Boundaries, Priorities, and Finding Work-Life Balance (HBR Work Smart Series)

11 How to Say No to Extra Work

by Vasundhara Sawhney

Consider an average workday. How many of your tasks fit perfectly into your job description?

I’ll go first.

As an editor, my core responsibilities include writing and editing, analyzing business research and trends, thinking about our longer-term content strategy, and commissioning new authors from around the world. What do I typically do all day? Apart from my core tasks, I help colleagues write critical emails to clients. I review marketing materials for upcoming projects or events. I sit in on business strategy meetings. I mentor interns. I sometimes work on cross-functional teams that need editorial expertise. Occasionally, I plan office get-togethers or team-building activities. ...