A few years back I was talking to my old friend Rowland about work and my co-workers, one of them in particular. Rowland asked if the guy had two sports coats.

“Not that I know of,” I replied. “Besides, it’s not that kind of workplace. We seldom wear suits there.”

“That’s one of the tricks,” Rowland said.

“Tricks?”

“To look busy. He keep one sport coat on the back of your chair, or on a coat rack. Makes you look like you are always in your office. Also, if you should leave a cup of half-drunk coffee on your desk at all times, it looks like you’ve been working hard.”

I laughed at the time, but it got me wondering about these sneaky little techniques. So, I did an online search on ways to look busy without really working and I’ll be damned if my co-worker hadn’t been doing most of them.

Rule one: always look as if you are in a hurry.

Rule: two: sigh a lot; feign exhaustion.

Rule three: carry a notepad with you.

Rule four: constantly remind people of how busy you are.

Rule five: keep your office light on at all times.

There was a lot of advice online, stuff that the guy had probably written himself.