20 Best Responses To 'I Need Time To Think'

The first reaction upon hearing that statement is to panic and to think whether you've done something wrong, especially if this is between you and your spouse. When someone, your partner says he/she needs time to think, they usually mean they need space to get some things clear about their lives or that relationship. Your best reaction is not to panic. Calm down, hear them out and grant them the time they need. But surely, you need to know the exact reason he's asking for time. You need to know what to say when your partner tells you he/she "needs time to think". 

20 Best Responses To 'I Need Time To Think'

The following are the best things to say to your partner when he/she says they need time to think;

• "Sure. Take all the time you need"

• "You know how to reach me when you're done"

• "Understood"

• "May I know why?"

• "Hope you're good?"

• "Is everything okay?"

• "Think all you want"

• "You've got all the time"

• "Fine. I understand"

• "What do you mean?"

• "Are you having doubts about us?"

• "Take your time, I'll be fine"

• "How long?"

• "I don't have any problem with that, but just know that I won't be waiting too long"

• "Wow! Interesting!"

• "Why now?"

• 'I think I need time to think too'

• "I'll be here waiting when you're ready'

• "How much time do you want?"
• "Do you need me to do anything for you while you think?"

"Sure. Take all the time you need"

"Sure. Take all the time you need" is one of the best replies to give when someone says they need time to think. You definitely need to give them the time they need. The truth is, you will need to let your partner take that time to think about whatever is bordering him, whether in the relationship or something about his personal life or family.You might want to find out what exactly he wants to think about before giving him the go ahead. He'll still take the time to think though, whether you agree with him or not. 

"You know how to reach me when you're done"

"You know how to reach me when you're done" is the very best response to 'I need time to think'. You will definitely need to get busy with your life while he's thinking. So, let him find you busy. When you say "You know how to reach me when you're done", you are letting him know that you are the least bothered about the outcome of his thoughts. Any lady or guy who has it going with his/her life will not bank all their lives on another person's thoughts. Tell him where to find you when he's decided whether to be with you or not. 

"Understood"

"Understood" is that one word statement you can give as a reply to "I need time to think". You don't need to beat about the bush by asking too many details.Just understand with your partner that he/she has the right to take time to think about his life and you're not going to stand in his way. 

"May I know why?"

"May I know why?" is one of the best responses to 'I need time to think'. Obviously, there's no harm in asking why he needs time or what he needs time to think about. Before you go ahead to leave him to himself, find out the reason. Is it about the relationship? Is it about his self identity? Is he experiencing stress in any area of his life? This way, you can know how to help him. His response after this will determine if you really need to be with him while he sort it out or you need to let him be alone to sort out the issues. 

"Hope you're good?"

Sometimes, what it takes to erase the reason is just a little gesture of care. The problem might not be you but you can help relieve him of the stress by just being concerned. Ensure that he's mentally okay before letting him be on his own. People might be going through a lot and they might take extreme decisions when they ask to be alone. So, take the time to care first. 

"Is everything okay?"

"Is everything okay?" is another way of finding out the welfare of the person in response to "I need time to think". You definitely need to know what's up with him/her before letting him think all he wants. 

"Think all you want"

'Think all you want' is even another best response to "I need time to think". Let the person know that he/she can think everything within the time he's taking for that. There's nothing as liberating as knowing that you are at liberty to do whatever you want with your time. Give him that liberty by letting him take his time. 

"You've got all the time"

"You've got all the time" is yet another best response to "I need time to think". Give him all the time and let him realize that his decisions after thinking will affect you in little bit no way. When he realizes that, he will not be bothered about you and he'll easily break up with you if that was his intention from the beginning. Sometimes, your partner might use the line, "I need time to think" just because he's afraid to break up with you. If he knows that you have no problem giving him all the time, he might come up straight. 

"Fine. I understand"

"Fine. I understand" is one of the best responses to "I need time to think". This response can put the other person off as he might not have expected you to be this cool about it. Many people are not comfortable when someone is just calm about a situation. Some people actually need all the drama. But, you are in no place for drama and you have no time for that.Just agree with his decision and let him take his time thinking, especially when you already suspect that he's already decided to break up with you. 

