I'm in the midst of taking on a new role at work, and it's resulting in a lot of people vying for my time. This has forced me to up my game in prioritization and in saying "no."
One useful technique I've been trying on is to consciously avoid "maybe" or "let me think about it" responses. My queue never clears without more "no's."
The challenge is in getting alignment around the priorities, and being able to articulate how the decision was made.
Data is your friend in this process, if you can get it. Short of that, documenting your assumptions can help. That way if the issue resurfaces, you can share your assumptions and ask "Which of these assumptions are no longer true, which would warrant re-opening the issue?". The new habit I've had to begin to develop in this area is documenting my assumptions, instead of just talking about them.
What techniques have you found that help you with prioritizing and saying no?