George Costanza's Tips for Working Hard IV

Voice Mail. Never answer your phone if you have voicemail. People don’t call you just because they want to giveyou something for nothing – they call because they want YOUto do work for THEM. That’s no way to live. Screen all yourcalls through voice mail. If somebody leaves a voice mailmessage for you and it sounds like impending work, respondduring lunch hour when you know they’re not there – it lookslike you’re hardworking and conscientious even though you’rebeing a devious weasel. If you diligently employ the methodof screening incoming calls and then returning calls whennobody is there, this will greatly increase the odds that thecaller will give up or look for a solution that doesn’tinvolve you. The sweetest voice mail message you can everhear is: „Ignore my last message. I took care of it“. If yourvoice mailbox has a limit on the number of messages it canhold, make sure you reach that limit frequently. One way todo that is to never erase any incoming messages. If thattakes too long, send yourself a few messages. Your callerswill hear a recorded message that says, „Sorry, this mailboxis full“ – a sure sign that you are a hardworking employee inhigh demand.