Time to quick looking/sleeping like I'm seventeen.
December 4, 2015 1:44 PM

I'm about to start a work-from-home lifestyle and I want to 1) be productive and 2) not feel like a slob. Help?

I recently left my 9-to-5 office job for a part-time work-from-home gig that will mesh much better with my part-time student lifestyle. I'm happy and excited-- the new job is in web dev, which is relevant to my interests, and my life is about to be 50% less stressful.

However, as much as the 9-to-5 office thing can be a bit of a drag, I kind of enjoyed dressing up for work and getting out of the house. I have a fashion dork side and a lot of makeup I enjoy using. I don't want to get caught up in sleeping until noon every day and working in my pajamas with dirty skin and hair, because my life is already depressing enough.

I'm going to do the Konmari thing in a few weeks (when the quarter is over), and I've been thinking about capsule wardrobes and "dressing for your lifestyle." I'm OK in this regard because most of my wardrobe is casual dresses and jeans + nice but casual tops. But if I'm working/studying from home, I'm not wearing jeans, I'm wearing pajama pants. And I'm definitely not wearing makeup.

How do you fellow WFH-ers conceptualize this side of things? Do you embrace the #sloblife? Do you work in cafes? Dress up to run errands? Put on a little makeup before a meeting/class? Buy nice loungewear so you can feel luxe around the house?

Silly questions, but I like to feel pretty. So.


* I know lots of perfectly lovely people who work from home in their pajamas and I have nothing against it! I just know that my self-image quickly erodes in that situation.
posted by easter queen to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (16 answers total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
You could start keeping a makeup/fashion blog and do outfit of the day or face of the day to motivate yourself to get dressed up every day? A friend of mine's mom worked from home the whole time we were growing up, and my friend said her mom made it a point to leave the house every single day -- Target run, groceries, meet a friend for lunch, whatever. Just to have something to do that made her put on grown-up clothes and mingle with society.
posted by jabes at 1:48 PM on December 4, 2015


I've worked from home for almost four years. I have never worked in my pajamas - even the act of changing into jeans or shorts changes me to 'work mode'.

I've worked from a coffee shop or the library on occasion, but it's usually more of a pain to schlep everything back and forth and fight for an outlet.

I stay accountable by scheduling my days (not every hour, but certainly a list of things I need to get done each week).

I also go to the gym over my lunch hour a few times per week, so I do get out of the house on a regular basis.

I highly recommend, if possible, to have a dedicated space in your home for your office. When I started my job, I had to have my office in my bedroom and it was hard to separate work from home. Once I bought a house with space for a home office, I feel much more 'professional'.

You may also have times when video conferencing will come up - that's a good incentive to get dressed up a bit too.
posted by Twicketface at 2:08 PM on December 4, 2015


Shortly after waking, I change out of my pajamas and into workout clothes. After my workout I shower and change into street clothes. If not for the workout I'd probably just stay in PJs all day, but putting pajamas back on after changing out of them is not an option. So maybe creating a morning routine that requires getting dressed right away--workout, coffee run, gardening, etc. (Getting outside for a bit really really helps me with the blues, too, especially in winter.)

"Street clothes" for me usually means comfortable pants or jeans with a lot of stretch, a nice t-shirt, and a cashmere hoodie or wool sweater in winter. I can't bring myself to wear silk blouses and wool trousers at home and thus deal with all that dry cleaning. But I look and feel presentable.
posted by mama casserole at 2:19 PM on December 4, 2015


I work from home several days a week and have this same issue sometimes. What works for me is nicer lounge clothes and taking a shower sooner rather than later in the day. And I actually do often wear makeup even if I’m not leaving the house (eyeliner + concealer + eyebrow powder/pencil but skip foundation and mascara). I’m not very skilled at or perfectionistic about makeup so this only takes about 2 minutes.

Also I often walk my housemate’s dog in the morning which helps with the getting out, not feeling restless at home. Or doing errands or working out if have time before working. Sometimes it’s easier to settle down to work after I’ve already accomplished some small thing.

