I like to be a team player. I don’t like to let people down. Many times, something can’t be done simply because you or your team don’t have any more time…at least not a normal amount of time.

I’ve noticed that it is easy for me to sacrifice my time for an idea, that I don’t consider my time to be a resource. But because I don’t want to let my teammates down, I say yes to something instead of having dinner with my family or going to my son’s t-ball game or finishing another project that isn’t as urgent but is more important in the long term.

Don’t be afraid to say no for reasons that seem squishy and selfish. Your time is valuable and it matters. Your team needs you to speak up. If you don’t, pretty soon you are going to be bitter for all the ideas that “force” you to miss family time.

I think many of us know the grumpy tech person. It might even be you. Don’t let this happen in the name of being a team player. You are not helping your team any by not speaking up for the things that you don’t have capacity for.