Our Outfit Affects Our Productivity
Why I ditched “the sleepwear for work-from-home” trend on the first working day of 2021
The Perks of Working from Home
Working from home has been popularized and equated as working in bed with your PJs anytime you want. Your schedule is fully flexible. Your work, your ways!
Being an employee who wakes up at 4 AM and leaves the house at 5 AM to avoid traffic (I work in the traffic-laden Manila), made me jealous of all those working from home. It became one of my wishes that was unintentionally granted because of the pandemic. In mid of March 2020, I was finally working from home.
I was living my dream work life during my first months in the comforts of our bedroom or our dining room. No waking up early, no taking a bath at 4 AM, and no commutes. I had time to exercise, see my kids all day, cook, and bake. Home seems to be a heavenly workplace.
The Downside of Working From Home
After 3 months, I noticed that being fully flexible with time working from home has its downsides. I’m losing discipline and I’m not maximizing my productivity. I jump from work-related tasks to home tasks back to work tasks by the hour. The temptation is real.
I can still complete the 8-hour work time required of me every day but the time is scattered throughout the day. I begin working as early as 6 AM only to complete my 8-hour period a minute before midnight. No focus. My work and personal schedule were best friends trying to stay and have fun together all the time.
What I Did To Combat The Downside
I decided to take action on the matter. I stopped working on the dining table or in the bedroom. I set up my home office. I bought office-like furniture including a black desk chair that swivels and moves. I put a whiteboard to write my month, week, and daily schedule and reminders.
I positioned my desk in a command position. I’m a lady boss once again. I always get the comment “are you in the office?” during my Zoom meetings because of my office-like background.
I recreated my office schedule even if I’m in the house. With it, I was happy to allot the supposed-to-be office commute of 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon writing blog stories. I never appreciated those 4 precious hours before. They were lost in my fully-flexible schedule.
But I still felt something lacking. I know I can do more. On the days before the new year, it dawned on me that I have to do one thing more to be my most productive self. And I went on to implement it on the first working day of 2021.
Dress for Work-from-Home
On the Sunday preceding the 1st day of work. I planned my outfits for the week. My dresses are happy to be worn again!
I dress up every day while working from home. I chose the easy to slip, not so formal dresses and I loved wearing them again. I saw my productivity shoot up. My actions and the way I think are affected by how I dress.
Dress poorly and you will feel slouchy all day. Dress like a boss and you will work and decide like a boss. Dressing up is powerful.
My Wish For 2021
I ditched sleepwear for work. I want the "sleepwear for working from home" erased this 2021. I wish for a work-from-home fashion trend. I wish for the fashion industry to study what fabric and colors are best to use to have the concentration at home.
I envision my Facebook wall filled with colleagues and friends showing their work-from-home Outfits for the Day (OOTD).
Final Thoughts
Work-from-home didn’t change who we are. We are the same professionals that our company lean upon. We have to be professionally or at least decently dressed when we work from home.
There is indeed a “dress for success”. For us work-from-home workers, let's dress for optimum productivity. Cut the slack. Dress up and show up even if we are at home.
Ditch the “sleepwear for work-from-home” trend. Let’s bring life to our work dresses.
___
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.