Excuses for Ending Phone Calls During Quarantine

Ending phone calls during quarantine lockdown is not easy. How do you get off the phone when you have nowhere to go?

The phrase old standby phrase “I have to go” now begs the question, “go where?” Most of the world is still social-distancing, which means working from home and avoiding in-person social interactions. This has translated into a major uptick in good old fashioned phone calls, not to mention video calls over services like FaceTime or Zoom.  

But if you’re working from home, you may find the balance between work and life has become blurred. A 4:30 pm meeting slides into 5:30 pm, and you find yourself working late simply because you don’t have anywhere else to go. 

Or perhaps your social life is spilling over into your downtime, and you find yourself dragged over to Zoom drinks with friends when you’d rather be in your pajamas watching Netflix.

We’ve already taken you through some COVID-19 quarantine suggestions, like the Top Free Online Fitness Apps and Four New Ways to use the Hushed App. 

But there’s more ground to cover in keeping on top of the “new normal” in quarantine. Here are our best tips for ending phone calls and video chats during quarantine, to help you with your socially distant ditching.

Top Five Excuses to End a Phone Call When You Can’t Leave Your House

“I have to go make lunch/dinner.” 

This is a great option for ending phone calls fast because everybody hates the sound of other people chewing. We guarantee the alternative (staying on the phone while you scarf down some spaghetti or a sandwich) is not what the caller wants to hear, so they’ll have no trouble ending the call. 

“Oh, I’ve got another call I need to get to!” 

Unless they have access to your calendar, they’ll never know whether you really have another call or if you made this up to get off this one. It probably won’t work on your mom, but for everybody else, this one is hard to argue with. 

“Nature’s calling.”

Use with caution, this one really depends on who you’re speaking to. Maybe don’t try it on your boss, but friends and family may find it funny—who hasn’t had to cut a phone call short because they had to run to the washroom? It’s a universal experience. 

“I’ve hit my screen time limit for today.”

If you’re experiencing Zoom fatigue, this is a good one to try out for ending phone calls. It implies you’ve got a strict limit to how much time you’re willing to spend online, which sounds very responsible! Who knows if it’s true or if you’ve just hit your limit for this particular call? Either way, you’re free.

“I should let you go…”

This one implies that you’ve been the one holding the other caller on the line. Whether or not this is true, it’s hard to argue with it! In our experience, this is particularly great for friends/colleagues who like to ramble on and on—it’s a subtle reminder of just how long they’ve been on this call. 

If none of these suggestions help you escape the endless litany of incoming phone calls, might we suggest forwarding your calls to voicemail? This feature is included on all Hushed numbers, and in our experience, it’s pretty foolproof!