The clothes thing really is pretty important for me I think. I usually just wear leggings + tank top + some kind of zip-up sweater or hoodie, but ones that are colors/neutrals and cuts/styles that I like. For example, I got some high neck lightweight tank tops in colors I like over the summer and this helped a lot. Because my other tank tops were kinda stretched out and too low cut to begin with so my bra was always showing and it made me feel sloppy.
posted by car s at 2:30 PM on December 4, 2015


When I had a work-from-home job, I wore all the fun ultra-casual clothes that I couldn't wear to the office: yoga pants, strapless knit dresses, neon purple t-shirts. Totally fine for going outside and running errands in, but as comfy as pajamas, and it made me happy.

I do recommend changing into some kind of daytime clothes instead of just pajama-ing it up. When you have no commute and your workplace is your home, having a way to differentiate work time and off time is extra important, and putting on "real" clothes helps with that state change.

If you want to have a little more fun with it, use this as an opportunity to play around with new makeup looks before sitting down to work, even if you don't get dressed up. Instead of ordinary daytime makeup, experiment with contouring, become a master of winged eyeliner, or wear the glittery stuff you've got in the back of your makeup bag and have been waiting to bust out.
posted by Metroid Baby at 2:32 PM on December 4, 2015


I have a very regular schedule and get dressed like a normal person when my alarm clock goes off. I find that I can't quite stomach wearing jeans or the kind of thing I would have worn in an office. Just not quite comfortable enough when you know no one will see you to care. I've basically settled on the casual lounge/activewear-ish option - soft knits, stretch fabrics, OK for lunch spots, running errands or the grocery store. Never anything truly pajama like, but also rarely anything with a non stretch weave. Cut back your makeup routine to focus on skincare, which will keep you from feeling gross. For me, I'd put on a little bit of concealer + eyeliner before going out of the house, if I expected to interact with anyone. Whatever your normal quick touch up thing would be, I'd stick with, as it kind of indicates your personal bare minimum. I also keep a completely separate work space and only vary that when sick or other special circumstances (like a house guest sleeping in my office). Even without the luxury of a separate room, it's worth setting up some kind of table-based work area, as working on the sofa every day is a Very Bad Idea. Pick a quitting time and stick to it. If you do evening exercise, get dressed for that at quitting time, or change clothes to go out with friends. After I work out, I change into a different set of cozier loungewear than I'd work in, and settle in to watch TV, etc for the evening.
posted by pekala at 2:39 PM on December 4, 2015


When do you shower. I find showering in the morning literally forces me to change clothes, & if I'm changing out of PJ's I should put on something clean. It might be Yoga pants but damn it it's clean & my top is cute.
posted by wwax at 2:46 PM on December 4, 2015


Definitely get dressed to whatever degree makes you feel good about yourself. I work from home while taking care of my 2 year old and newborn, so right now I wear nursing tanks with basketball shorts or yoga pants - nothing I would go out to dinner in, but good enough to answer the front door if need be, and it's different from what I sleep in. I've always found that if I stay in pajamas that by 5pm I feel depressed and kind of embarrassed when my husband comes home and sees that I haven't gotten dressed all day; he doesn't care at all, but it makes me feel like a gross slob. Even just changing into crappy house clothes makes a big mental difference from staying in sleepwear all day.

Once I lose a few more pregnancy pounds, I intend to reward myself with a pair of Lululemon's City Trek pants, which are probably the epitome of MomWear/WorkFromHomeWear. They look amazingly comfortable while still being Actual Pants. It's actually fun cultivating a nice comfy-but-fashionable wardrobe; when I worked full time I spent all of my clothes budget on nice work clothes, and almost nothing on weekendwear. It's kind of fun figuring out a new style/wardrobe for this lifestyle, so I encourage you to embrace it! It doesn't have to be all sweatpants and old tshirts.
posted by gatorae at 2:48 PM on December 4, 2015


If you have a nice coffee shop nearby you could make a habit of stepping out for coffee first thing every morning. That will motivate you to shower and put on street clothes and maybe add a dab of makeup. Then you can take your coffee home and get to work.
posted by bunderful at 3:53 PM on December 4, 2015


But if I'm working/studying from home, I'm not wearing jeans, I'm wearing pajama pants. And I'm definitely not wearing makeup. ...

