Warren Talbot's Blog
February 2, 2022
Episode 148: How to Say No to Your Boss, Clients, and Coworkers (Part 2 of the Unclutter Your Work Series)
Click above to listen to the podcast and read the show notes below for extra support. (And don’t forget to download the free resource at the blue button below—this one contains scripts for you to use when saying “no” at the office.)
Carrying the weight of the world (or the office, the project, or the client) on your shoulders without a “get out of jail free” card can make even the toughest person want to crawl into the corner and hide.
Even if you have no trouble saying “no” in your personal life, when it comes to work, you may not think you have the option. After all, you’re getting a paycheck in return for your work, right?
So if your boss is piling it on, your customers think you are their personal servant, or your coworkers can’t seem to make a move without you, it’s no wonder you’re feeling overwhelmed.
You feel trapped, stressed, and not so happy about going to work every day. In fact, you may have indulged in a sick day on more than one occasion when you couldn’t bear walking through those doors again.
Well, today we have a solution that will dramatically increase your job satisfaction, decrease your stress level, and gain you more respect from your boss, clients and coworkers.
The Secret to Professional Respect
When Warren first started his career, his goal was to be the first one at work and the last one to leave. He even had a “success marker” for every day: He had to be the one to flip the lights on and off.
Ridiculous, isn’t it?
But as a 22-year-old just starting out, he thought that’s what it took to be successful. He wanted to do more than everyone else, work harder, keep longer hours.
Guess how that worked out? Overwhelm, frustration, and total burnout. And it didn’t even take long for it to happen.
The secret to getting the professional respect you desire is NOT to do more than anyone else. In fact, that’s, a quick road to burnout.
The secret is to laser focus on your most important priorities and do them well every single time. This gets noticed, respected, and rewarded more than anything else you could do. And you can only do it if you say “no” to what falls outside of your priorities—even if the boss is the one doing the asking.
Take Action Now
In today’s episode you’ll learn the specific phrases and ways you can gain more respect at work by saying no. We call it the “positive no” and it focuses on priorities, not negatives. Try it one time and you’ll be hooked!
To make it easy for you, we’ve created a handy guide you can use. Just click the blue button below to download it. Then, when your boss dumps another big assignment on top of your towering list, you can use these handy scripts, to reduce your stress and gain respect.
Resources from Today’s Show
The Organized Mind by Daniel J. Levitin
Causes of Workplace Stress, University of Cambridge
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Up NextOur Unclutter Your Work Series continues with some powerful tactics to unclutter the dreaded MEETING. This is a huge time-waster for many people at work, and whether you’re in charge of them or not, we’ve got ways to help you make them more productive. (Though we’re still campaigning for a total elimination of big meetings…we’ll keep you posted on that.) 
(Did you miss one of the episodes? You can find all the Unclutter Your Work series episodes here.)
Like the show? We’d love a review on iTunes so we can get more visibility on the charts. Will you help us out? Click here to leave a review. Thank you!
The post Episode 148: How to Say No to Your Boss, Clients, and Coworkers (Part 2 of the Unclutter Your Work Series) appeared first on AnUnclutteredLife.
Episode 149: A 15-Minute Ritual to Unclutter Your Work Day
Click above to listen to the podcast and read the show notes below for extra support. (And don’t forget to download the free resource at the blue button below—this one contains a template for your own 15-minute success ritual.)
Are you the sticky note queen? Man of a thousand excuses? Last-minute project masochist?
You probably recognize these types of people from your office—the person who:
Can never find what she needs to do her job, even though she has hundreds of reminders taped in her cube,
Always has an excuse why he didn’t do what he was supposed to,
Has a default status of frazzled or stressed, no matter what is happening in the office,
Is always late to every meeting because his schedule is out of whack, or
Pulls all-nighters to finish routine projects because he’s so bad at managing his time
Yes, you definitely know these people at work. And you might be uncomfortably close to one or more of these descriptions yourself.
No matter how well you know your job, if you can’t keep up or even just look like you can’t keep up, your opportunities for raises and promotions are slim. If you’ve never considered how your productivity at work relates to your income, then we’ve got some food for thought.
It’s not the appearance of busy that gets you noticed. In fact, appearing rushed or overwhelmed is the exact opposite of what it takes to be recognized and rewarded for your work.
