Leaving at three is not the hard part. The hard part is the twelve seconds of announcement, because everybody within earshot is quietly deciding whether you're skiving or whether you're the sort of person who started at seven. The difference is almost entirely in how you say it. The trick is to make the sentence a status update rather than a request for permission. 'I'm heading off at three, the deck's in the shared folder and I've replied on the thread' sounds like a person closing out a day. 'Is it alright if I go a bit early?' invites an answer, and half the time the answer is a question about your afternoon. Attach one concrete finished thing to the exit and the exit stops being interesting. One warning: do not oversell it. Nobody who genuinely has a dentist appointment describes the dentist appointment for forty seconds. Below are ten excuses to leave work early that read as competent rather than furtive, plus twenty more in the generator.
The Meeting Cost Calculator adds up salaries in real time. Bring a number, not an excuse.
Open the Meeting Cost Calculator →