The ‘I’ll Handle It’ Reflex: Interrupting Automatic Overcommitment

Overcommitment podcast on breaking the automatic yes reflex and people pleasing boundaries. How to stop saying yes to everything using a 5-second decision making pause technique for better time management and boundaries. Learn practical people pleaser recovery tips to stop overcommitting yourself while protecting productivity and mental health.

What You'll Learn:

• Use the 5-second decision making pause technique to interrupt your automatic yes reflex before committing to anything new.
• Apply a simple 3-question filter to quickly check your capacity, priorities, and alignment before you agree to help.
• Spot your personal trigger situations (people, settings, or emotions) that activate the "I’ll handle it" reflex and lead to overcommitting yourself.
• Practice clear, polite boundary phrases so you can say no or "not now" without overexplaining or feeling guilty.
• Shift from autopilot promises to deliberate choices by tracking what you’ve already committed to each week.
• Reframe people pleasing by recognizing the hidden costs to your time, energy, relationships, and mental health when you say yes to everything.
• Experiment with one tiny behavior change—like asking for time to think—so you can build confidence setting boundaries step by step.
• Create a written reminder of your new pause-and-check process so it’s easy to remember and apply in real situations.