Nifty Fifty Fridays

50 Funny and Lame Excuses for not Finishing a Work Project on Time

We’ve all been there.  A deadline comes and passes and you didn’t realize you missed it until the following day.  Well, here are 50 tongue-in-cheek excuses (justifications?) for missing a deadline.  Just remember, these are here to make you laugh – do not use them IRL!  And if you’d like to be surrounded by other nonprofit folks who can laugh at themselves, come to the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference!

1. "My computer got stuck on an endless Zoom call."

2. "The coffee machine told me it wasn't a good day to start."

3. "I was alphabetizing the office supplies."

4. "I thought Casual Friday meant casual work ethic, too."

5. "My inbox declared bankruptcy."

6. "The Wi-Fi and I had a falling out."

7. "My mouse ran away from the cursor."

8. "The copier was giving me the silent treatment."

9. "The paper shredder dared me to feed it my assignment."

10. "I was caught in a vicious cycle of hitting the snooze button."

11. "I was too busy trying to understand blockchain."

12. "The office plant needed emotional support."

13. "My keyboard staged a key strike."

14. "The elevators were playing hide-and-seek."

15. "I had to moderate a post-it note discussion board."

16. "I was looking for my lost stapler for most of the day."

17. "The water cooler and I were brainstorming."

18. "My chair wouldn't let me get up."

19. "I was attending a webinar on ‘How to Be More Productive.’"

20. "I was negotiating with the vending machine."

21. "I got trapped in a spreadsheet maze."

22. "I was stuck in a meeting with my imaginary board of directors."

23. "I was researching the psychology of email signatures."

24. "I was busy trying to convert everything to PDF."

25. "I accidentally outsourced my job to my pet parrot."

26. "I got entangled in a Slack channel argument."

27. "I was waiting for inspiration to strike. It missed."

28. "I was busy looking up synonyms for 'teamwork.'"

29. "I was busy updating my LinkedIn profile."

30. "My swivel chair wouldn't stop spinning."

31. "The erasers needed cleaning."

32. "My computer insisted on a staring contest."

33. "I was held hostage by a rogue PowerPoint."

34. "I was waiting for my 4:30 PM energy drink to kick in."

35. "I got lost trying to navigate Google Drive."

36. "I had to train the new guy—Siri."

37. "My notes were all written in invisible ink."

38. "I was busy trying to tame the office scanner."

39. "I got stuck in a YouTube tutorial loop."

40. "I was waiting for an epiphany."

41. "I was trying to decode office jargon."

42. "I was making a vision board for the project."

43. "I was researching time management (ironically)."

44. "I was busy compiling a playlist for optimal productivity."

45. "I was solving the office Rubik’s Cube."

46. "The highlighters demanded a more prominent role."

47. "I was working on my origami skills for stress management."

48. "The lunchroom microwave and I were in negotiations."

49. "I was looking for Waldo in the office wallpaper."

50. "I was engrossed in a deep conversation with Siri about the meaning of deadlines."