Tim: “What’s wrong with wearing my pajamas? They’re good enough to sleep in, aren’t they good enough to work in?”
That conversation has gone on, in one fashion or another, since I began working from home.
Being home the last couple of months I have ditched the government office attire and moved steadily down the style scale to a point where sleep wear has become my outfit of choice. Since I usually don’t go anywhere before noon, why bother getting dressed or putting forth an effort into how I look. If my bride, the UPS deliveryman, or one of my neighbors are the only people to see me, no big deal, right?
In the last two months I’ve come to learn that working from home presents a fashion conundrum. Let’s see, do I wear the full-length dark blue and green plaid check flannel pajamas, or do I wear the short light blue cotton pair in the Stewart Plaid pattern with an accent blue top?
My day begins before 5:00am so it’s hard to get up 45 minutes earlier to shave, shower, or eat my morning breakfast. The process excellence side of me says, “I’m getting a jump on the day’s trading, so staying in my PJ’s makes it an efficient and productive way to start the day.” But what has happened, often enough, is I end up attired in my pajamas deep into the day. Let’s see, “After a review of this next asset class, I’ll go shower and get dressed, or maybe after doing this last thing I’ll clean up and then return to my computer, all dressed and refreshed.” An hour later I’m saying the same thing. My behavior has lead me into a sloppy dressing habit. “How did I slip into sloppy so easy?”
When I worked in a professional office, I got up, showered, got dressed, had breakfast and then left the house. As I drove merrily along, I created a mental transition from my home life into my work life. Arriving at my desk signaled, “Time to work.” When I work from home, I need to create a similar transition. Except, I have nowhere to go.
Lisa has long since made the physical and mental transition. I’m in the process. Working from home can often blur the lines between work life and non-work life, but I’ve committed to remain disciplined in finding my routine, following the same regime as if I were planning to hoof it into the office that day.
Our home office is as legitimate as an office work cubicle. Even if there is a pile of dishes in the kitchen sink, I still need to be as professional as possible when I’m doing my job, which is trading the market. Just because I work from home doesn’t mean I’m off the hook. In order for me to be taken seriously, by Lisa or myself, I need to maintain a professional image.
And I’ll go a step further and say I don’t believe anyone really feels great, being their most productive, their most creative, their most in the groove, working in their pajamas until late morning. Truly, I’ve felt like a sloth. A dirty, bad breath, unshaven, bed head sloth.
With Lisa’s help I’ve learned that starting my workday in my pajamas doesn’t work, no matter how early it is. Even if I’m not going to see anyone else all day, I need to get dressed for work.
Day trading is hard. It’s serious. It’s like running a BUSINESS. And if I’m not on my toes, the business will fail. It’s a big mental shift, from thinking “I’m an office worker” to “I’m in business.” My attitude should be, I’m in business, I’m serious about it, so I’m dressed and ready for the day, even if it’s early. That’s a shift I should have made two months ago.
Speaking of clothing, the business wardrobe staple, my standard button down shirts, now hang in the closet looking for attention. Those poor shirts are getting no respect. I’ve not donned a button down shirt, other than my Sunday shirt, more than a couple of times in the last ten weeks. Ironing time has been greatly reduced.
Last weekend found Lisa and me on Lopez Island, accompanied by Ian and Kaylene. We took the sailboat over on Saturday, arriving at Fisherman’s Bay Marina on the west side of the island at 4:00pm. The entrance in and out of the bay can only happen, at or near high tide for a sailboat our size. The entrance into the bay is very shallow. To catch the tide we left at 6:00am on Tuesday morning to come home.
We meet there with two other couples we know, Bill and Elaine Weaver and Steve and Chris Treiber, who had also mooraged their boats at the marina. We went to church on Sunday morning, took in a Beatle’s Tribute Band concert, watched the small town fourth of July parade, rode our bikes around town, toured the island, and watched fireworks from The Weaver’s boat. It was cold and windy during our time on the island.
Below are pictures from our outing.
Looks like a fun fourth of July weekend.
ReplyDeleteGoodluck with the early morning get dressed routine. I'm sure it's hard, but you're right in that I think you'll feel more productive in your day. It's good advice for all of us, even on weekends.