Desk Lite

1. Actually Busy

This is the person who genuinely has too much on. Their to-do list is ridiculous. What should take a month, they’re trying to do in 48 hours. They sacrifice lunch, sleep, and basic human needs just to stay on top of it. It’s real, and honestly… a little painful to watch.

2. Shiny Object Syndrome

You know the one, they’ve just started a new project and the energy is electric. They’re in that dreamy honeymoon phase where anything feels possible. Meanwhile, their half-finished tasks from three projects ago are piling up in the background. They’re busy, but only with what’s new and exciting.

3. Deadline Enthusiast

They love a good last-minute sprint. They’ll tell you they’re swamped, but catch them mid-week and they’re casually scrolling, chatting, maybe taking a long lunch. But come five hours before a deadline? They’re in full panic-mode productivity.

4. Confused and Overwhelmed

This person looks busy. But if you take a closer look, they’re doing a lot of unnecessary stuff. They’re tweaking documents no one asked for, attending every optional meeting, colour-coding folders. It’s all filler. They don’t know what’s actually important, so they just, you know, keep doing stuff.

5. Blatantly Lying

There. I said it. Fight me. Some people say they’re busy because it’s just the done thing. They’ve got nothing on, but “I’m busy” is the automatic response now. Or maybe they just don’t want to be bothered. Maybe it really is their code for “Go away”. Who knows.

6. The Exaggerator

They are doing work. Yes they are but it’s standard stuff. Nothing extreme. Yet somehow, everything sounds like a massive ordeal when they talk about it. They’re not drowning. But they’d like you to think they are.

7. Stuck in the Details

They’re thorough. Meticulous. Every i dotted, every t crossed. But they spend way too long on one thing. There’s a tipping point where quality becomes obsession, and they zoom past it without even noticing.

8. Life Is Just a Lot Right Now

This one’s not really about work at all. They’re busy with… life. Parenting, bills, appointments, friendships, housework, the emotional load. They show up, they clock in and out, but their bandwidth? It’s maxed out. And that makes work feel heavier than it should.

9. Thrown in the Deep End

They’re trying, but they haven’t been trained properly or just haven’t figured out how to make things flow yet. So everything takes twice as long as it should. It’s not laziness. Instead it’s lack of systems, support, or confidence.

10. Excuse Collector

They say they’re busy, but the real theme here is lack of accountability. Waiting on approvals. The tools aren’t ready. The draft hasn’t been reviewed. Someone else messed up their part. There’s always something in the way. Always. And it isn’t them.