Small asks add up. Here's the math, and the reply that stops them.

A small favor in Richmond can eat up a whole afternoon, so keep that in mind before saying yes. Six of them in a week comes to an hour and a half, which is six hours a month you never scheduled, never received credit for, and will likely be asked for again the following month. The fifteen minutes is the small piece. The effort of getting back into what you were doing beforehand is the piece nobody tallies.

"Sure, no problem" is the default answer, and it backfires for a plain reason. It signals to the person asking that nothing was a problem at all. According to research compiled for The No Club, women receive roughly half again as many requests for non-promotable tasks as men do, and they are also more inclined to say yes. At a single professional-services firm, this pattern added up to about 200 additional hours each year. None of those hours were ever asked for in one lump sum. They showed up fifteen minutes at a time, the way much of the work does in offices from Short Pump to Chesterfield.

Skip Would you mind taking a quick look at this?

Tempting: "Yes, go ahead and forward it to me."

A stronger reply would be: "I can get to it Thursday afternoon." "Which part should I concentrate on?"

The reason this works is that a casual look at something usually grows into editing, and editing often grows into a full rewrite. Asking what they actually need narrows the job to one thing, and naming Thursday puts it on your calendar instead of on top of your current work.

2. "You're so good at decks. "Would you tidy this up for me?"

Tempting: "Happy to."

Instead, try: "Let me show you the three fixes that would make the biggest difference." Ten minutes, your screen, and you make the edits."

The compliment is what sets the trap, since accepting it teaches people that flattery can cost you your afternoon. A ten-minute walkthrough saves far more time than an hour spent fixing formatting, and it leaves the other person able to manage the task alone next time.

Not now Would you be open to dialing into this call as a standby, in case we need you?

Tempting: "Absolutely."

Try instead: "Forward me the meeting notes and mark anything that needs my input." "If a decision arises, pull me in for that specific piece."

Requesting you "just in case" really asks for an hour of your focus to ease someone else's anxiety. Being reachable at the moment a decision is required lets you add value without occupying the entire meeting.

Pass "Could you connect me with her?"

Tempting: "Sure, I can put together a draft for you right away."

Better: "Happy to help." Instead, reply: "Jot down two lines about what you're hoping to learn from her, and I'll pass them along."

You can offer the introduction, but the groundwork has to come from the person requesting it. Whoever is asked to write those two lines will either send them promptly or quietly conclude they never needed the meeting.

5. Suppose your manager asks you to keep watch over the newly hired colleague.

Tempting: "Of course."

Better: "Glad to take it on." Is this a formal piece of my role this quarter, so that it gets noted when review season comes around?

A request from a manager is either built into your role or it isn't, and you should know which. When it is part of the role, it should be recognized and credited. When it isn't, asking the question makes it simple for both of you to define its size and agree to "let's limit it to the first two weeks."

The principle that guides all five of these cases is to name the true cost before agreeing.

A quick favor is essentially a task that has no defined boundaries, no due date, and no recognition attached. Each response suggested above supplies at least one of those missing elements. Once a favor has a defined size, the requester must weigh whether it merits that size, so the decision no longer falls silently on you.

Keep this handy for the next time a quick favor starts making its way to your desk.