4 ms·

How you present yourself has a very real effect on how you perform. When you stay in pajamas and a t shirt all day you are holding yourself back.

moron4hire 12y ago
I barely put pants on most days and I'm making more now than I ever did when I was shaving and wearing a suit.
- collyw 12y ago
  Assuming you are something along the lines of a freelance software developer, would you visit clients undressed like that?
  - moron4hire 12y ago
    Of course not. Why would I ever visit my clients?
    - collyw 12y ago
      Face to face contact can be useful to clarify things.
      - moron4hire 12y ago
        Only if they are bad communicators. And then you either lose any record of what was discussed or you have to write notes, which will have to be clear without human interaction anyway, so why not just write that email and draw those diagrams and save everyone the trouble from the start? I firmly believe meetings are a waste of time.
        collyw 12y ago
        OK, I agree with your points that having written notes is good, and I would say that 90% or more of meetings that I attend are a waste of time, but then occasionally something useful does come out that can't be conveyed clearly via email. And a lot of people are bad communicators.
enraged_camel 12y ago
If how you present yourself has a "very real" effect on how you perform, maybe you can provide some citations. Every now and then, articles pop up that talk about how people who work at home perform better when they actually wear work clothes. My suspicion is that this is simply the PR industry at work, hired by companies that sell work attire. http://paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://paulgraham.com/submarine.html
- 6chars 12y ago
  I'm not who you replied to, but here you go: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103112000200 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103112...
- krschultz 12y ago
  I think that the statement "My suspicion is that this is simply the PR industry at work, hired by companies that sell work attire." is complete unfounded bullshit. There are many studies that show habits are an integral part of being human. I like the 'elephant and rider' metaphor. You have a finite amount of rider time each day to control your elephant. Every time you make a decision or exercise a bit of self control, you use up some rider. Habits drive the elephant too, but don't cost any rider time. If you are working with your habits, you get the elephant to do what you want for free. If you are working against your habits, it costs even more rider time just to do the basics. So if you are someone that has a habit of wearing sweatpants and a tshirt all day, forcing yourself into business casual clothes costs rider and reduces your potential productivity for that day. On the other hand, if your habit is to wear work clothes, then getting up in the morning and dressing as if you are going to an office isn't costing you anything. In fact it's probably putting you in the state of mind that you are 'now at work'. For me personally, 'getting dressed for work' generally means jeans, comfortable shoes, and a button down shirt. Some days a tshirt. If I'm working from home - even on a Saturday for my own sideprojects (as I did today), I get 'dressed for work'. I wake up, take a shower, shave, have breakfast, make the same coffee as a work day, wear the same clothes as a work day, and then go get shit done. Arguably I would expend less physical energy rolling out of bed and sitting in front of my computer, but I would never ever be in the right state of mind.
nick_riviera 12y ago
No. Small technicality here. How comfortable you are has a real effect on how you perform. How you present yourself is someone else's problem. If it is a problem for someone else then they are affecting how you perform.

moron4hire 12y ago

I barely put pants on most days and I'm making more now than I ever did when I was shaving and wearing a suit.

collyw 12y ago
Assuming you are something along the lines of a freelance software developer, would you visit clients undressed like that?
- moron4hire 12y ago
  Of course not. Why would I ever visit my clients?
  - collyw 12y ago
    Face to face contact can be useful to clarify things.
    - moron4hire 12y ago
      Only if they are bad communicators. And then you either lose any record of what was discussed or you have to write notes, which will have to be clear without human interaction anyway, so why not just write that email and draw those diagrams and save everyone the trouble from the start? I firmly believe meetings are a waste of time.
      - collyw 12y ago
        OK, I agree with your points that having written notes is good, and I would say that 90% or more of meetings that I attend are a waste of time, but then occasionally something useful does come out that can't be conveyed clearly via email. And a lot of people are bad communicators.

enraged_camel 12y ago

If how you present yourself has a "very real" effect on how you perform, maybe you can provide some citations. Every now and then, articles pop up that talk about how people who work at home perform better when they actually wear work clothes. My suspicion is that this is simply the PR industry at work, hired by companies that sell work attire. http://paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://paulgraham.com/submarine.html

6chars 12y ago
I'm not who you replied to, but here you go: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103112000200 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103112...
krschultz 12y ago
I think that the statement "My suspicion is that this is simply the PR industry at work, hired by companies that sell work attire." is complete unfounded bullshit. There are many studies that show habits are an integral part of being human. I like the 'elephant and rider' metaphor. You have a finite amount of rider time each day to control your elephant. Every time you make a decision or exercise a bit of self control, you use up some rider. Habits drive the elephant too, but don't cost any rider time. If you are working with your habits, you get the elephant to do what you want for free. If you are working against your habits, it costs even more rider time just to do the basics. So if you are someone that has a habit of wearing sweatpants and a tshirt all day, forcing yourself into business casual clothes costs rider and reduces your potential productivity for that day. On the other hand, if your habit is to wear work clothes, then getting up in the morning and dressing as if you are going to an office isn't costing you anything. In fact it's probably putting you in the state of mind that you are 'now at work'. For me personally, 'getting dressed for work' generally means jeans, comfortable shoes, and a button down shirt. Some days a tshirt. If I'm working from home - even on a Saturday for my own sideprojects (as I did today), I get 'dressed for work'. I wake up, take a shower, shave, have breakfast, make the same coffee as a work day, wear the same clothes as a work day, and then go get shit done. Arguably I would expend less physical energy rolling out of bed and sitting in front of my computer, but I would never ever be in the right state of mind.

nick_riviera 12y ago

No. Small technicality here. How comfortable you are has a real effect on how you perform. How you present yourself is someone else's problem. If it is a problem for someone else then they are affecting how you perform.