In the hectic world of dairy, we all know there’s only so much bandwidth for saying “yes” in a day. And it seems like the opportunities never end – a new organization to volunteer for, a new task that needs to be completed, and so on and so on. That’s why I’ve already spent three previous blogs diving into my learnings from reading The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands by Lysa TerKeurst.
As a quick refresh (or introduction) to this idea, TerKeurst demonstrates the incredible power of two words – yes and no – and the way that these simple daily decisions can shape the story of our lives. This book hits home about how important it is to prioritize what deserves our attention. As farmers, parents, dairy industry professionals, volunteers and more, we’re all constantly juggling a million tasks, and figuring out how to spend our “yeses” wisely. When we understand our parameters around what is a yes, what is a no and the why behind something, that knowledge can be a game changer. As a final point in this series of articles, I’ll leave you with insights I pulled from interviewing two dairy farmers.
Kristen Metcalf, management team at Glacier Edge Dairy in Wisconsin, recently left her full-time job off the farm and now works full-time on the family farm. In addition to that major change, Metcalf shares, “Our farm has doubled in size over the last year, leading to a lot of changes in my husband and I's roles every day.” When asked how that’s impacted her decision-making, she continued, “With more on the to-do list, we've been able to delegate more of our ‘no’s’ to other members of our team we trust. There's also been times when we add way too much to each other's lists/schedules for the day. We are trying to do a better job by starting each day asking each other ‘What's on your agenda for the day?’ to make sure we align and don't take advantage of each other's time.”
I also wanted to know if there's a good mental or physical checklist that can help when deciding to say yes or no. In my experience, something as simple as a list helps keep my boundaries consistent and clear. Kelli Cull, owner and operator of Budjon Farms in Wisconsin, shared this list as a follow-up to her insights in previous articles:
- Am I the best fit for the job? Or is there someone else on my team who may be available who has the skills and the time to complete the task?
- What kind of timeframe does this task need?
- Can I put in the 110% effort I expect of myself/my team to do a good job?
- What other resources does this project entail? And, does it justify the extra expense or labor?
I also loved her example of navigating a recent opportunity her team declined. “We were recently asked by a dairy organization to do video and photo shoots for marketing campaigns, using our cows and facilities. My initial reaction was ‘Yes, this is great advertising for our farm.’” Cull continues, “However when I started running through my checklist of questions, I decided that this was not a fit for our farm at this time. Ultimately, we did not have the extra time and effort it would take to represent our animals and facilities at our level of expectations, there was not additional compensation for our time or our employees, and we believe there are more efficient times and/or places that we can leverage for this type of request.” She ends by saying, “I am very proud to be asked, and I still feel strongly that we can assist the organization in other ways for marketing support. It just needs to flow with something prominent that we may already be doing and we piggyback off that.”
With the help of the different dairy women who shared their experiences throughout this series, I hope these articles have encouraged you to think about how you manage your yeses and noes. What I truly hope for is that it helps you find sanity while still giving the best yes you have to what matters most – whether it’s your family, your cows, an industry organization, a field career or something else entirely. As long as it’s the best yes for you!