* I know lots of perfectly lovely people who work from home in their pajamas and I have nothing against it! I just know that my self-image quickly erodes in that situation.


It's entirely up to you. If you want to wear pj pants, you can. But you don't have to. That's what is wonderful about working from home.

If you genuinely like dressing up and wearing makeup, you can go whole hog while working from home and not care about the office dress code, especially since it sounds like your new gig will free up some of your time. If you like pj pants and no makeup, that's also generally ok, unless you need to do a virtual meeting or whatever.

It sounds like this is more freedom than you are used to having and you are putting a lot of power into the hands of other people/society/whatever to dictate both how you behave and also how you feel about it. You should perhaps try to unpack why, on the one hand, you expect to live in pj pants and no makeup and, on the other hand, to feel bad for that instead of freed from the tyranny of meeting some outside expectation.

Best of luck.
posted by Michele in California at 4:05 PM on December 4, 2015


Thanks, everyone! Such good advice. As many of you realized, it's not just a hair/clothes/makeup thing, it's a motivation thing and a separating work from leisure thing (especially difficult to do as a part-time grad student).

I used to be a major tomboy who relished being able to sleep 'til noon, wear pajamas all day and not wear a lick of makeup. But that's just not who I am anymore, so wearing clothes/makeup that make me feel like "me" is especially important now that I need to wear three different hats at home and in the world and clearly delineate my time.

It's very motivating/confidence boosting to get outside, go to the gym, clean myself up and like what I see when I look in the mirror. (Not just in terms of 'ooh good, I look hot' but 'wow my style is on point and you can tell how strong my arms are getting.') So I'm going to focus on those things and remember that they're not necessarily gratuitous or self-indulgent, they are part of self-care for me right now.

Part of it too is that I have a very short haircut and sometimes tomboyish style, but I'm also a girly girl, so if I don't give myself a little polish I don't feel like I'm projecting who I am inside in my outward style. This is weirdly disorienting!

Anyway, thanks! I'll keep watching this thread for more motivation.
posted by easter queen at 4:17 PM on December 4, 2015


I go for a run before the start of my WFH-workday every day. This not only perks me up substantially (and makes me less likely to poke around on metafilter for 3+ hours), it also necessitates that I have a shower. And after a run and a shower, I usually feel compelled to get dressed in real clothes and brush my hair, even if my schedule for the next seven hours does not involve leaving the house.
posted by 256 at 4:37 PM on December 4, 2015


I have a dog that I need to walk first thing in the morning, so that gets me dressed. I have a wardrobe of comfy, yet stylish soft fabrics that feel like pajamas, but look put together. I wear jewelry all the time and never take it off, so I look dressed at all times. I took advice from Flylady and put on lace up shoes, so I can't just kick them off, I'm committed. And, lastly, since no one may see me, I can play any sort of dress up I want, so it becomes fun, not a chore. (This week I was working with Maleficent horns on my head. Ok, not totally grown up, but I did get dressed...)
posted by Vaike at 4:58 PM on December 4, 2015


I've mostly worked from home for the past ten years, so I feel your pain. #sloblife is tempting, but I find that it makes me get depressed very quickly.

When I work at home, I do shower in the morning (sometimes work out, but that's more of an aspiration than a reality) and wear jeans and t-shirt kind of outfits. No make-up, just moisturizer and a brush through the hair. I also like to do a little bit of housecleaning -- clean up the kitchen, vacuum, etc, just get things to a kind of nice, orderly state that makes me feel clearheaded and productive.

