What to wear for work.

17/06/16

In today’s busy fast moving world, having spare time feels like a luxury. Many complain they are time poor and do not get enough time to spend doing the things they love. It is therefore more important than ever to use our time effectively and efficiently.

However there still seems to be a large amount of time wasted on activities that sap our energy. One such time thief is deciding what to wear. Recent surveys show than on average we take approximately 20 minutes each morning to decide what we will wear to work that day.

So in an average working week we are spending nearly 2 hours deciding how to dress. Now do not get me wrong, dressing for success is an integral part of winning at work but it doesn’t have to be so draining on your time.

In business, Benjamin Franklin’s quote “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” is regularly used and when it comes to your working wardrobe, its application should be no exception.

Planning ahead for what you need to wear for the week removes that element of indecision first thing in the morning. You plan your diary and where you need to be and at what time so you should add to that plan what you need to wear for those particular meetings, events and weekly activities.

Knowing what you are going to need at the start of the week means you are much less likely to run into problems with laundry, dry cleaning and any repairs.

By planning ahead, you can save yourself time and energy and remove at least one of your daily decisions, so that you can more easily focus on the big decisions that are important to drive your business forward.

Barack Obama is quoted as saying “You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make”. This isn’t just true for the President of the USA it is true for all of us. We all have very important decisions to make every day and so if we can lessen the number we need to make we start to make our lives a little easier.

Since getting dressed in the morning is often one of the first things you do, if you have not planned what you are going to wear and then worry about it for 20 mins you are not setting yourself up for the best start of the day. As a result of not planning your wardrobe you may already be feeling anxious and disgruntled before you have even started your working day. You don’t want to start decision fatigue first thing in the morning at the risk of being all out of decision making skills by lunchtime.

I would therefore recommend that when you look at your diary for the week ahead and you see which meetings and engagements you have; you plan in advance what you will wear to each. Jot these down in an easy to see place, close to your wardrobe so that you can easily select your appropriate outfit for that day without having to worry.

If you would like a PDF copy of my free Weekly Wardrobe Planner that you can print and stick to your wardrobe door, please visit my website https://youimageconsultancy.co.uk/

and download a free copy.