Name the part you can do instead of leaving the whole request uncertain.

Requests often get met with a vague maybe, because the whole thing is too much and a flat no feels unkind. The result is worse than either: the person cannot plan, cannot ask someone else, and often discovers late that they were counting on nothing. Partial help offered clearly is genuinely useful, and it is usually available even when the full favor is not.

When something is asked of you this week, answer with the specific portion you can commit to and the part you cannot. Give the boundary and the timing in the same sentence.