The Perils of Working from Home, Part I
Do I really need to get dressed?
When I landed a work-from-home job with unlimited vacation, I was exhilarated. After two years of struggling to make it as an entrepreneur, I had secured a steady paycheck that would allow me to work from home.
It’s something many people dream of. Spending each day in the comfort of your own home instead of the office. Skipping the rush hour commute. Not having to see an overbearing boss or that annoying coworker who pushes your buttons.
I could see the excitement, and sometimes, envy, in people’s eyes when I told them I work from home. “Oh, I wish I could work from home!” or “Oh, wow, how nice!”
But the reality is that working from home is harder than it looks.
During my first few weeks as a remote Technical Writer, I decided to dress professionally (based on tech employee standards) even though I was working in my home office. Every morning, I’d start the day in jeans, a button-up, and my work badge clipped to my waistband. Embracing a power stance at my stand-up desk, I felt ready to tackle the world.
After a couple of weeks, however, I decided the button-up shirt was overkill, and that a t-shirt was more than sufficient. No one would physically see me, so why did it matter? Next, jeans morphed into shorts, then shoes into sandals.
Fast forward a couple of months, and I had long since given up any attempt at a professional appearance. Donning a scraggly t-shirt and worn out gym shorts downgraded to “pajama” status, I sat with unkempt hair staring into my inbox, struggling to find motivation.
It’s a problem that many remote workers face. The temptation of comfort lures us into complacency with our daily habits. The pajama uniform quickly becomes the norm when we no longer have anyone to impress.
Unfortunately, a pajama uniform does not a productive employee make.
After a few months slogging around in last night’s sleep wear, I began having difficulty focusing. Distractions like checking the news, reading text messages, and checking social media vied for my attention, sucking away precious hours from my workday. My productivity was taking a serious hit.
And I wasn’t proud of it. I felt miserable about my lack of focus and discipline.
But it was a vicious cycle. The more distracted I became, the worse I felt about myself. The worse I felt about myself, the more distracted I became. The cycle continued until I threw down my phone in anger, closed my browser and wondered what the hell I was doing.
“Why can’t I get myself together??” I wondered.
Here’s the thing: working from home exposes your internal world. If you are sloppy and undisciplined, that will be reflected back to you. If you are clear and focused, your behaviors will follow suit. When there’s no one physically watching you, your true values emerge through the choices you make.
Realizing that I now had the power to shift things to a more positive and productive direction, I decided finally to GET DRESSED.
Through trial and error, I learned that I do quite well in athletic wear. I enjoy running, doing yoga, and staying active in general. With this attire, I can easily squeeze in stretches or a quick jog in between work sessions. And I still feel proud of who I am and how I look.
Some experts recommend dressing as you would if you were going to the office, and this can also work. Presenting yourself in a professional manner can shift your mindset and attitude, getting you mentally primed for a productive workday.
Whether you go with athletic wear, a business suit, or something in between, the important thing is that you GET DRESSED. Getting out of your pajamas and into something else serves as a cue for your brain that you are shifting modes, that bedtime is over, and it’s time to be productive.
This was perhaps the biggest lesson for me: That no matter where you work, whether in a corporate office or your living room or a beach in Marbella, how you present yourself matters. Even if no one sees you.
Nowadays, I focus the first part of my day on taking care of myself rather than diving straight into work. I can no longer dismiss the importance of getting myself physically ready for work; it’s vital to my performance. Even if no one is watching, I always know that, even when I am unaware, I am watching myself.
