Hey, it's Rachel Cook, your modern mentor. I'm the founder of Lead Above Noise, a firm

specializing in helping teams and organizations optimize their working experience. And one thing that

doesn't help a workplace experience is rampant overwhelm, or worse, burnout. The uncertainty of the

economy has left many of us afraid to say no to anything. So we all

just keep piling more onto our plates. But as I learned the hard way, the first time my parents

unleashed me at a dessert buffet when I was five, your body will inevitably let you know when

you've piled it on too high.

My delight at the buffet ended in a cleanup on aisle 6 kind of disaster, but in the workplace,

the overpiling on our plates leads less repulsively, but just as terribly, to anxiety and overwhelm and disengagement. And these consequences are real. So if your boss or a client or a

colleague is continuing to ask for more and you're just afraid to say no, what can you do? Well,

you can refine. One of my most popular workshops these days is called Achieve More with Purpose,

clarity, and Alignment.

And it's designed to help a team clarify its most essential impact, determine which

priorities like which meetings and projects ladder up to that impact, and then to make more

effective decisions around what to take on and what not to. And as part of this workshop,

I teach a framework called

the SRA, which stands for stop, refine, and add. And here's how we use it. I start by asking teams

to complete what's called a purpose canvas. It's a quick exercise to help them articulate the unique

value that they deliver to whom and why. Then, with that purpose in hand, I ask them to

review their calendars and ask themselves this question. If I need to achieve this purpose or impact,

what are the things I need to stop doing? And yes, there is always something. What are the things

I need to add or start doing? And what are the things I need to keep doing,

...