Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Move around the office with papers if you want to appear active. Keep a messy desk if you want to look busy and overwhelmed. Act stressed out if you want to avoid being given more work. Look a little messy to give the impression that you’re in the middle of something. Eat lunch at your desk if you want people to think you’re working hard.

Answer: You’re going to look lazy if you’re sitting down and casually hanging out at your desk all day. But if people see you busily hustle back and forth, you’ll look like you’re struggling hard to meet deadlines. About once every hour or so, take a brisk walk around the office with a pile of papers in your hands. Visit other departments to ask questions instead of emailing them.  If anyone tries to stop you to talk, apologize and say that you’re “in the middle of something.” It’s hard for a boss or supervisor to justify stopping an employee that’s hustling back and forth, even if they don’t know what they’re working on. A messy desk creates the impression that you’re jumping back and forth between a lot of different tasks. Leave a pile of papers stacked on an edge of your desk, and don’t pour out your cup of coffee after it cools. Keep a calculator, pile of pens, or notecards spread out on your desk. Make sure that your work computer never goes to sleep by clicking randomly on the screen once every 10-15 minutes. If you sigh, grimace, and rub your forehead a lot, you’ll appear stressed and overwhelmed by your work. If supervisors think that you’ve already got a full plate in front of you, they’ll avoid assigning you additional work. This will mean that you’ll be able to control how much work you’re assigned and avoid taking on any new responsibilities. If you act like you’re stressed but everyone knows you have nothing to do, your coworkers may start asking questions. Keep the acting light during slow periods at work. Ruffle your hair a little bit, roll up your sleeves, and loosen your tie a little bit. If you look perfectly neat and cleaned up, it may look like you haven’t done anything. If you look a little disheveled though, it will create the impression that you’re actively involved in doing things at work. If you eat lunch at your desk or work station, you’ll create the impression that you don’t even have time for a lunch break. This will have the added benefit of preserving your solitude, so people won’t actually be able to see you wasting your time at work while you eat.


Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Melt 2 tablespoons butter or margarine. Add two tablespoons of flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, and black pepper to taste. Add 1 cup of milk. Let the sauce thicken.

Answer: There are a couple different ways you can do this. You can put the butter in a microwave-safe container and melt it in the microwave ten seconds at a time, stirring it every ten seconds. The butter will melt very quickly this way, so don’t let it burn. You can also melt the butter on the stove.  Use a double broiler to melt the butter slowly. You need a bowl that fits over a small pot. Place the butter in the bowl. Bring water to boil in the small pot. Place the butter bowl over the boiling pot of water, and let the steam from the water slowly melt the butter. Stir the butter to make it melt more quickly. You can also melt the butter directly in the pan in which you’ll make the medium white sauce. However you melt the butter, put the melted butter in the pan in which you’ll make the medium white sauce. Stir the mixture over medium heat until it’s smooth. Make sure not to have the heat up so high that the flour burns — you want the mixture to come together slowly. Pour it into the pan slowly, making sure not to splash it up over the sides of the pan. With your other hand, stir the mixture continuously to ensure that it’s coming together in an even consistency. You might want to lower the stove’s heat level a little bit so the sauce doesn’t burn. The longer you let it cook, the thicker the sauce will be, so keep an eye on it. Stir the sauce continuously and let it cook until it reaches the consistency you like. The end product should have a smooth consistency.


Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Learn to say no. Practice time management. Take some time each day to write. Try meditation. Try a repetitive hobby. Exercise often. Confront your friends. Surround yourself with better people.

Answer:
Sometimes, stress and too much emotion can simply come from stretching yourself too thin. Learn to say no to some of your commitments so you can fully commit to the other ones.  The best way to say "no" is to just keep it simple. That is, don't offer explanations, just say "No, I'm sorry, I can't do that." You don't have to justify why you don't have the time to commit to something.  You don't have to say no all the way. For instance, if someone asks you to bake cupcakes for a bake sale, you could say that you don't have the time to bake them, but you would be willing to buy some if that was acceptable. Don't let a list of tasks overwhelm you. Make a plan to get things done. Start with what's most important, and schedule time to get it done. Once you've started completing items on your list, you'll feel stress start to melt off. Writing in a journal about what you're feeling can be very cathartic. Over time, it can also help you learn what makes you upset, which can take some of the sting out of the situation. If you don't know where to begin, ask yourself what moments you enjoyed and what moments you didn't enjoy in your day. Look at what emotions contributed to each situation. Meditation can be as simple as learning to listen to your breathing. It's taking a step back from the world, taking your focus from your stress and relaxing your body. For instance, one type of meditation involves repeating a mantra over and over. A mantra is a short word or phrase that helps focus the mind, such as "om." However, your mantra can be whatever you want. Concentrate on letting your thoughts go, concentrating on repeating that phrase over and over. Hobbies such as knitting or even solving jigsaw puzzles help you step away from your emotions. They are like meditation in that way, helping you clear your mind. Exercise is a great way to manage stress. For one, you get lost in the motion, and it becomes a form of meditation, helping you forget what's wrong. In addition, it ups your endorphins, which make you feel better about life. Aim for 150 minutes of aerobic activity a week, if you're exercising moderately. Sometimes, it's not you. Sometimes, it's the people you hang out with. The next time you find yourself in a situation where someone makes you feel hurt, tell that person. You can't make the situation better if you don't say something. It may be hard to get the words out, but the words don't need to be anything special. All you have to say is, "What you [did or said] hurt me, and I would appreciate it if you don't do it again." If you're constantly feeling put-down by the people around you, you may need to get new friends. Of course, give the people around you a chance to change. However, if they repeatedly hurt you, maybe it's time to find some new friends.