At a co-working space in Denver, I saw a freelancer turn down a $5000 project
He was at the desk next to me, and the client was pushing for a super tight deadline. I heard him say, 'I can't take that on right now, it would burn me out.' Everyone online says to never say no, but he was calm and booked. He explained his current workload and offered to connect them with someone else. Honestly, it made me rethink my own 'yes to everything' policy. Has anyone else actually walked away from good money to protect their time?
That freelancer understood something key that @robin836 touched on. The real cost isn't just time, it's the quality of your other work and personal life that suffers. Saying no to one thing is saying yes to everything else you've already promised.