A calm “let me think about it” beats an excited yes you’ll regret on Tuesday.

Excitement is a bad judge of next week. In the moment everything feels possible and the calendar looks empty, and then the day arrives and you are the person who agreed to it. A short delay lets the boring, accurate part of your brain catch up. Almost nothing genuinely requires an answer within ten seconds.

Make a habit of a standard reply: let me check and come back to you tonight. Then actually picture the day itself, the travel, the tiredness, what you are giving up. If it still looks good with all that attached, say yes properly and mean it.