Working with your manager
Say what you're not doing this week
A micro habit for making your trade-offs visible, so your manager can correct them early
Once a week, tell your manager what you've paused or dropped, so your priorities are visible instead of assumed.
- 5 minutes a week
- You and your manager
- Weekly
- Make time
Why this can work
A priority only means something when you can see what it pushed aside. Most updates say what's moving, so the trade-offs stay invisible until something on hold turns out to matter. Naming what you're not doing gives your manager the chance to agree, or to redirect you, while it's still easy.
Read moreHow to tell your manager what's on hold
You’ll come away with a short weekly note that shows your manager what's on hold and why.
- List what you're not getting to.
What you've paused, pushed back, or decided not to do this week. Two or three items is plenty.
Tip: If nothing is on hold, look again. Most full weeks have something waiting.
- Add a word on why.
What took priority instead. One clause each is enough.
- Send it to your manager.
Early in the week works best, while there's still time to change course. If you already send a weekly update, add it there.
To: your managerQuick note on this week. I'm focused on your top priorities.
That means a few things are on hold: first item, because why, and second item, because why.
Tell me if any of those can't wait, and I'll rethink the order.
Swap the highlighted parts for your thing. Works on Slack, in email, or said out loud. - Listen for the correction.
If they say one of those can't wait, that's the note doing its job. Ask what should move to make room.
MonTueWedThuFri9 am11 am1 pm3 pm5 min, yours5 pm0.3 hrs a month, for you4 hrs a year you didn’t have beforeSame slot so it stops being a decision
Good times to repeat it: at the start of each weekwhen something new lands on your platebefore a busy stretch
Making it work for you
Every workplace is different. Here’s what to think about before you start, and what might get in the way.
Things to think about
Your manager may have told someone that one of those paused things was coming. Hearing now lets them handle it on their side.
What might make this harder
Ask which one they'd protect if only one could happen this week. A single choice is easier to make than a ranking of everything.
Questions people ask
How do I tell my manager I don't have time for something?
Say what you're focused on, what that means is on hold, and ask if any of it can't wait. Framed as trade-offs, it reads as judgment, not reluctance.
What should I include in a weekly update to my manager?
What you're focused on, what's done, and what's on hold and why. The last part is the one most updates leave out, and often the most useful.
Should I tell my manager when I put something on hold?
Yes, and early, with a word on what took priority instead and a question about whether it can wait. A short note on what you're not doing, and why, gives them something concrete to agree with or change.
Why this works, and where it comes from
Updates to a manager are usually lists of what's moving. That makes sense; it's what people ask for. The trouble is what's missing. From your manager's seat, everything you haven't mentioned looks like it's still happening. So the report you shelved, the follow-up you let slide and the project you decided could wait all sit in their head as in progress, until someone asks about one of them.
Naming what you're not doing makes your priorities real. Anyone can say what matters most; the evidence is what it pushed aside. When your manager sees the trade-offs, they can agree, which means you're aligned, or say that one can't wait, which means you just avoided a surprise. Either answer is useful. Neither is possible if they never see the list.
It's also a quiet way of asking for help. If you haven't said what's slipping, your manager never had the chance to help you with it. Plenty of people carry an overloaded week silently, assuming their manager knows, or doesn't care. Often the manager simply doesn't know. A short weekly note is about the least dramatic way to tell them.
Keep it plain: here's my focus, here's what's on hold, tell me if that's wrong. It isn't a complaint, a request for sympathy or a defense of your choices. It's information your manager needs and rarely gets, and after a few weeks it tends to change the shape of your 1:1s, from what's done to what matters. It's less useful when you and your manager already go through your priorities together every week; then a line in that conversation does the same job.
Other simple things to consider
What to do next
More in Working with your manager
A few minutes that compound
Do it with Truest and it goes on your permanent record, in a Career Vault your employer doesn’t own.
See how Truest worksAlready a member? Log in- Every week it happens countsEach week you do it shows on your record, next to what you said matters.
- A reminder beforePut it on your calendar and Truest reminds you before it starts.
- On your recordWhen it's done, it goes on your record with your priorities and progress.
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An exercise written by Truest, based on our experience. Last updated September 25, 2026. We sell a career membership; where that’s relevant above, we say so.