Most of us find a great deal of time at work to stare into outer space. Whether we are bored or just a bit burnt out from mental tasks, these long stares can put you in an awkward situation should your boss walk by. However, this article will detail a few quick ways to look busy, even if you are on a “mental break.”
- Jog between your desk and the water cooler or vending machine. This makes it look like you are in a hurry to get something done and it gives you a bit of exercise.
- Look up websites about subjects you were always too lazy to learn about. Wikipedia.org is a good place to start. This makes it look like you are doing some heavy research when you are just feeding your interest and knowledge.
- Learn Origami. Buy a book or find a good website on the art of origami and learn to make the most elaborate paper shapes that you can. This will look like you are putting together a report or project and it enhances to your skill set, if not making you more popular for your creativity.
- Get a consulting job online. Offer out your expertise FOR A PRICE! This will look like you are working when you are actually supplementing your income while AT WORK! (I found a great place to do this was by writing for the sharedlog project)
- Start forming the world’s largest rubber band ball. Scavenge the office for left over rubber bands and keep adding to your collection. People will assume you need the rubber bands for something valid and will generally leave you alone.
- Join a forum on some extreme topic that you completely disagree with online. Fighting online kills a lot of time, has no ramifications, and can make you feel important. It also looks pretty busy!
- Play a web-browser game. These simple games can be quite addictive and they do not look like real video games so no one will expect a thing.
- Send coupons for other retailers and products to all of your clients or coworkers. They will appreciate the effort and you will look thrifty! The more absurd or matched up the product is, the better. For example, give a fat lady a coupon for Weight Watchers, a bald guy a coupon for hair restoration, etc. It promises to be very entertaining to watch people’s reactions.
- Pretend you are in high school again and create lists ranking your coworkers. For example, some great topics may be: Best Butt, Worst Cankles, Smelliest, etc. Forward these lists anonymously to your entire office. Be careful, if your name is on it you could be looking at a sexual harassment suit.
- See how many grapes, raisings, pencil erasers, or other small objects you can shove in your mouth. Take bets. See if you can break a world record. Be careful not to choke!