2020 Mental Health Tip: Saying ‘No:'

The fabric of the social economy has changed. 

Adapting to our circumstances, work-from-home (WFH) is the new mainstay practice. 

For those who are employed and working during the pandemic (knock on wood), there are new responsibilities we are adding to our day. Two hours we used to lose each day traveling to-and-from work are now filled doing chores, running errands, and taking care of family.

I have been working remotely since May of 2019 — almost a whole year before it had become standard practice. If there is something I watched everyone go through during this transition to WFH, it is this: personal and professional boundaries will be crossed. If you live with family, they can and will ask for a share of your time. 

Pre-pandemic, creatives had time away from our families. We were away mom and dad’s projects and chores. By the time we stepped into the house, work had given us time and space to decompress. We appreciated the time we had with our families because we had time away from one another. 

“Can you help with this project on the side of the house?” “Uhm, sure! I’m off work at 5, so lets shoot to work from 6:15 p.m. to 9 p.m..” 

Fast-forward — our personal and professional tasks have begun to intertwine. Remote work has helped decrease travel time and increase ease of access to our work. However, we are still there to get the job done and get it done right. 

This is why the power of “no” is so important. 

As a creative professional, there is a relationship in place that respects the boundaries of “yes” and “no”. “Yes, we can accomplish this KPI for you.” “No, this service cannot be provided to you, as it was not in our initial agreement.” 

When it comes to family, there is no contractual agreement. Family is just family. You do things for them, and they will “hopefully” return the favor to you at some point in the future. 

Young professionals are going to be staying at home for the foreseeable future as the economy recovers. During this transition, it is important to build healthy systems of communication to help mitigate the family guilt trip. 

During the tail end of this stay-at-home culture, it is important that we prioritize up-front, honest, direct communication with our loved ones. It is a level of honesty that will help us all get along and help us all get through this together.

The key to the art of saying no to your family is saying “No” and not coming off as cold or disrespectful.

Just let your parents know through your actions that there are more important things on your plate than just helping around the house.

Saying “”No” is saying yes to growing and learning as a creative professional. 

Take on that new project. Build that new portfolio. Write that new case study.

And when you accomplish the goal you set out to achieve, say thank you to your family by doing something extra for them. Do something they didn’t ask for.

In this way, you are showing your family that their timeline is not your timeline. But in working on things in your own individual ways, you can still accomplish many great things — without all the yelling and guilt-tripping.

So go on — just say “no” already! You have nothing to lose, and so much to gain.