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Saved answers to common requests

Write the reply properly once, then send it every time it repeats

Certain asks arrive over and over. You write each answer well once and send it from then on. Someone wanting career advice gets a reading list. An author chasing a foreword gets notes on how book promotion actually works. Events hunting a speaker get other names to try. A real answer costs you minutes only the first time, which is what makes it possible to say no and still send something worth having.

Who backs it

Sorted by strength of stance

  • Adam GrantDoes it

    Organizational psychologist · Think Again

    Requests he gets constantly have an answer written up already. Strangers after career advice get a list of his favorite books, articles and podcasts. Authors asking for a foreword get his notes on promoting a book, and companies looking for speakers get other names.

    Source: WorkLife: How to say no transcript

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Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.