Chapter 2 of clean code deals with learning how to say no in a professional environment. The chapter is very helpful in the sense of giving example of exactly why you should never commit yourself to something that you will not be able to carry out completely. If you overbook yourself and commit to jobs that you are not able to complete you will create a chain of problems that will come back to you later in the future. The moment that you tell your boss that you can “possibly” get something done, the expectations have been set at the point and there will now be disappointment and possibly consequences depending the the importance of the project that you are working on. It is also a let down to your team when you begin to commit to things that cannot be done because you will often drag others down with you.

However, this does not mean that you should not take on tasks that will challenge you because life should be comfortable and easy. By all means if you know for a fact that the task being asked of you is something that can be tackled, than DO IT! Showing that your team can perform on demand and have fantastic outputs is a great thing, but it is very important to ensure you do not allow yourself to be taken advantage of. It really all comes down to a very simple phrase by a very wise man..

“Do; or do not. There is no trying.” – Yoda