Rule No. 1 of Working From Home: Get Dressed
Rule No.1 for any work-from-homer: Get Dressed.
This may run counter to what is, perhaps, the greatest perceived benefit of working from home: that you get to sit around all day in your jogging pants or pajamas, and don't have to dress up. Well, I'm here to burst that myth for you. Why? Read on...
While it's fun and comfortable to wear your pajamas all day, it's actually counter-productive to your cause. If you're sitting around in your baggy, cereal-milk-stained sweatsuit you're inherently going to feel like a slob and you aren't going to be doing your best work. While you might think you can still interface with the harsh outside world while you wallow in comfort, eventually you'll realize your relaxed sartorial standards are dragging you down in the performance department. When you look professional, you'll feel professional, and you'll act professional. That's it. Period.
I'm not saying you have to wear a business suit as you traipse around the house doing laundry while you take conference calls. No, far from it. But I am suggesting you wear something at least presentable enough that if a stranger came calling at your door you wouldn't feel the need to dive into your bedroom and scurry like a rodent for decent clothes while they wait on your porch. Get it? You don't need to be ready for a meeting on Wall Street, just ready to go meet the outside world for an average day of personal business.
So man-up (or woman-up) and get dressed. If you absolutely must you can dilly-dally until noon or so until you suit-up to face the real world. But when the clock hits midday, you should either be in the shower cleaning up, or already changing into some--at the very least presentable--duds.
This may run counter to what is, perhaps, the greatest perceived benefit of working from home: that you get to sit around all day in your jogging pants or pajamas, and don't have to dress up. Well, I'm here to burst that myth for you. Why? Read on...
While it's fun and comfortable to wear your pajamas all day, it's actually counter-productive to your cause. If you're sitting around in your baggy, cereal-milk-stained sweatsuit you're inherently going to feel like a slob and you aren't going to be doing your best work. While you might think you can still interface with the harsh outside world while you wallow in comfort, eventually you'll realize your relaxed sartorial standards are dragging you down in the performance department. When you look professional, you'll feel professional, and you'll act professional. That's it. Period.
I'm not saying you have to wear a business suit as you traipse around the house doing laundry while you take conference calls. No, far from it. But I am suggesting you wear something at least presentable enough that if a stranger came calling at your door you wouldn't feel the need to dive into your bedroom and scurry like a rodent for decent clothes while they wait on your porch. Get it? You don't need to be ready for a meeting on Wall Street, just ready to go meet the outside world for an average day of personal business.
So man-up (or woman-up) and get dressed. If you absolutely must you can dilly-dally until noon or so until you suit-up to face the real world. But when the clock hits midday, you should either be in the shower cleaning up, or already changing into some--at the very least presentable--duds.
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