Korn Ferry: Stop Saying “I’m So Busy”

“I’m so busy” — three little words we say all the time as a way to decline invitations. It makes sense, though: Time is the most precious commodity because unlike money, we can’t make more of it.

But guess what? Everyone is busy, so while you might think the message you’re sending with “I’m so busy” is, “I’m really slammed,” what the other person really hears is, “What I’m working on is more important than you.”

Once that divisiveness sets in, things can get toxic — fast.

A group of researchers from Harvard Business School recently set out to understand how the way we turn down social or professional invitations affects our interpersonal perceptions and behaviors.

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