It’s been in the news recently that Anne Robinson is leaving her job to give attention to other things in her life.
If you didn’t catch Emma Barnett’s interview with her on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour this week, then I recommend you look it up.
It was thought-provoking, honest, encouraging and inspiring for many reasons.
And it touched on a theme that came up in the podcast episode of ‘A Fine Balance’ that I’ve just published, featuring coach and founder of the consultancy Balance for Teachers Annabel Jeffcoate, on how saying “yes” or “no” can influence how contented you are with your work-life balance.
I’ve observed through my blog interviews that people who describe themselves as not being “people pleasers”, tend to have firm boundaries. And they aren’t afraid to say “no”. They are often the ones I speak to that claim to be contented with their work-life balance.
Does that mean that people that don’t have firm boundaries are less content with their work-life balance?
And what if you struggle to say “no” because you want to say “yes” to something, even if it is potentially detrimental to establishing the work-life balance that is right for you?
Annabel‘s take on this is to look objectively at what you want overall from your life when deciding whether to say “yes” or “no” to something. Then reframe the narrative: so rather than saying “no”, you’re actually saying “not right now”.
This isn’t the first time that the impact on balance of “saying no” has come up on my blog and podcast. And I sense that it isn’t the last.
Some examples that spring to mind are the story of Sam, a part-time working father, living with cancer, who seemed to have mastered the art of managing what he would and wouldn’t take on expertly. Conversely, Soli, a teacher and mother of a child with additional needs, discussed her struggles with saying “no” both in her blog and the accompanying podcast interview.
Anne Robinson is known for her directness and it’s hard to imagine her struggling to set her boundaries. Here she has taken what seems like a bold decision, with intention and confidence – saying no to one thing, and in doing so, saying yes to another.
You can listen to the podcast episode, “Five Steps to Improve Your Work-Life Balance” here.