A friend emailed me the other day with the subject line, “Am I Crazy?”

She had been presented with an opportunity to take on another project that would come on the heels of another project for which she had also volunteered. She does have mad organizational skills, but I suspect that when she asked the question, she had some doubts as to whether she could do it all.

I couldn’t answer the question for her, but I could provide her with a few more questions that if she answered those, she would be able to decide if she should take on the additional project.

The first question I asked her was “Do you want to do it? Why?” Okay, it’s technically two, but sometimes we say yes to things because we are simply flattered to have been asked, and yet we may be too busy for the extra work. Sometimes we say yes because we are caught off guard. Sometimes we say yes because it is something we want to do, but it may not be the right time to do it.

However, if you say yes to the question and have a good reason — or two — then you are one step closer to a final answer of yes.

The next question is “Do you have capacity to do it without impacting your current workload?” This one is critical because if you don’t have the time, then you have your answer, “No.” It doesn’t matter how much you want to do it, how flattered you are or how it fits into your dreams. If you don’t have the capacity, you have to say “no” because otherwise, you won’t perform optimally.

If you have a good reason for doing it and you have capacity to do so, you need to ask yourself “Will my boss support me?” If your boss does not want you to do it — she may know of another assignment she needs to give to you or she’s concerned about you being stretched too thin — then unless you can convince your boss otherwise, you should say no.

The last question, I suggested my friend ask herself was “Will you make others crazy?” I suspect many of us — myself included — have taken on an extra assignment only to talk about it constantly, whine about it or ask others for help. In other words, we bother our colleagues and family. And because they didn’t volunteer for the extra assignment, it’s not fair to them.

I suggested to her that if she could successfully answer these questions, she would have her answer.

How do you know when to say yes and when to say no?

If you hear the phrase “big data,” do your eyes glaze over? Does your heart race?

They shouldn’t, at least not according to Scott Hicks, senior director of Data Strategy for Snag a Job, which connects workers with hourly jobs and employers with hourly workers. He recently spoke about demystifying big data.

“It’s less about the size of data and more about our ability to quickly analyze it,” he said. Thanks to mobile and social platforms, it’s easier and faster than ever to be able to do so. The other impact on big data is storage costs. Back in 1980 a gigabyte of data cost $193,000 to store. Today Hicks said, it’s 2-cents!

The result is that data is constantly being collected, analyzed and shared.  In fact, 90 percent of the data in the world has been created in the last two years, Hicks said.

He shared a quote from American biologist, researcher and theorist E. O. Wilson, who said. “We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.”

As for privacy, Hicks said not to worry. The data collectors “don’t care about you as a person individually, it’s the collective.”

If you don’t want your data collected, you could opt out by not having a cell phone or not going online, but you would miss the advantages. “You could live in the woods off the grid, but you would miss the kitten videos,” Hicks said with a laugh.

So much big data exists today for a few reasons. One is that researchers no longer have to do statistical sampling to deal with large sets of data. Accuracy is better, and segmentation capability has increased. Today’s systems also provide the “perfect means of testing new products, messaging and positioning,” Hicks noted. This leads to mass customization and recommendation engines.

Today big data is trying to be wrong less often, Hicks said.

The result is that users of big data have access to sentiment analysis and are able to test product positioning and messaging. Other uses include isolating and targeting key influencers and measuring the impact of paid placement versus earned media.

Despite privacy concerns, Hicks said that most companies are not going to misuse the data they collect. “When you misuse data,” he said, “customers become less likely to share it.”

Do you find yourself saying, “I need more time”? Do you ever wish you had an extra day?

Well, your wish comes true tomorrow because it’s Leap Day.

That’s right — an extra day. Or 24 hours, if you prefer. Even better, 1,440 additional minutes.

Most of us will have to work for eight of those hours, but that still leaves 16 hours.

Some of us are sleep deprived, so it’s the perfect day to catch up on slumber and get a full night’s rest.

With those extra hours, you could declutter the room you’ve been telling yourself you were going to clean out once you found some time.

You could work on your novel. (That’s what I’ll be doing!)

Perhaps you need to recalibrate. By this point in the year, most people have abandoned their New Year’s Resolutions. But nobody said you can’t make a Leap Year resolution or develop a plan and action steps to make the plan a reality.

You could volunteer.

Feb. 29 is a great day to take the extra time to spend with family and friends. Why not go out to dinner? Or stay in and play board games? You have the time.

Instead of thinking of Feb. 29 as just another day, why not embrace it and put those 1,440 minutes to good use?

How will you use your extra time?  Let’s come up with at least 29 ways to use the time. Post your idea in the comments section.

I’ve been writing this blog for more than five years. Many of you have told me in person how much you appreciate the blog. I love hearing that. Many of you also tell me you never comment.

You have various reasons. You are a friend and don’t want to look as if you are just posting because of our friendship (readers are scattered all over, and most won’t know). You don’t think it matters. Some say you agree with the points and have nothing to add.

In the past, when people told me they enjoy the blog, but don’t comment, I told them that was fine. I am pleased they are reading it.

I’m changing my tune, though. I’d really like for you to comment. Here’s why –

I’m not an expert. I share my learnings and my personal experiences in hopes that some of it may provide guidance for you. Many of you also have much to contribute. I’d like to see some of you add to the conversation. If a topic resonates with you, would you add a comment sharing your experience — good or bad? If you know of another resource on the topic, would you post a comment, including a link to the resource?

When I read online articles or blogs, I almost always read the comments. I find much of value, including more advice and resources.

With more readers posting comments, we can all learn from each other and have a stronger conversation.

I look forward to your comments.