reer. But something else wonderful happens too when you say no at work.

You come to understand that you're not a slave to the Day Job Monster. You have a lot of power to shape the quality of your working life than you ever might've thought.

Because you don't need a 29 hour day to get everything done. You simply need to control how you spend your time, and shape it to fit your needs.

And you can do that by saying a firm no to the irrelevant demands of the Monster's world. The payoff is completely

When you're clocking in five days a week with the Day Job Monster, finding time to write can seem like the Impossible Dream.

The Monster just loves to waste your entire day, and he has a million ways of doing it. He crams your Inbox with pointless, time-consuming work. He incites half the building to seek you out for coffee. And then suddenly it's 4:30. The Monster has devoured another day of your life.

But you have several legitimate breaks in every working day. And you're perfectly entitled to use them for your writing.

You can wrest back control of your time by learning how to use one little word:

no.

This word is truly magical. It can transform your workday into a series of chances to write. Next time you're being emotionally blackmailed to go out to lunch with people you don't actually like, or to serve on an irrelevant after-hours committee, stop and think for a minute. Is it possible to say no to these horrifying invitations? What are the consequences of refusing requests like these?

Often, there'll be no consequences at all. Because chances are that you don't harbor secret ambitions to become a senior manager in the Monster world. And do you really care if Doris in Accounts starts sulking because you won't waste your evenings with her? Say no whenever you can to irrelevant invitations, and you'll be amazed at how much of your time you can claim back.

You don't even have to be rude about it.

With a little effort (and a lot of practice), you can start saying no with grace and style. And once the cubicle dwellers get over their shock that you're not automatically available at their convenience, they'll come to accept your new assertive approach.

Persist in saying no, and you'll start to reap some major rewards. Like dropping off the social A-List for instance. No more nagging and pleading to waste your evenings in karaoke bars with colleagues you barely know and movies you never wanted to see.

There's no doubt that refusing awful work invitations will create more time and energy for your real career. But something else wonderful happens too when you say no at work.

You come to understand that you're not a slave to the Day Job Monster. You have a lot of power to shape the quality of your working life than you ever might've thought.

Because you don't need a 29 hour day to get everything done. You simply need to control how you spend your time, and shape it to fit your needs.

And you can do that by saying a firm no to the irrelevant demands of the Monster's world. The payoff is completely

ng.

You can wrest back control of your time by learning how to use one little word:

no.

This word is truly magical. It can transform your workday into a series of chances to write. Next time you're being emotionally blackmailed to go out to lunch with people you don't actually like, or to serve on an irrelevant after-hours committee, stop and think for a minute. Is it possible to say no to these horrifying invitations? What are the consequences of refusing requests like these?

Often, there'll be no consequences at all. Because chances are that you don't harbor secret ambitions to become a senior manager in the Monster world. And do you really care if Doris in Accounts starts sulking because you won't waste your evenings with her? Say no whenever you can to irrelevant invitations, and you'll be amazed at how much of your time you can claim back.

You don't even have to be rude about it.

With a little effort (and a lot of practice), you can start saying no with grace and style. And once the cubicle dwellers get over their shock that you're not automatically available at their convenience, they'll come to accept your new assertive approach.

Persist in saying no, and you'll start to reap some major rewards. Like dropping off the social A-List for instance. No more nagging and pleading to waste your evenings in karaoke bars with colleagues you barely know and movies you never wanted to see.

There's no doubt that refusing awful work invitations will create more time and energy for your real career. But something else wonderful happens too when you say no at work.

You come to understand that you're not a slave to the Day Job Monster. You have a lot of power to shape the quality of your working life than you ever might've thought.

Because you don't need a 29 hour day to get everything done. You simply need to control how you spend your time, and shape it to fit your needs.

And you can do that by saying a firm no to the irrelevant demands of the Monster's world. The payoff is completely

ts like these?

Often, there'll be no consequences at all. Because chances are that you don't harbor secret ambitions to become a senior manager in the Monster world. And do you really care if Doris in Accounts starts sulking because you won't waste your evenings with her? Say no whenever you can to irrelevant invitations, and you'll be amazed at how much of your time you can claim back.

You don't even have to be rude about it.

With a little effort (and a lot of practice), you can start saying no with grace and style. And once the cubicle dwellers get over their shock that you're not automatically available at their convenience, they'll come to accept your new assertive approach.

Persist in saying no, and you'll start to reap some major rewards. Like dropping off the social A-List for instance. No more nagging and pleading to waste your evenings in karaoke bars with colleagues you barely know and movies you never wanted to see.

There's no doubt that refusing awful work invitations will create more time and energy for your real career. But something else wonderful happens too when you say no at work.

You come to understand that you're not a slave to the Day Job Monster. You have a lot of power to shape the quality of your working life than you ever might've thought.

Because you don't need a 29 hour day to get everything done. You simply need to control how you spend your time, and shape it to fit your needs.

And you can do that by saying a firm no to the irrelevant demands of the Monster's world. The payoff is completely

le. And once the cubicle dwellers get over their shock that you're not automatically available at their convenience, they'll come to accept your new assertive approach.

Persist in saying no, and you'll start to reap some major rewards. Like dropping off the social A-List for instance. No more nagging and pleading to waste your evenings in karaoke bars with colleagues you barely know and movies you never wanted to see.

There's no doubt that refusing awful work invitations will create more time and energy for your real career. But something else wonderful happens too when you say no at work.

You come to understand that you're not a slave to the Day Job Monster. You have a lot of power to shape the quality of your working life than you ever might've thought.

Because you don't need a 29 hour day to get everything done. You simply need to control how you spend your time, and shape it to fit your needs.

And you can do that by saying a firm no to the irrelevant demands of the Monster's world. The payoff is completely

reer. But something else wonderful happens too when you say no at work.

You come to understand that you're not a slave to the Day Job Monster. You have a lot of power to shape the quality of your working life than you ever might've thought.

Because you don't need a 29 hour day to get everything done. You simply need to control how you spend your time, and shape it to fit your needs.

And you can do that by saying a firm no to the irrelevant demands of the Monster's world. The payoff is completely worth it. Because now, you get to say yes to spending time on your real career.