Steve Jobs had the key to being more productive at work. A simple word that hides a lot of meaning

There were many words and expressions that were forbidden to Steve Jobs. Those who knew him rarely heard him say anything. However, he could be heard saying other things. One of them probably the shortest and most difficult word to express: “no”. And yes, saying “no” can be difficult, but in the long run it helps us be more productive. This is something Jobs himself recognized.

“Be quick to say no and slow to say yes”

Experts are clear about the importance of saying “no” at the right time and It all starts with understanding the importance of “yes”. In the workplace, and also in some facets of the personal, when someone entrusts us with something, it means finding a space for them. A gap that is sometimes available and, in most cases, non-existent.

Taking on an additional task means canceling another one or at least slowing it down.

. If that other task is important, we will lose vital time to deal with the other, no matter how organized we are. However, it is not necessary for us to put aside an important task. Sometimes, they are simply small but necessary tasks. And cutting back on their time can harm productivity in the long run.

There is a very good example of the evil of “yes” that experts expose, thus addressing direct and indirect costs, as well as the opportunity cost. And to do this, we must imagine that a colleague invites us to have an informal coffee during the workday. The direct and perceptible cost is the half hour it will take you to walk to the cafeteria, get the coffee and come back. The indirect and invisible is that you have a second coffee because the conversation was longer. The opportunity cost lies in this task that you have left aside for half an hour.

This example does not mean that we cannot take a break from work, since it is recommended and even required by law for days of more than six hours. However, it perfectly summarizes what we mentioned earlier regarding organize our work schedule

. Maybe instead of coffee, we could extrapolate this to when we are offered an extra job that we don’t have.

“Innovation means saying no to 1,000 things”

Steve Jobs said “no” when it came to evaluate product ideasThis famous quote sums it up: Knowing how to say “no”, applied to ideas

“People think that focus means saying yes to what you need to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundreds of other good ideas out there. You have to choose carefully. I’m really proud of ‘Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1,000 things.'”

With this, Jobs tried to think how important it is to focus on a task or project when you truly believe in it

. Of course, during the development of devices like the iPhone, a thousand other ideas arose. Who knows, maybe someone would propose launching a television instead of a mobile phone and, if they had focused on that, maybe Apple would be very different today by not focusing on the mobile phone market. A market that it dominates with an iron fist and that represents half of its revenues.

Obviously Not everything can always say “no.” Sometimes we simply cannot do it because it is a professional obligation. It may also be that the idea or task we reject is even more important than the one we maintain. So have common sense and analysis to be able to evaluate everything. And as we have already said, be quicker with the “no” than with the “yes”. For the first, there may be a way back. For the other, maybe not.

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