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

A quick favor takes fifteen minutes. Six of them a week is an hour and a half, and that is six hours a month you never planned, never got credit for, and will be asked for again next month. The fifteen minutes is the small part. The climb back into whatever you were doing before is the part nobody counts.

"Sure, no problem" is the usual reply, and it backfires for a simple reason. It tells the person asking that there was no problem. Research for the book The No Club found women are asked to do non-promotable work about 50% more often than men, and say yes more often. At one professional-services firm that added up to about 200 extra hours a year. Nobody asked for those hours in a block. They arrived fifteen minutes at a time.

1. "Can you just take a quick look at this?"

Tempting: "Sure, send it over."

Better: "I can look Thursday afternoon. What specifically do you want my eyes on?"

Why: an open request for a look becomes an edit, then a rewrite. Asking what they want narrows it to the one thing they actually need, and the Thursday puts it in your schedule instead of on top of it.

2. "You're so good at decks. Could you clean this one up?"

Tempting: "Happy to."

Better: "I'll show you the three things that would fix it. Ten minutes, your screen, you make the changes."

Why: the compliment is the hook, and taking the bait teaches them that praise is a currency that buys your afternoon. Ten minutes of coaching costs less than an hour of formatting, and next time they can do it themselves.

3. "Could you sit in on this call, just in case?"

Tempting: "Okay."

Better: "Send me the notes and flag anything that needs me. If a decision comes up, pull me in for that part."

Why: "just in case" is an hour of your attention as insurance for someone else's nerves. You stay available for the part that needs a decision, which is the only part that needs you.

4. "Can you introduce me to her?"

Tempting: "Of course, I'll write something up."

Better: "Glad to. Send me two lines on what you want from her and I'll forward it."

Why: the introduction is yours to give, but the thinking belongs to the person who wants it. Most people who have to write the two lines either send them quickly or quietly discover they did not need the meeting.

5. Your boss asks you to keep an eye on the new hire

Tempting: "Of course."

Better: "Happy to. Is that a formal part of my role this quarter, so it shows up at review time?"

Why: a favor from your boss is either part of your job or it is not. If it is, it deserves to be visible and counted. If it is not, you have made it easy for both of you to size it, and to say "then let's keep it to the first two weeks."

The principle behind all five

A quick favor is a task with no scope, no deadline and no credit. Every line above gives it at least one of the three. Once a favor has a size, the person asking has to decide whether it is worth that size, and the decision stops being yours to absorb.

Save this. The next quick favor is already walking toward your desk.