One of the most important skills in time management is learning to say “no” to requests for our time and energy. We’ve been taught to be gracious and self-sacrificing. We’re afraid that people won’t like us if we turn them down. We want to help, we want to do new things, we want to be involved, and so we say “yes.” Unfortunately, we say “yes” before we stop and figure out just how on earth we’re going to cram one more thing into our busy lives.

The result is often that we end up doing things we don’t want to do and really don’t have the resources to do. We’re spread so thin that there just isn’t enough of us left to be of use to anyone. We’re tired, we’re stressed, and resentful. Or else, we back out, procrastinate, do a slipshod job because that’s all we’ve got in us.

This week, before you say “yes” to anything, take some time—twenty four hours, if possible—and think it through. What’s it going to cost you to do it? What are you going to have to give up to make it happen? Unless it’s something you really, really want to do, this week just say “no.”

By the time you get this, I’ll be staggering around Dublin in a daze, trying to recover from jet lag. The Amazing Charlotte is keeping the home fires burning and tending to the technical details of the Muse Empire (which is what we jokingly call my collection of four websites). So if you have any technical challenges or questions or anything else—or just want to say “Hi” and “Thank you” to her, you can reach her at Charlotte@manageyourmuse.com. After all, without Charlotte you wouldn’t be receiving the Weekly Challengers every week.

So who do you have in your life who keeps things running smoothly? Who is the person you can rely on when you need back up? Make a point of thanking that person this week. Without them life would be much, much harder.

This time next week I’ll be in Ireland for a three-week trip with my parents. They’re on either side of 80, and if I don’t do this now, with them, I might never be able to do it.

Yes, it’s going to be dreadfully expensive. Yes, I can’t really afford the time. Yes, it’s scary and stressful and a hassle. (I hate flying, and this trip will involve three flights and over 18 hours of travel time.) But sometimes there comes a time when you just can’t wait for the conditions to be perfect, or you’ll never do it. You just have to bite the bullet and go for it anyway.

What have you been putting off until the time was right and the conditions favorable? Take out that dream or idea and dust it off. Don’t wait too much longer—because the time will never be right, and the conditions will never be favorable unless you make them so. And you make them so by just deciding to do it anyway.

Summer is winding down. School is about to start up again, if it hasn’t already. I remember when I was growing up that going back to school was always an exciting adventure. I’d get to see friends I hadn’t seen all summer. I’d have new teachers, new challenges. (Needless to say, I was one of those kids who actually liked school—until I reached high school, that is.) And perhaps best of all, I’d have a new set of school supplies.

I loved new school supplies—new pencils, erasers that weren’t grubby and black, and a whole box of crayons, with none broken, none missing, the paper around them still intact. What couldn’t I create with a new box of crayons?

This week, do yourself a favor. Go out and buy yourself a box of crayons and some paper, or a coloring book. (No, I’m not getting a kickback from Crayola. I wish!) Make the grass red, the sky orange, the hippopotamus purple. Draw a fantastic flying flower or a dancing fish. Spend some time just having fun, being a child again.