Want to Do Better Work? Just Start Saying This One Word More. It's not easy, but it's the key to each new accomplishment.

BIZ Experiencess often feel overwhelmed. We have too many deadlines, too much responsibility, and not enough time for it all.

So here's a way to help you feel better, and to gain the clarity you need. To start, let's play a game. I'll ask you to do two things.

First: Quick — congratulate yourself on a recent accomplishment!

Do you even have one in mind? I don't, to be honest. "Accomplishments" are big things to me, and they don't happen daily. So now that prompt has got me thinking about all the stuff I want to accomplish but haven't yet.

Next: Quick — congratulate yourself on saying yes to something!

Is this easier? It is for me. I've said yes to plenty of things lately — lunch with a friend, an intriguing meeting, a potential business opportunity.

Related: 5 Reasons Why You Should Always Say Yes, Even When the Answer is No

The "yes" is easier because it's not tied to outcome. It's only tied to effort. And we don't give ourselves enough credit for effort. Instead, we hold ourselves to impossible standards — as if everything we're doing is supposed to be perfect, or well-balanced, or stress-free. We judge ourselves by whether we hit the bullseye, not by whether we threw the dart.

But you know what? Saying yes is hard. Most people don't do it. So what if we give ourselves a break, and start congratulating ourselves for just getting into this mess? Instead of not trying, we tried. We are trying. Isn't that worth celebrating?

If your work or life is making you feel a little crazy, then try this:

List out five things you said yes to recently. Here's the sole qualification for a "yes" worth listing: You had to consider your answer, however briefly.

Maybe you thought: I don't have the time. I don't have the energy. I'm not sure I like that. That sounds risky. That sounds uncomfortable. That's weird. But then you said yes anyway.

Now please keep saying yes.

This did not come naturally to me. I grew up as a "no" kid — the kind of person who defined himself by what he wouldn't do, or who he wouldn't hang out with. Those kids? Screw them. That music? Hate it. That party? Never.

But in college, I read an essay by the writer Dave Eggers that changed my perspective. At the time, around the year 2000, Eggers was going from indie darling to Very Famous Writer Guy. Some people accused him of "selling out" — a concept that barely makes sense today, but back then was a grave insult. It meant abandoning your credibility for money.

Related: Saying 'Yes' Fosters Growth and Opens Doors to Opportunity

"I really like saying yes," he wrote in reply to the accusations. "I like new things, projects, plans, getting people together and doing something, trying something, even when it's corny or stupid. I am not good at saying no. And I do not get along with people who say no. When you die, and it really could be this afternoon…you will not be happy about having said no. You will be kicking your ass about all the noes you've said."

Later, he added: "What matters is that you do good work. What matters is that you produce things that are true and will stand."

That is what you are working to do right now.

Yes, sure, it's not easy. It's slow going. It'll make you crazy. I feel that every day. I am overcommitted and regularly kick myself for not juggling it all perfectly. I am behind on so many things. I missed my deadline for writing this column! But you and I are on this path because, at some point, we said yes to something. And that led to another yes. And then another. And now we're saying yes more, again, often, as often as we can, even though it doesn't turn out perfectly.

"Yes" got you here. And it'll get you there. That's worth celebrating, isn't it? Even in all its messiness and imperfection?

Yes, it is.

Related: When I Give a Talk to An Empty Room, It's Frustrating, and Even Embarrassing. But Here's What It Means If Your Career Isn't 'There Yet.'