This awful viral infection and social distancing business means many—possibly you—are now working from home. Of course it’s serious business for many who might soon lose their jobs or reap serious financial consequences, and we all hope the best for everyone as we try to mitigate the impending disaster we all have seen unfold around the world.
However, for those now working from home, I’ve read many comments that it’s putting a cramp on their style.
I’ve worked from home for the past 4 years (with typically monthly week-long visits to my corporate office punctuating that span). As a menswear guy who is interested particularly in tailoring, I have a bit of perspective that you might find of value both generally speaking as well as menswear specific. Below are just a few tips from me and what I’ve learned:
- You buy clothes to wear them, not to look at them. While of course we all think about the occasions we’ll wear our clothing in, if you’re a menswear “enthusiast” like me, the extra level of attention you give it means you’re buying to suit your own taste and style. Those things have not changed even if where you’re sitting and who’s around has.
- Use this opportunity to wear clothes you own and love but maybe don’t get as much use out of because they wouldn’t fly at work. Maybe it’s more casual, or maybe it’s just a little more “out there,” but one boon of working remotely is there are no people around to give you a funny look for something different.
- Resist the urge to stay comfy all day in your pajamas; and definitely shower in the morning LOL. Even if you’re not putting on a fully dressed-up kit like you might for the office, putting effort in can help in getting you in the right frame of mind.
- If you’re able and use on a notebook computer, have a couple spots in your home you can work. It’s absolutely true that sitting at a desk with a more professional-feeling space helps you separate your “work mode” from your “home mode,” but I’ve also found that by moving to the couch, or when it’s warm, sitting on the back deck for a portion of a day can bring a burst of renewed energy and creativity. It depends on the types of tasks you do, but if there are some that require you to think creatively, this has helped me keep my mindset fresh.
- If your significant other will also be at home, and/or you’ll have your kids around, make boundaries for where your workspace begins, and also for blocks of time that shouldn’t be interrupted. It’s far too easy to blow 40 minutes when your spouse comes to ask about something, and suddenly you’re playing with your kid. Obviously in these extraordinary times, this might not apply if your kids are out of school, or very young and require supervision all day instead of being at daycare. But whatever time you land on that’s dedicated work time, putting up boundaries is essential.
- Many places have a more strict quarantine in place, and I suspect it’ll only get more restrictive as time goes by, but get outside and go do things (besides running errands). Take walks, go do something creative, meet up with a friend. It can be very isolating at home.
- Obviously some of those ideas might not be possible if social distancing gets more restrictive; in either case, it’s also good to have group chats with friends in iMessage or Slack or Messenger. Someplace to chit chat a la the water cooler at work.
A few years ago, Pete at Put This On wrote a post about working from home wherein he featured me and a few other guys with useful perspective on this same topic. Go check that out. And stay healthy and safe everyone! Let’s do our part to try and keep this awful thing from completely steamrolling us all.
