A Clear Limit Can Make a Contribution Last

A thought experiment: A project needs one person to gather feedback. Someone says yes, but the task has no end point. Weeks later, “helping out” has quietly become an ongoing responsibility.

I’d make the offer smaller and clearer: “I can gather feedback for this round, share a summary by Friday, and then we can decide who owns the next step.” That gives the group something useful without turning one yes into unlimited availability.

A boundary is not a withdrawal from a shared purpose. It can make the contribution dependable: define what you’ll do, name its owner, and set a review point. If the project still needs help after that, it can ask again—with the choice to accept or decline still open.