One rule for canceling plans

🕰️ Today’s tip: If you’re going to flake, flake as early as possible.

Approaching a plan you’re lukewarm about can feel like playing a game of chicken with yourself: Are you going to make it? Are you going to cancel? Who knows!

Honestly? You do. “There’s a period of time in the flaking process where you know you’re going to bail but you can’t bring yourself to say so,” writes Kara Cutruzzula. Riding out this pre-flake period only to cancel at the very end helps no one; instead, at the first onset of self-doubt, do a clear-eyed assessment of where you’re at. If you know deep down that you’re just not going to follow through, minimize the damage by letting the other person know sooner than later.

“People rarely get mad if you flake early,” Cutruzzula notes. “Making someone wait around for a response is a different story.”

📚 More from Forge on ethical flaking:

Stop Bailing, Start Refusing
Read more >>

You Don’t Need to Respond to every Text
Read more >>

If You Want to Help Others, You Must Learn to Say ‘No’
Read more >>

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