What to say to coworkers when you dont want to be around them

What to say to coworkers when you dont want to be around themWhat to say to coworkers when you dont want to be around themWhile you should always strive to do your best at work and build professional relationships with your coworkers, that doesnt mean you should give every minute of your workday over to other people.Heres how to make it clear that you sometimes need to be alone at work.How to get out of going to a meeting - within reasonIts entirely possible to get better at saying no.If you have way too many meetings on your calendar, but theres one that you can you think youre able to skip, you should tell the organizer that youll be working on a big project for a specified amount of time.But dont forget to offer to assist them with something else at another time.How to skip lunch with coworkersAlison Green, author of the Ask a Manager blog, answers a readers question in Inc. about how to get out of invitations to lunch dates with persistent coworkers and managers, for various rea sonsIf you say something that is essentially I dont want to spend time with you, you cant really avoid alienating people. So you need an answer thats about what you are doing with that time instead - an answer thats about doing X, rather thannotdoing Y. For instance, you could explain that youre running errands at lunch, or like to spend that time walking and decompressing, or that you usually read at lunch. And you have to say in a way that mucksmuschenstill sounds friendly. Theres a difference between No, I read at lunch and Oh, no thank you, I usually read at lunch, but thanks for asking me Green goes on to write that you should get lunch with your coworkers occasionally and what to do about meeting with the readers boss over lunch,among many other points.How to get out of an after-hours work engagementGreatist features advice from Diane Gottsman, etiquette expert and owner of The Protocol School of Texas, on what to do when youre excited about a spin class at 6 p.m., but your c olleagues ask you out for happy hourThe solution Tell them, Sounds like fun, but Im going to take a pass tonight. I have a prior commitment, Gottsman says. That should be plenty, but working in close quarters can lead to follow-up questions. If they press you, tell them, I scheduled a workout tonight, and I will really feel bad if I skip the gym again Gottsman suggests. Remember You have to set your own priorities and respect them as well.However, the piece also offers advice on why you should attend networking events, what happens if you say no to colleagues requests many times, and more.We dont recommend that you skip out on opportunities to meet up with those you work with often - whether its a work or social setting - but its wise tocarve out more time for yourself when you can.