The Hidden Price of Saying Yes

You agree to a Saturday project. The paycheck looks fine. Then you notice what disappeared: rest, a friend's dinner, the deep work you postponed again.

You priced the yes. You never priced the alternatives.

Opportunity cost is economics' quiet accounting rule: the cost of a choice includes the next-best use of the same time, money, or attention.

Side hustles. Meetings. Subscriptions. College majors. Holding a stock "just a little longer."

Before saying yes, name the best alternative you are declining. If you can't name one, you haven't finished the decision.

The real cost of a yes is the best no you never said out loud.