“Master the art of productivity… without lifting a claw.”

Topic: Looking busy at work

Some days are less streamlined productivity, they’re “fake it till you make it” survival mode. I can’t tell you how many times I stare at my computer screen, sipping my coffee, and praying nobody asks what I’m working on. Meanwhile, my cursor blinks at me with judgement no inanimate object should have. It knows I haven’t done anything yet.

Around me, I can hear and see my coworkers locked in hardcore work mode, scrolling through emails, spreadsheets, and scribbled notes that scream importance. Me? I’m perfecting the art of looking busy without actually moving a muscle.

It’s a delicate dance: the right amount of brow-furrowing, heavy sighs, and frantic typing with a dash of grumbling. The goal? Radiate deep concentration vibes while my brain— quietly plans its next mental escape…

Today, I’m sharing my tried-and-true strategies for appearing like a boss of productivity, when you’ve already mentally checked out.

Purr-suasive Tricks for Looking Busy

Alrighty! Time to tear into the meat of it all! My sneaky ways to appear swamped while your brain is on vacation

I have a few trick to help hustle the work day! And don’t worry, you won’t be hurting anyone with these tricks!

The Spreadsheet Stretch: Open up whatever you use for spreadsheets, make sure you have a few tabs on that file that are mostly blank but are labeled with important things — Budget Year, Expense Tracking, Staff Progress, ETC.

You want to start typing in letters and numbers that don’t really matter, add a chart and highlight the random cells within your data. Don’t forget to throw in a dramatic sigh and an aggressive pounding of the keyboard for extra flair!

Bonus Points if someone walks by and hears you muttering, “Someone’s winning the title of ‘Idiot of the day’!”

“The goal is intimidation with a hint of amusement”

The Inbox Pounce: Cat’s love to lurk before they pounce. I like treating my inbox in the same manner. Nothing looks more diligent than an inbox shuffle, even if all you’re doing is circling the prey without catching it.

Keep your inbox open and scroll occasionally, even better if you have subfolders set up under the main inbox. Leave a few unread emails for authenticity. Reviewing CC’d threads works wonderfully, you’ve now become “Up to date” while killing time.

When replying, make sure to slow down your flying fingers. Even a quick “Thanks! I’ll look into it” can look like a carefully crafted manifesto. Give a nod or pause and you’re golden.

Laser Pointer Stare: You know that look a cat get when they lock in on that tiny red dot? Yeah, that’s 100% me and my monitor.

I dim my overhead lights, sit in my warm lamp glow and gaze at my monitor with the intensity of a intensity only a feline can produce.

Give yourself bonus points if you add a furrowed brow, sigh and slowly slump back against your chair. Boom! illusion of a completed, focus-heavy task has been set… when really you’re thinking about lunch plans.

Multi-Tab Tail Flick: Cat swish their tails to show they’re engaged. My version? Keeping multiple amounts of tabs open. Spreadsheets, training videos, maybe throw in “how to” articles. Individually harmless, but together they whisper busy multitasker.

The pièce de résistance? Tab-switching the moment you hear feet passing your station. It’s the office equivalent of a smoke bomb.

The Cat Psychology of Looking Busy

Have you ever thought why cats nap 16 hours a day yet, still seem to be mysterious masterminds? Turns out, it’s just a illusion. That same logic works at the office. I’ve noticed people believe what they see. Movement, posture, and a perfectly timed sigh can pass as productivity.

Think about it this way. That sigh you just let out? Our coworkers think you’re deep in a project, but th reality… it’s the human version of a cat batting at dust, pretending to hunt.

Here’s why the illusion works:

• Movement = Productivity: Humans are visual creatures. If your moving people assume it’s important.
• Eye Contact & Gestures: A nod here, furrowd borw there, suddenly you’re “engaged”, even if your brain has been zonked out, tubing down a lazy river, s
• Visibility = Protection: Busy-looking people don’t get saddled with extra work. No one volunteers the “already swamped” human.

Pretending to be busy when you’re not just to avoid extra work feels wrong to people. You may have the “If you have free time, why not help someone else?” mentality. This was me in my previous jobs… But I’ve found helping constantly is a fast tract to burnout, distain for your work, and overall poor health.

For my Pros? Try Mimicry. Yep, you read right. Lightly copying your coworkers’ rhythms, their sighs, typing spurts and even paper shuffling are subtle yet ridiculously effective.

“It’s all smoke and mirrors —but a very effective illusion of productivity.”

When the Cat’s Out of the Bag

Every cat slips up, they knock over cups and rolls off the cat perch. The same goes for fake productivity has its slip-up too… unfortunately. Maybe you’re caught doom scrolling, mid Netflix- binge or just plain staring blanky at a wall, willing the wall paper to peel off.

The trick? Never look completely shocked if caught. Sime, adjust, and return to “deep thought mode”

Remember “Subtlety = survival”

Time to Actually Hunt

Even the laziest of felines eventually get hungry. Illusions can only carry a person so far, eventually, real work must be done.

That’s when I switch into hunting mode: short, focused, sprints of genuine work. Think about how quick a cheetah is yet, only for a short while.

20 – 30 minutes of emails, reports, follow-ups, the small but impactful stuff. To coworkers, it looks like I’ve been in focus mode all day.

Once the work prey has been caught? Back loafing. Strategic loafing, of course.

Level up your Smoke & Mirror tactics for the masters of busy-cat illusions:

• Note-taking in conversation – Doodles count
• Walk with Purpose – destination optional
• Multi-task Appearance- juggling tasks like a pro

Use these wisely. Then, soak up your strategic loaf-mode, The perfect balance of looking busy and staying sane.

Survive and Thrive

Looking busy is an art form. With the right blend of confidence, timing, and dramatic flair, you can glide through the workday unscathed. You’re coworkers think you’re swamped, but really?

You’re just a ninja of subtle productivity illusions, you’re the Itachi Uchiha of the company clan!

I’d love to know, how do you fake productivity when you’re in survival mode?

Drop your best “busy cat” tactic in the comments and visit my social medias!