Your university or an outside organization has send an email asking you to serve on a committee. What should you do?
First, find out what is involved – how much time will this take? You can ask the person who asked you or other people who have done it before.
Second, and soon, respond to the person who asked. If you cannot do it, they need to know. If you need more information, they can give it to you. They chose you for a reason, but they need to staff their committee and a non-response means they can’t proceed without bugging you again.
Third, think about what you are doing otherwise. Are you already doing five of these? Do you enjoy this kind of work? Is this too important to turn down? If you are too busy, just say no politely. People will understand but respond quickly so someone else gets the opportunity.
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onequestionaweek 