15 Minutes to Maximum Productivity
In today’s episode, you’ll learn a 15-minute daily ritual that will keep you on track with your projects and clocking out on time so you can enjoy your personal life without stress or guilt.
Not only that, we’ll share 7 of our favorite work productivity tips to help you stay on top of your work AND become more of an asset to your boss.
But first, be sure to download your free template for this powerful, 15-minute daily ritual. Click the blue button below to get yours right now, at no charge.
Speaking of free resources, the show is brought to you ad-free thanks to support from your fellow listeners. Our sponsors contribute between $1 and $5 per episode via Patreon so we can focus on producing great content for you instead of recruiting advertisers. This support allows us to make the free guide for you every week.
Do you want to be part of our Podcast Support team? Click here to show your support so we can continue bringing you helpful, ad-free content to improve your life.
Many thanks to Melanie for becoming our latest podcast sponsor!
Resources from Today’s ShowEssentialism, by Greg McKeown (Amazon)Parkinson’s Law (Lifehacker)Daimler’s vacation email policy (Time)Boomerang (app)Multitasking and Context Switching (Bryan Braun)Up NextThe final episode in our Unclutter Your Work Series tackles that big leap from employee to entrepreneur. Whether you are starting a side hustle, taking on freelance gigs, selling your crafts, or diving in with both feet to a startup business, we’ve got you covered on setting up your home life to support your business goals. (We’ve been working from home off and on since 1999, so we’ve learned a thing or two about this!)
(Did you miss one of the episodes in this series? You can find all the Unclutter Your Work series episodes here.)
Like the show? We’d love a review on iTunes so we can get more visibility on the charts. Will you help us out? Click here to leave a review. Thank you!
The post Episode 149: A 15-Minute Ritual to Unclutter Your Work Day appeared first on AnUnclutteredLife.
Eliminate Complaining in Your Life…Once and For All
Click above to listen to the podcast and read the show notes below for extra support. (And don’t forget to download the free resource at the blue button below—this one contains scripts you can use to tactfully shut down the constant complainers in your life.)
Have you heard this one?
There was a woman who constantly complained about everything. One day her neighbor complimented her on her potato crop because it was the best one in the area. She responded with a frown, “True they’re pretty good, but what am I going to do when I need some bad ones to feed the pigs?”
You probably know a person like this—someone who can’t see the light in any situation. The constant mode is complaining, and you cringe at the thought of asking this person a simple “how are you?”
Perhaps the negative Nellie in your life is someone you know better than anyone:
Two construction workers eat lunch together. Day after day, one of the men opens his bag to find a meatloaf sandwich and complains: “Another meatloaf sandwich?” Eventually, his friend can’t restrain himself: “Why don’t you just ask your wife to make you something else?” “What are you talking about?” the first man responds. “I make my own lunch!”
Whether you’re surrounded by complaining or you infect the air yourself, there is a cost that comes with focusing on problems without looking for solutions.
Cortisol (the stress hormone) spikes, and it decreases your brain’s cognitive function (you know, the part that helps you find solutions to problems).
In today’s episode, we cover the reasons for complaining, how to tough love your friends who indulge a little bit too much, and how to guard your time and your sanity from the negativity.
Tune in to find out the sure-fire method for eliminating complaining from your life.
Speaking of free resources, the show is brought to you ad-free thanks to support from your fellow listeners. We call these sponsors our virtual producers, and because of their contributions of $1 to $5 per episode, we can focus on producing great content for you—including a free guide every week!—instead of recruiting advertisers whose messages just clutter up the listening experience.
Click here to show your support so we can continue bringing you helpful, ad-free content to unclutter every area of your life.
Up NextJoin us next week for an episode on sleep. Do you get enough? If you’re running on fumes every day, we’ve got a nighttime routine to help you recharge and maintain your energy like the Energizer Bunny.
Resources from this EpisodeThe Squeaky Wheel: Complaining the Right Way to Get Results, Improve Relationships, and Enhance Self-Esteem, by Gary Winch, Ph.D.
Complaining for Your Health (The Atlantic)
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The post Eliminate Complaining in Your Life…Once and For All appeared first on AnUnclutteredLife.
January 30, 2022
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