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean?" You should really find out what exactly he means by "he needs time to think". Let him tell you if it's something you did or if it has anything to do with you. That way, you might want to find out what you can do about the situation. During the course of finding out, you might get to discover that it's just something flimsy that you two can talk over. Find out what's been in his/her mind before saying any other thing. 

"Are you having doubts about us?"

"Are you having doubts about us?" is probably the best response to "I need time to think" that you were looking for. There is no harm in finding out about the state of your relationship. If he/she is having doubts about the direction of the relationship, then you both need to rethink the future of it. Don't be afraid to find out the outcome of this question. 

"Take your time, I'll be fine"

"Take your time, I'll be fine" is one of the most reassuring responses to 'I need time to think". You need to assure the other person that you'll be okay no matter how long he takes to think. He/she also needs to be assured that you'll still be fine regardless of the outcome of his/her thoughts. It might lead to a breakup and you need to be ready for that. Oftentimes, when they have that assurance, they'll likely tell you upfront why they need time to think or what they actually want to do. 

"How long?"

"How long?" is an interrogative response to "I need time to think". You definitely need to know how long his thinking will take so that you know how to plan your life and if possible, move on. Also, finding out how long will either give you hope for the future of the relationship or confirm your fears. Because sometimes, the response to "how long" will be "I don't know". When they reply with "I don't know", just know that there's a greater chance that you're about to lose your relationship.  

"I don't have any problem with that, but just know that I won't be waiting too long"

"I don't have any problem with that, but just know that I won't be waiting too long" is a direct reply to 'I need time to think". Saying this is you telling the person that you have your own opinions too. In most cases, it is the man that will most likely say this. Men don't really have that much patience when it comes to waiting for someone to clear doubts. You shouldn't always give someone the long rope of patience, especially in cases where you know that there's no hope in waiting. 

"Wow! Interesting!"

"Wow! Interesting!" is really an awestruck response to 'I need time to think". At this point, you are at a loss of what to say. In fact, these words will involuntarily escape from your lips. You are certainly taken aback by the decision of your partner to leave you all alone at this particular time. It might not really be the best time for him/her to want to excuse his/herself to be alone. What can you say? Just exclaim while waiting for him to explain himself. Surely, there must be some explanations to this sudden decision. 

"Why now?"

"Why now?" is one witty response to "I need time to think". Why is your partner asking for time at this moment when you already think you both are heading somewhere in the relationship?Why is it now that you have told your parents about the relationship? Why is it now that you have invested so much and you believe there's no going back for you? Find out from your partner. 

'I think I need time to think too'

"I think I need time to think too" is one funny but serious response to "I need time to think". Since everyone has now realized that there's" something like "thinking", then let's do it together. As funny as it sounds, you're actually carrying a serious face saying it. 

"I'll be waiting here waiting when you're ready'

"I'll be waiting for you when you're ready" is one understanding response to "I need time to think". It shows that you have been understanding from the outset and you have no problem understanding him now. You never can tell, this response may be all he/she needs to clear his own doubts about the relationship and talk things out with you. Also, they might decide to tell you not to wait, but instead, move on with your life. Just be ready for whatever outcome your response brings. 

"How much time do you want?"

"How much time do you want?" Most of the time, this question is often met with no satisfactory answer. Your partner may not be able to tell how much time he needs if he has something else in mind. 

"Do you need me to do anything for you while you think?"

"Do you need me to do anything for you while you think?" is the kindest response to 'I need time to think". Regardless of what your partner has in his mind, there's still room to be kind. Ask him/her if you can do anything to help or if he needs anything from you. Most times, he might not need your help, but offer it anyway. You don't know what that might do. 

Conclusively,

There's no need to panic when your partner asks for time to think. You might be doing them much good by obliging them willingly with understanding.Most often, people need time to retrospect and take stock of their lives. Don't be a hindrance to that. Moreso, they might be about to break up with you and don't know how to go about it.Whatever reason it might be, just use any of these responses whenever you're confronted with this situation in your relationship. Remember, one response does not apply to all situations.