Leave Work at Work · a practical starting point
Find words for the boundary you need.
A last-minute request can leave you choosing between saying yes and sounding unhelpful. Rehearse a specific trade-off before deciding what to say.
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Try this approach
Separate the request from your capacity
Identify what has been requested, your current commitments, and any real deadline. Avoid guessing the other person's motives.
Offer a clear choice
Try: 'I can take this on if we move the current priority. Which should come first?' Adapt the words to your role and situation.
Rehearse likely pushback
If the reply is 'both', practise asking which part can be reduced, delayed, or reassigned. You do not have to promise capacity you do not have.
Nothing is sent automatically. In a threatening or unsafe situation, seek appropriate support instead of relying on a script.
Practise, then test it in your day.
The four-week program lets you rehearse, keep a useful plan or script, and report whether it helped in real life. It does not promise a particular result. A difficult environment may need practical support or changes beyond an exercise.
Evidence and limits
These are original educational prompts, not a clinically validated OptimaSelf treatment. The knowledge vault distinguishes research findings from our app adaptations. General wellbeing support does not replace medical or mental-health care.
Browse the sources and limitations →