#57 The Hidden Cost of Yes: How to Protect Your Priorities by Saying No

Every yes you give costs something. The question is whether you're making that trade on purpose — or by accident.

In this episode of the Wholistic Productivity Podcast, Chris LeBrun unpacks why defaulting to yes is one of the quietest ways we sabotage our own goals. Drawing from his own experience teaching adjunct college courses — a commitment he loved but eventually had to walk away from — he explores what it really means to protect your time, energy, and focus with intention. Saying no isn't a closed door. It's how you keep the right doors open.

Then, Chris shares a shift in how he thinks about learning: the best investment isn't in what you need to know today — it's in what you'll need to know tomorrow. From taking a sales and marketing webinar before he even has a team, to the idea of "learning forward," this segment will challenge you to get ahead of the skills your future self is going to need.

This episode is for you if you're tired of feeling overcommitted, under-resourced, or like your goals keep getting pushed to the back burner.

🎧 Listen now and start making your yeses count.

Show Links

Read about my latest learning adventure https://wholprod.link/cfre

Sign up for the Wholistic Productivity Newsletter https://wholisticproductivity.com

Chapters

00:00 The Power of Yes and No
01:32 Teaching Future Generations
02:57 Intentional Commitment and Resource Allocation
03:57 Generosity vs. Overcommitment
04:58 The Joy of Learning
08:34 Taking Action on Learning
09:43 Conclusion

This episode is sponsored by Efficient.app
Don't waste time searching for the best software. Let the experts at efficient.app do it for you. They have tons of "No BS" reviews on all kinds of software so you'll always get an honest recommendation. When you're ready to buy they offer discounts as well. So check them out next time you are looking for new software!