1

I originally saw this years ago on some news group, but it’s been posted ad nauseum all over the Internet, so I figured time to make everyone throw up:

  1. Never walk without a document in your hands
  2. Use computers to look busy
  3. Keep a messy desk
  4. Use Voicemail
  5. Look impatient and annoyed
  6. Leave the office late
  7. Use sighing for effect
  8. Opt for the stacking strategy
  9. Build your vocabulary
  10. Don’t get caught

There’s also a scene from Seinfeld about this:

After first reading this list a decade ago, I did #1 for a while, I carried a big folder of paper around with me and it seemed to help.

20 Spice ups
2

#1 should be a backup tape :slight_smile:

1 Spice up
3

DazGRIT wrote:

#1 should be a backup tape :slight_smile:

And you should be running as if it’s urgent.

1 Spice up
4

DazGRIT wrote:

#1 should be a backup tape :slight_smile:

should we still have backup tapes?

5

do we really have to try to look busy? I would love to just get back to working half days… 12 hour shifts are a dream right now.

6

Antal Daavid wrote:

  1. Never walk without a document in your hands

Ha ha, no one with work to do deals in paper. Dead giveaway.

6 Spice ups
7
  1. Use sighing for effect

My boss totally does this.

7 Spice ups
8

Scott Alan Miller wrote:

Antal Daavid wrote:

  1. Never walk without a document in your hands

Ha ha, no one with work to do deals in paper. Dead giveaway.

I never leave my desk without my little “notebook” and that is of the paper type… It lets me scribble, doodle, make quick notes… I go through one every 8 or 10 months, then label them by date range and stash them on a shelf…

(Our librarians would also disagree :stuck_out_tongue: )

I’d happily change that notebook to a tablet or ultrabook or even netbook… alas wireless is not available on all floors here :frowning:

#11: “Spice-up” other peoples’ Spiceworks threads. I know it always makes me think that Desperado reads every single thread! Busy guy! :wink:

2 Spice ups
9

talk to yourself a lot when walking down the hallway.

people think you are crazy and will not give you more work to do.

4 Spice ups
10

#12 Carry a pen in you hands and continually click it as in annoyance or impatience.

works for me for the last couple of years at least.

11

I like to carry my toolkit if I want to look busy, and perhaps some old computer parts.

12

Antal Daavid wrote:

  1. Never walk without a document in your hands

I typically power walk around the office to get exercise, but I am constantly going from room to room looking intensely at my iPad as if I am tracking some issue on it. On good days I can get a few hours.

2 Spice ups
13

It’s an old list, so now you can add walk swiftly while talking on your cell phone about re-booting the server farm so the Matrix comes back into flux…

2 Spice ups
14

Leave your jacket on your chair and stuff on your desk then go for a walk for a bit of fresh air.

15

We have users here that have a technique that outshines them all.

They put in a ticket saying they need help with something immediately. You get back to them within a minute but they can’t be reached and don’t respond to texts, phone calls or emails, until you hear from them two days later saying they “don’t have time for this.”

Bravo.

3 Spice ups
16

Just pull up an Excel document on your monitor, preferably one with lots of numbers on it. Anyone who sees your screen will think you are doing something very important.

3 Spice ups
17

If you leave your desk, walk very quickly and keep glancing at your notebook so if you stop me to ask a question something is going to die. Sort of like a doctor in the E.R.

18

Currently put in a wireless bridge across our works, so I’ve got a Wifi Analyser on my mobile phone. Looks good walking around much like jwsimpson above. Sometimes I will turn the phone on!

19

I don’t think anybody would leave the office late just to look busy… or am I missing something here?

1 Spice up
20

Dean3568 wrote:

Just pull up an Excel document on your monitor, preferably one with lots of numbers on it. Anyone who sees your screen will think you are doing something very important.

Yeah, that one works :wink: or rename a .html doc to .txt and open it in Notepad, then look at it with a really serious, concentrated look on your face.