I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel stretched to the limit. My schedule is packed and I sometimes feel like I am juggling so many items in my life that there is very little room for error or deviations from the plan. I am constantly being asked to help others professionally; something I take seriously. In these instances, I remember the wise words of Charles Barkley—yes, that “Sir Charles”—to help me navigate my busy schedule.
Many years ago, I heard Barkley tell a story about how he was able to maintain his wealth after so long. Ever since he became a famous basketball player, he has had people asking him for money for various endeavors, often such as buying or starting some sort of small business. He often said yes to these requests, but with one caveat: The person asking for the money had to send him a one-page request detailing how they planned to use the thousands of dollars he was about to give them with no strings attached. Once he got that short memo, he would gladly give them the money.
Sounds like a very easy way for someone to get the money they wanted.
What Barkley was shocked to find was the number of people who couldn’t even be bothered to write a one-page memo asking for those dollars. I now find myself subscribing to the Barkley Principle when people ask for my time, my contacts, or my money. Before spending time on sending out emails on their behalf to my network or logging into my bank account to give someone money, I ask for a short email to remind me of the request. Like Barkley, I have been amazed at the number of people who ask for large sums of money or time or favors, but cannot be bothered to spend a few minutes on presenting their request.
Like Barkley, once I receive the email, I usually gladly fulfill the request. However, it is amazing that roughly 75% of the requests go unfulfilled because people can’t be bothered to send me a quick memo. The lesson I took from Charles Barkley was about setting boundaries and making sure people value my time and resources. I have saved so much time by not fulfilling requests for people who then disappear into the ether.
Protecting your time and resources is a valuable lesson to learn at any age. I hope the words and strategy of Charles Barkley help you set boundaries with both those you love and those you barely know.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC; and host of The Blackest Questions podcast at TheGrio.