My Busy Philosophy (which I stole from George Costanza....)

Yeah, yeah.  I stole it from another website many, many moons ago. 
But these are important rules and I DO follow them!

George Costanza Work Rules

1. Never walk down the hall without a document in your
hands. People with documents in their hands look like hardworking
employees heading for important meetings. People with nothing in their hand look
like they're

heading for the cafeteria. People with a newspaper in their hands look like
they're heading for the toilet. Above all, make sure you carry loads of stuff
home with you at night, thus generating the false impression that you work
longer hours than you do.

2. Use computers to look busy. Any time you
use a computer, it looks like "work" to the casual observer. You can send and
receive personal email, calculate your finances and generally have a blast
without doing anything remotely related to work. These aren't exactly the
societal benefits that the proponents of the computer revolution would like to

talk about but they're not bad either. When you get caught by your boss -- and
you *will* get caught -- your best defense is to claim you're teaching yourself
to use new software, thus saving valuable training dollars.

3. Messy desk. Top management can get away
with a clean desk. For the rest of us, it looks like you're not working hard
enough. Build huge piles of documents around your workspace. To the observer,
last year's work looks the same as today's work; it's volume that counts. Pile
them high and wide. If you know somebody is coming to your cubicle, bury the
document you'll need halfway down in an existing stack and rummage for it when
he/she arrives.

4. Voice Mail. Never answer your phone if
you have voice mail. People don't call you just because they want to give you
something for nothing -- they call because they want YOU to do work for THEM.
That's no way to live. Screen all your calls through voice mail. If somebody
leaves a voice mail message for you and it sounds like impending work, respond
during lunch hour when you know they're not there -- it looks like you're
hardworking and conscientious even though you're being a devious weasel. 
If you diligently employ the method of screening incoming calls and then

returning calls when nobody is there, this will greatly increase the odds that
the caller will give up or look for a solution that doesn't involve you. The
sweetest voice mail message you can ever hear is: "Ignore my last message. I
took care of it." If your voice mailbox has a limit on the number of messages it
can hold, make sure you reach that limit frequently. One way to do that is to
never erase any incoming messages.  If that takes too long, send yourself a
few messages. Your callers will hear a recorded message that says, "Sorry, this
mailbox is full" -- a sure sign that you are a hardworking employee in high
demand.

5. Looking Impatient and Annoyed. According
to George Costanza, one should also always try to look impatient and annoyed to
give your bosses the impression that you are always busy.

6. Appear to Work Late. Always leave the
office late, especially when the boss is still around. You could read magazines
and storybooks that you always wanted to read but have no time until late before
leaving.  Make sure you walk past the boss' room on your way out. Send
important emails at unearthly hours (e.g., 9:35pm, 7:05am, etc.) and during
public holidays.

7. Creative Sighing for Effect. Sigh loudly
when there are many people around, giving the impression that you are very hard
pressed.

8. Stacking Strategy. It is not enough to
pile lots of documents on the table. Put lots of books on the floor etc. ... Can
always borrow from library. Thick computer manuals are the best.

9. Build Vocabulary. Read up on some
computer magazines and pick out all the jargon and new products. Use it freely
when in conversation with bosses. Remember: They don't have to understand what
you say, but you

sure sound impressive.