However, what I've found to be lifesaving (only slightly an exaggeration) is a coworking center. This is an office-like place where freelancers/self-employed/small business people can rent a monthly desk (or pay for a certain number of drop-in hours). I like this a lot more than a coffeeshop/cafe, because a) it's actually set up to work -- real desks, lots of outlets, printers, etc, and b) there's usually a fridge/microwave so I can pack my lunch, and c) I can leave my stuff unattended at my desk to go take a break. Plus, you see the same people often and it's not weird to chat with them as it probably would be at a coffeeshop.

Obviously this set-up isn't actually working from home, but it has similar benefits (no boss, come and leave as I please, only show up if I feel like it), but it also gives me a chance to put on real outfits/make-up and enjoy some human contact. I'm usually in way better spirits after a day spent working there than one at home (and get more done too). So, I would look into that and see if there's a coworking center convenient to your location.

Also feel free to MeMail me if you want to chat/commiserate/etc.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 5:31 AM on December 5, 2015


1. Routine, routine, routine. There's a cadence and structure in a 9-5 that was provided for you. Now you must provide that for yourself.

2. Whilst you are working from home, you are still working. Working is not only a set of tasks that you perform, it is an identity. There is a "work" identity, that amongst other things, involves a morning routine and appropriate dress and appearance. Try this.

One day, wake up, go to your desk in your pyjamas, and begin checking email. Note how you feel, and how you think. What thoughts are on your mind? What is your overall state? If it helps, write them down.

The next day, wake up, prepare as if you were going to an office – shower, clothes, hair, makeup, whatever – and then go to your desk and begin checking email. Note how you feel, and how you think. Write them down and compare them with the previous.

What you should see is that your behaviour – or lack there of – dictates your emotional state. As mentioned previously, simply because you are not attending an office does not mean that you cannot create structure around your work.

3. Commensurate with the "work" identity, is often the "social" identity. Let's say there's the opportunity for a meeting while you are at work, and that will be in 30 minutes. At work, you just go, not because you are prepared for work, but because you are prepared to meet other people. If you are working in your pyjamas, you first have to change and then get on the road. There may be a cost to that. Keep your identities separate, and you will find flow much better than if you begin to commingle them.

4. Work happens outside of the office. Work has many different dimensions. If you are working from home, you will want to replicate at least some of those dimensions. Beyond routine, there's also a world of social experiences. Your goal should be not to recreate the output of being at a desk, but to create the experience of "work", which goes far beyond the desk and output. One way to do that is to regularly schedule lunches / coffees / drinks / etc. with one or more people. Create your own rituals to replace those that were previously provided for you.

5. In terms of schedule, you have infinite flexibility now, so use it. Generally, people are most productive not when they wake up, and jump immediately into work, but when they have an hour or two to simply be in the morning. It is massively effective to create a ritual in between "non-work" and "work". That can be as simple as a morning walk to get a coffee. If there is a 15 minute walk where you get a coffee each morning, you leave the house in "non-work" and you return to "work". By thinking about the rituals and recreating them, you create your own cadence.

6. This is immensely important for your mental well-being, for without rituals to segment "non-work" and "work", it will affect the rest of your life within your home. Previously, work was work, and home was home. That means that your brain associated work with work things. Those work things are now at home. As you are collocating the different identities physically, it behoves you to separate them temporally. You want to wake up, shower, get dressed, and then go get your coffee before thinking about work. Then you think about work. When you are doing working, you take another walk and arrive back at home finished with work. It's the same place, but you're working with two different identities and states.
posted by nickrussell at 9:04 AM on December 5, 2015


However, what I've found to be lifesaving (only slightly an exaggeration) is a coworking center.

Yes! Co-working!

I find things get super depressing when I'm home alone more than one day a work week -- and I'm an introvert. YMMV, but going to a workspace helps me stay focused and feel like a productive member of society. I was even lucky enough to make a few friends. It's tax deductible and some places offer part-time hours so you can enjoy the best of both worlds!

10 out of 10, would recommend! 💃🏻👏🏼
posted by jessca84 at 9:33 PM on December 6, 2015


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