One of the best ways to be more productive is learning how to say no. Not doing something is always faster than doing it. For example, the fastest meeting is the one that never even happens.

A lot of people say yes to things they don’t really want to do because they don’t want to seem rude or unhelpful. But every time you say yes to one thing, you’re also saying no to everything else you could be doing with that time.

Saying no helps you save time for what really matters. When you say yes to something you don’t want to do, you end up spending time on it later when you could be focusing on something more important.

You don’t have to be rich or powerful to say no. It’s a skill that can help anyone. When you say no to distractions, it’s easier to focus on your goals. Even Steve Jobs once said that focus means saying no to a lot of good ideas so you can do your best on one thing.

If you’re not sure whether to say yes or no, ask yourself, “If I had to do this today, would I actually want to?” If the answer is no, then it’s probably okay to say no.

In the end, doing fewer things that actually matter is better than doing a lot of things that don’t. Like one famous quote says, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently what shouldn’t be done at all.”