“If you say ‘yes’ to everything, you are on a one-way road to…burnout,” write Kuma Arora for Forbes . “Unfortunately, we have all attached emotions with the word ‘no’ and saying it to people can make us feel selfish and a bit rude.”

Need help learning to say no? Arora offers some tips to help you get started.

• Set boundaries. In order to say no to things, you should determine what warrants a “no.” Set rules for accepting projects by considering competing deadlines, work priorities, and long-term goals.

“If you have rules for saying no, you will probably stick to them, making the act of declining something easier,” writes Arora.

• Practice. Now that you have rules for what you can say “no” do, it’s time to put it to use. Start with small tasks that have little fall out for declining and that someone else on your team can handle.

“The first time you decline an offer from someone by saying no, it may be hard. But after a week or two of practice, ‘No’ will become a staple in your entrepreneur vernacular,” explains Arora.

• Use respect. When you say no, consider the person you’re declining. Strive to be tactful and graceful when saying no; it’s likely you’ll need to continue to work with your colleagues and teammates in the future,” writes Arora.
• Know your worth. When you find yourself struggling to say no, remind yourself that the time you’d spend on this project is better spent on other tasks.

“A good example of this is in meetings. People love meetings, but they rarely accomplish anything. By saying yes to meetings throughout the week, you are losing time that could be spent focusing on growing your business,” write Arora.