Saying no to good projects

The hardest emails I write are not to unhappy clients. They are to great people with great projects, telling them I can’t take the work right now.

I take on two projects at a time. It took me a few burnt-out years to learn why that number matters, and I still have to remind myself every time a good brief arrives.

Attention is the product

Clients don’t pay me for screens. They pay for attention: the hours spent thinking about their problem in the shower, the detail I notice in a user interview, the late idea that changes the direction. That attention doesn’t scale. With three projects, each one gets less than a third of it, because switching costs something too.

Two projects leave room for both to go well, and for the unexpected week when one of them needs everything.

Say no with a date

A plain no feels like a closed door. So I always say no with a date: I can start on the third of next month, or I can recommend someone who can start this week. About half of the people I turn down come back when the date arrives, and the other half get someone good straight away.

I keep a short list of designers I trust for exactly this reason. Referring work is part of the job, and it comes back in ways I never planned.

Protect the limit in public

The availability badge on this site is not decoration. When it says I am booked, I am booked. Making the limit visible means fewer awkward calls, and clients who do start a project know they will get my full attention.

If you freelance, pick your number and say it out loud. Then keep it, especially when the next good project arrives. You can see what I am working on now on the work page.