the art of looking busy

Do you ever wonder how people at work are so much busier than you? You start to question your commitment to your job and worry that you aren’t putting in as much work as everyone else. My first real job out of college was as a low-paying bottom of the ladder Production Assistant at a local television news station, but I was eager and ready to do whatever I needed to do to move up. There’s a lot of hustle and bustle in a newsroom—everyone kept pretty busy, some more than others. This one particular guy I worked with always seemed to be unavailable and in some sort of hurry but I could never figure out what he did exactly. He had one of those prestigious “Executive Producer” titles but he didn’t work on a particular show or any segments. I was intrigued so I started to observe him. I kept an eye on where he went in the newsroom who he talked to and the amount of time he spent at his desk. As far as I could tell, all he did was go to every single producer, editor and director, harass them about something in their show and walk away. Did I mention he was also kind of an asshole? Well, he was (or maybe he still is. Is once an asshole always an asshole?) This guy had everyone fooled. He had mastered the art of looking busy AND looking important. This is what I picked up from him.


1.) Don’t sit at your desk for too long. If you’ve been glued to your desk and you work in an environment where people are constantly moving, chances are people will think you’re playing on the computer. Walk around and talk to some people.

In a typical office environment I would also suggest getting up once in a while. Take a trip to the printer or the fax machine to show you’ve been “working” on something.

2.) Walk around with coffee and a notepad in your hand. This will make it look like you’re going to some sort of meeting and you're not just chit chatting.

3.) Make sure you always have something up on your computer screen that is work related. This is an easy one.

4.) When someone asks you to do a favor on something that is not that important or urgent, say, "I’m kind of busy right now" and offer to help later.

5.) Every now and then let out a big sigh of relief as if you just finished something you’ve been laboring on for hours.

How do you try to look busy? And don’t give me that BS that you really are busy.