You're shooting for the "I Get Shit Done" dude title. A noble role.
It's simple:
- Don't fuck work. Don't date work.
- Don't do carpool. Don't ever share your car, give a lift to a coworker ever. If it comes up just run with the "I have to pick up my __insert relative__ at __name a city/place hours away__" sorry. Car contents, radio settings give away signals which way you lean (as if the make/model don't already, and what's visible from the outside).
- Random wallpaper on phone, don't give any visible clues about what your politics or thoughts are
- Don't eat lunch with any of them, and especially do not go to any after-work drinks. Just answer with a flat, short "No." when asked. No need to put any words in front or behind that or express any emotions. Just: No.
- No bitchgirl socials, only use burners if you must be on any of them.
- Social-crap emails you get at work: open them and then delete. Corpo emails have a way to report deleted-without-reading.
- No avi on work socials (slack, zoom, etc)
- Limit as much interaction to writing as you can, cut people off and ask for things to be sent as writing wherever possible (this is just a good practice no-matter-what, since you can organize and control your promises better that way). This also gives your boss a chance to jump down the throats of anyone that's trying to send you astray and prevent you from getting the boss's priorities done first.
- In office: headphones on. All the time.
- "Teambuilding" is for the low-energy zoomers. Don't bother unless your boss gives you crap about not going to them.
Micromanage yourself without being put upon to do it by a micromanager. Plenty of apps help with this, OneNote is good enough for it. Break down what your commitments are in one list and then start a new list every day of what you are going to knock out same-day, before quitting time, that ties into that list. This app stays up at all times, you work off of it. When you meet up with your boss, pull that shit up on the screen. Instead of moaning and whining in squalor on Zoom like the zoomers do, knock shit out, and show bossman what you have on deck from your tracker. Only you and your boss see this thing, no one else. Someone trying to pile stuff on you that isn't your boss? Write down what they want if they won't do it, then put the boss on and ask him to sort out where it goes on your list of shit you're knocking out.
It's better to show concrete progress every day/week and bail at 5 than it is to never look like you're getting anywhere and you're there an hour late every day and bitching about your shit.