Organise your clothes and get a better work/life balance – Life in the time of Covid-19
Post update 8 April 2020
I have written previously about the importance of what you wear. Even when you’re working from home. I’ve written about how to get a better life balance and even get more out of your life by organising your clothes. Even though I know it to be true both from my personal experience and from the experience of my clients I have felt like a voice in the wilderness.
Now though, as the world has changed, turned upside down, in such a short space of time. We all find ourselves at home. Coping with a new reality. And there are many articles now appearing along the lines of ‘What to wear when you’re working from home’. I am personally delighted to see these articles appear.
Working from home / Working at home
We are all using the term ‘working from home’. The reality, though, is probably closer to ‘working at home’. We are trying to work while balancing the needs of the family, who are all at home, all day.
For so long, talking about clothes has been about ‘getting’. What are you going to get? A new dress? A new bag? The focus in magazines and online is on acquiring. There is not so much written about how clothes make us feel and our intimate relationship with the fabrics that drape round our bodies every day. It is that intimate, tactile, relationship which is the one that really matters. Because this is the one which encourages awareness.
Would you like your wardrobe to be taken care of? Would you like to NOT have to think about what to wear each day? Would you like to look amazing, but don’t know how, or lack the time to plan? I can help with that. Working Frocks was created to help women like you look and feel amazing every day. Why don’t you join our group and make a start?
Why awareness is important
When we have an awareness around what we are wearing, we have an insight into what we are really thinking. Awareness helps us sort the negative from the positive. It helps us discern whether we are wearing clothes because we love them. Or, it helps us discern whether we are wearing clothes because of the expectations of others, or expectations that we set ourselves that please other people.
Awareness builds a better connection with ourself. All dresses aren’t created equal. Some will suit your working life in the office better, and some will suit being in the garden better. Some dresses will make you feel in charge and ready to rule the world. Other dresses you will slip into and feel calm and relaxed and ready to write that report which will take many hours of concentration.
The blog post that I wrote below focussed on being promoted or holding a senior position at work and being able to create time at home to relax and be yourself. The sections are divided up into two parts:
- The first part addresses wearing your clothes at work, for which translate how you are going to get dressed for work now you are working at home. You could dial it down a notch or two, but the premise remains the same. Get dressed for work. Especially for Zoom meetings!
- The Second addresses what you wear for your home life. How to move into a new part of the day. This could be by changing the colours you are wearing, the style of your clothes and maybe involves changing once you have finished work for the day. Slip into a beautiful pair of trousers, or a maxi dress, relax and enjoy the evening with the family you’ve spent all day trying to avoid when you were working!
We are living in unprecedented times. My hope is that you will find my blog writing useful and that you can use what I have written to help make your time at home and time of peace and calm and of huge enjoyment.
You have made it to senior status at your firm. You work long hours, you spend much of your time thinking about work. You enjoy your work very much.
But balance is the name of the game these days, and all work and no play makes for a very boring life. If you feel like you struggle between a busy working life and being the woman you are, you’re not alone. What you may be surprised to learn is that by taking charge of your wardrobe you can gain back control over the balance, put stronger parameters up to protect your private time, and become a better employee too, as well as be reinvigorated and refreshed ready for work each day. It is possible to have a better home/work balance by simply organising your clothes and we will show you how.
Expectation and Intention – your work/life balance arsenal
It all boils down to expectation and intentionality. Your expectations set your intention. What is your expectation of what you will wear at work and what you will wear at home? It may be that you have no positive intention when it comes to what to wear, but rather, you dress by default. In this blog post you will learn how to set your expectations accurately so that you can love your life at home, be effective in your work at work, and excel in both.
Getting a better home/work balance
First, expectations at work.
Read the following list and see where you could tweak your attitude or adopt a new one and achieve a better home/work balance:
- You want to dress, not because you’ve been taken hostage by a faceless organisation but because you have earned the right to be there and have been set free into a role uniquely suited to you. Therefore getting dressed for work should be a joy, not a chore.
- Getting dressed into your role each day should not be default or haphazard. It should be automatic and routine driven. But it needs to be a conscious choice to choose what you are going to wear and why you are going to wear it.
- Getting dressed may be more work for women than it is for men, but it can give you a real advantage. In a room of short grey hair and blue or grey suits you can stand out easily, for all the right reasons. Don’t dismiss that advantage because you view it as “feminine” and somehow weaker. It really isn’t. You work hard to look this good, the advantage is yours.
Second, expectations at home.
Again read this list and see where you could tweak your attitude or adopt a new one in order to achieve a better home/work balance:
- When you are at home, be truly at home. For the sake of your children, your spouse, your siblings and parents, and for your own sanity. It’s ok to have a home life. Therefore I would reserve clothes exclusively for this home life. If you work in a very formal work setting, you may have to reserve informal wear for the weekends, however,
- Decide exactly what you want to wear at the weekend. What is your look? What gives you great pleasure to wear? What do you prefer wearing above all else?
- Try and wear different, non work colours at the weekend. I love grey but really don’t want to wear great all the time every day (maybe I do really…). Can you leave black, blue and grey in the wardrobe at the weekend and wear your weekend colours instead?
Please don’t neglect to do these small steps: read the 3 step lists; see where you could tweak your habits; put a plan in place to implement the changes you have planned. Short, easy steps to get you the work/life balance you desire.
If you enjoyed this post you may also enjoy:
Why Good Self Image is important for women to succeed at work
Your identity: How to keep in touch with yourself
Please let me know what points you found most useful. I look forward to hearing from you. Remember, wear what you love, love what you wear. Ditch the rest!
Bye for now,
Sarah
btw
See below for my fb live roundup of the post outline
