This week, I received a sign from the Universe to take a step back from work. And by Universe, I mean my supervisor via Teams chat. The message read: “I mean this in the nicest possible way…stop volunteering for things.”
This was the first time I had ever been directly told to stop volunteering to help around the library. In the past I’ve been asked “Do you have the time? You’re sure? Promise you can manage?” to seek confirmation that I could spread myself further. But to be directly told to stop finding more ways to help? That was new to me. How can I not help?
Offering my time to the library, pausing to consider only whether I had space in my Outlook schedule to help, was something I’d ingrained in myself as a newer librarian. I sought every chance to get more experience in the field and followed the example of my mentors as they offered to solve any issue our patrons or library faced. I saw countless examples of librarians going above and beyond for their patrons and performing cross-training tasks to assist each library department.
Even library job postings indicate librarians’ tendency to excel at tasks beyond the expected with the now-infamous line under responsibilities: “Other duties as assigned.” This joke runs alongside the characterization that librarians “wear many hats.” Are these phrases indicative that librarians excel in many things or that librarians do too much? Are we missing the point that we should do some tasks “as assigned” rather than jumping at every chance to help? We can and should serve our communities, but how do we as librarians defend our time and mental health to continue to serve? We start by saying “no.”
The Struggle to Say No at Work
There was very solid reasoning behind my supervisor advising me to stop collecting outside tasks, including reminding me of all the responsibilities already on my plate. In all, the message from above resulted in a great conversation about how I perceive my value in the library and wanting to be the librarian the team can rely upon when we’re short-staffed and busy. We discussed why saying no and not volunteering to take on unassigned tasks was important to safeguard my time for tasks only I could accomplish as the archivist and professor. Most importantly, she conveyed that my value to the library is not dependent on how far I can stretch.
Still, saying no when asked for assistance may feel uncomfortable. The key is to change your mindset around responding to an issue, in this case how to safeguard your time and energy at work. To get myself into a time-protective mindset, I needed to create tangible steps to practice daily.
How To Decide When to Say No
The Harvard Business Review’s (HBR) article “How To Say No to Taking on More Work” is a great starting guide for deciding whether to say no to new work or professional requests and how to succeed in a conversation where you have to say “no”. Here are some of the main takeaways:
- Assess the Request – HBR suggests not responding with a “knee-jerk no” to requests for help. In our field, it will be harder for librarians not to respond with a “knee-jerk yes.” Before answering whether you’d like to help, ask yourself if the request is “interesting, engaging, and exciting” to you. Is this task going to improve your skills or challenge you in a way that inspires growth? The volunteer-types reading this must pay particular attention to this step. Ask yourself if a request is truly being made or if you’re looking for more tasks on your plate. Wait until a request is made and then assess.
- Ask Follow Up Questions – Before you dive into a new project, ask the person making the request about the “size and scope” of the project. Is this a long- or short-term project? These questions will help understand the bigger picture of the ask and help determine how important the task is for the requesting party.
- Consider Your Bandwidth – Even if the task is exciting and interesting and won’t take too much time, are you already engaged in other exciting and interesting things that take up your time? We learned in High School that too many extracurriculars can do more harm than good. The same is true with professional work. Prioritize and limit your bandwidth to activities you can dedicate enough time to completing well.
- Practice Saying No – If someone is making a direct request, HBR provides a few ways to assert yourself without coming across as someone who isn’t a team player. First off, be straightforward that you cannot provide help with the project. It is important to be firm but kind in your answer. If you choose to, you can explain that you have active projects and you are committed to doing your best work on those projects. Otherwise, saying you cannot help is reason enough.
After talking with my supervisor and finding new techniques to have difficult conversations about workloads, I will be practicing these HBR tips to protect my time from an ever-growing (often self-inflicted) to-do list.
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