If your job requires a computer, we’re
willing to bet you spend most of your downtime
(o ka y, m o s t o f yo u r wo r k t im e) t a l k in g t o
friends on Gchat. Same, and at this point, most
bosses probably get it (slash are doing it too).
But for the sticklers among us, may we present
these delightfully sneaky tricks?How to
all day and
not get fired
You stealth wizard, you.
By TAYLOR TRUDONGchat
DOWNLOAD
THIS PLUG-IN
All hail the appropriately
named PanicButton
Chrome extension. Let it
l i v e in yo u r t o o l b a r, a n d
hit that ish whenever
your boss comes up
behind you while you’re
chatting. It’ll instantly
hide all your open tabs—
b u t a l s o s a v e t h e m f o r
easy reaccess. After
your supervisor peaces
out, just click the button
again, watch your Gchat
tab pop back up, and
resume your convos.GO
FULL-SCREEN
Another way to protect
the privacy of the inno-
cent is to open a new
web window super fast
and use a shortcut to
m a x imi z e i t s o t h a t i t
takes up your whole
screen (ctrl + cmd + F for
Macs and F11 for PCs).
The fresh page—on
which you’ll be googling
something work-related,
of course—will block
any chat tabs. And your
boss will think you’re
doing some hard-core
research.ENTER PRO
MODE
True story: Google Docs
are the new group texts.
Invite your friends to
edit an ongoing Google
Doc and ask everyone
to type directly into
the document. That way,
it looks like you’re
working on a super-
important memo when
you’re actually just
recapping The Bache-
lor. Name it something
~professional~ like “To-
Do List” or “Monthly
Goals,” and anyone
w h o s e e s i t w il l b e a l l,
Wow, she’s so busy
working on actual work!B U Y A
PRIVACY
SHIELD
Protect against prying
eyes with a privacy
screen filter, which you
can get for less than
$40 on Amazon. When
you slip it over your
monitor, only the person
sitting directly in front
of the screen (so, you)
can see what you’re
doing. Everyone else
sees a blacked-out sur-
face. If anyone asks,
you got this to save your
e y e s f ro m s c re e n g l a re
and harsh blue light.
Which isn’t not true!ctrlFcmdF11Mac PCLetthefivehoursof
shit-t
alkingcommence!JEFFREY^ WESTBR
OOK.life
104 Cosmopolitan October 2019