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

Expect any small favor to eat roughly a quarter of an hour. Do six of them in a week and you've spent an hour and a half, which works out to six hours a month you never scheduled, never got recognized for, and will be asked to give up again next month. The fifteen minutes is the least of it. The real cost is the climb back into whatever you were doing before, and nobody keeps track of that.

Reflexively saying "Sure, no problem" sounds generous, yet it quietly undermines you, and the reason is simple. It assures the person asking that nothing stood in the way. The authors of The No Club, drawing on their research, observed that women get handed non-promotable work roughly 50% more frequently than men do, and they also say yes to it more readily. Over a year, one professional-services firm found that this imbalance piled up to about 200 additional hours per person. Nobody asked for those hours in a single sitting. They showed up fifteen minutes at a time, the way they do in offices from downtown Hartford out to Farmington and Glastonbury.

1. Hartford readers often ask, "Do you have a minute to skim this?"

Tempting: "Sure, go ahead and forward it."

A stronger reply: "Thursday afternoon works for me to review it." Then ask: "Which part would you like me to focus on?"

The reason this works is that an open-ended glance usually grows into editing, and editing grows into rewriting. Asking what they actually need narrows it to one thing, and naming a day puts it on your calendar rather than on top of your work.

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

Short Tempting (replacement): "Glad to help."

A better response: "Let me show you the three changes that would make the biggest difference." Offer ten minutes at a shared screen, and let them make the edits themselves.

The compliment is what reels you in, and giving in teaches people that flattery can buy your time. A short coaching session saves far more time than doing the formatting yourself, and the person will be able to manage it alone the next time around.

3. "Would you join this call as a backup, just to be safe?"

Short Tempting (replacement): "Alright."

Try instead: "Forward me the notes and mention any items that need my input." Should a decision surface, pull me in at that point only.

"Just to be safe" is a request for an hour of your focus to cover someone else's anxiety. Staying available for the part that calls for a decision is the only part that truly needs you.

4. "Could you put me in touch with her?"

It's tempting to say, "Certainly, I'll draft something for you."

Better (replacement): "Pleased to help out." Instead, reply: "Tell me in a couple of lines what you hope to get from her, and I'll pass it along."

Making the introduction is your call, but the groundwork has to come from the person who wants it. When someone is asked to put those two lines down, they either respond promptly or discover they never needed the meeting.

5. Suppose your manager asks you to watch over the newest hire.

Short Tempting (replacement): "Definitely."

Better (replacement): "Glad to assist." Ask instead: "Is this an official part of my responsibilities this quarter, so it gets recognized come review time?"

When your manager asks a favor, it either belongs to your job description or it doesn't. When it does belong, it ought to be recognized and factored in. If it isn't, you've given both of you an easy way to size it, and to agree that it stays limited to the first two weeks.

The principle behind all five, as Glastonbury and Windsor mentors would put it.

A casual favor amounts to work that has no defined boundaries, no due date, and no recognition. Each line in this guide addresses at least one of those three gaps. Once a request has a defined size, the requester must weigh whether it merits that much effort, and that judgment no longer rests on you alone.

Bookmark this. Another casual favor is likely already on its way to your desk.