--- title: If It Isn’t Fuck Yes, Then It’s Clear No Thank You created: 2024-11-18T09:16:49 modified: 2025-08-29T08:30:45 --- **TL; DR** Default to NO. --- > _[“Raise the bar as high as possible, and say no to anything that you feel less than 'Hell yeah, that’ll be amazing!'” — Derek Sivers, Hell Yeah or No](https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Yeah-No-whats-worth/dp/1988575974)_ > _“When you say no, you are only saying no to one option. When you say yes, you are saying no to every other option. No is a decision. Yes is a responsibility. Be careful what (and who) you say yes to. It will shape your day, your career, your family, your life.” — James Clear_ > _“We need to learn the slow ‘yes’ and the quick ‘no.’” — Tom Friel, the former CEO of Heidrick & Struggles_ > _“Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.” — Josh Billings_ --- When you say ‘yes’ to others, make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself. Don’t be the one to tell yourself no. --- Say NO (resist) to protect your YES (persist) --- Saying yes to everything is a quick road / recipe to mediocrity * Why is it so hard for us to see this? [Inertia](be-ready-to-change-your-mind-completely-at-any-given-time.md), for one. [Ego](abandon-your-ego.md), for another. --- Before you say “yes” or “no”, just **pause**. This simple pause gives you control over your choices, allowing you to [respond with intention rather than reflex](choose-your-response.md). Remember: Whenever you say “yes” to something, [you’re saying “no” to something else.](Everything%20in%20life%20has%20an%20opportunity%20cost.md) --- # Do More With Less > _“My goal is no longer to get more done, but rather to have less to do.” ― Francine Jay_ > _[“We are most productive when we focus on a very small number of projects on which we can devote a large amount of attention.” — Cal Newport](Slow%20Productivity.md)_ * The goal is to achieve more by doing less, and the only way to get more things done is to have fewer things to do. Remember: [The more things you do, the less well you do each of them.](https://www.workingtheorys.com/p/3-hours) The less you have to do, the more time you get to chase randomness and enjoy the things you really want to do. * Less is often more—but getting to “less” is the hard part. --- # Less, But Better * 少，但是更好 * 事半功倍 --- # The 3-hours-or-nothing Rule **[Don't agree to anything “quick” unless you're willing to spend 3+ hours on it.](https://www.workingtheorys.com/p/3-hours)** When you follow this rule, your priorities get clear, you procrastinate less, you’re more focused and more productive, and time management becomes a lot easier. You say “no” a LOT more. And the “yes” becomes a lot more emphatic. You find yourself less stressed, less overthinking about the past and less anxious about the future. --- # [The “Yes-Damn” Effect](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxDR2m2gFAt/) * You say, “Yes,” and then the future date arrives, and you say, “Damn!” * We often say yes to things assuming that we will have more time or energy for them in the future. But when that future date arrives, we regret it. * As a rule of thumb, if you’re going to say yes to anything because you think you’ll have more time or energy for it in the future, say no instead! * 做任何事情前，先問自己能不能「全情投入、給出承諾」。而承諾就像灌木叢，需要定期修剪。[@forsterItTomorrowOther2008] --- # The Right Now Test By Sahil Bloom When deciding whether to take on a new commitment, ask yourself, “_Would I do this right now?_” Think of right now as today or tomorrow. The aim is to eliminate the future time distortions observed by psychologists; by pulling the event into the present, you make a more clear, rational decision. * If the answer is no, say no. * If the answer is yes, take it on. --- Examples: * There is no code faster than no code. * There is no meeting that goes faster than not having a meeting at all. --- Two-factor authentication against your calendar by Naval Ravikant * Say no over and over again to the unimportant things flying in our direction every day and remaining focused on saying yes to the few things that truly matter. --- ## See Also * [Seven Things Successful People Say No To Every Day](Seven%20Things%20Successful%20People%20Say%20No%20To%20Every%20Day.md) * [Focus is about saying no](focus-is-about-saying-no.md) * [Decision Making](decision-making.md)