most things—they're the ones who do the fewest right things exceptionally well. In "Essentialism" by Greg McKeown, McKeown argues that the way of the Essentialist means pursuing only the right activities in the right way at the right time.
The Paradox of Success
Success creates new opportunities, but it also creates new obligations. You get promoted, so now you're invited to more meetings. Your business grows, so more people want your time.
This is why disciplined people who achieve initial success often struggle to maintain it. They become victims of their own achievement, saying yes to everything because everything seems important.
The 90 Percent Rule
McKeown suggests using the 90 Percent Rule for decisions: If something isn't a "hell yes," it's a "no."
"If you don't deeply care about something, don't do it." — Greg McKeown
KeyResults helps you apply this rule systematically. Your active goals and key results represent your "hell yes" list—the things you've decided truly matter.
The Graceful No
Saying no doesn't require explanation or apology. A simple "I'm not able to make that work" is complete.
When you track your time and progress in KeyResults, you have objective data to support your decisions.
Eliminating the Nonessential
Look at your task list right now. How many of those tasks directly contribute to your most important goals? McKeown suggests that often less than 20% of our activities produce 80% of our results.
Use KeyResults' health score and velocity metrics to identify which activities are actually moving the needle. ```