About 80% of these are pretty cowardly and the others overly verbose. Saying “sure I’ll meet you later this year” is not saying no. It is either lying or just a yes. Ignoring people with bounces is also lying and cowardly. Just say no.

The one with the priorities is too long and vague. It is also known as “yes, and” as in “yes and which thing should I not do?” Much more to the point.

People will respect you more if you literally say “no”. If you start saying things like “I can’t right now because …” that just invites people to do problem solving like “ok so what if I write the blog post, then can you do the job interview?”.

A more direct variation is “no. I can explain to you why if you want”. Then the answer is clear and it signals there is no room for negotiation. That is a real no.

Or just “no”