Saying no and fiercely protecting your time forces you to prioritise the tasks that are truly important and prevents you from burning out. In other words, saying no is an integral part of my self-care routine! One caveat, of course, is that there may be emails that are truly important for you to respond to. For instance, I have a personal rule that while I say no to most requests to "pick my brain", I say yes to most requests that come from students from underrepresented backgrounds who want to learn more about my industry or profession. I also say yes to requests that give me that "butterfly-in-the-stomach" excitement that means I’m truly looking forward to meeting or working with the person. It’s important when getting comfortable with saying no that you understand your own personal guardrails and guidelines for when you’ll say yes.