There’s a little thing called enclothed cognition in the world of people who like to GET. IT. DONE. Basically, it’s all about dressing a certain way to inspire behaviour. Wanna make healthier decisions? Wear gym clothes. Wanna feel respected at work? Chuck on a blazer. Wanna just chill the heck out? Stay in your pyjamas, obvi.
What I’m getting at is, there’s no room in your life for dressing in a manner that only demotivates you. I mean, nothing says “let’s do this” like a caffeine stain on the inner thigh of your jeans, right? Clearly, no – but the alternative option (finding a replacement) can mean being late to work.
The latter would’ve been more permissible IMO, however, by incorporating the below tips the night before work, you won’t have to worry about either less-than-ideal option.
I repeat, do all of these the NIGHT BEFORE work.
1. Choose your outfit
Choosing what you’re going to wear the night before is imperative to getting you out that door twice as fast as your normally do. No fluffing about trying to figure out what goes with what and so on. However, mentally making that decision isn’t enough, which leads me to my next point.
2. Have a good, hard look at the chosen items
In your head, you know that your collared button-up and jeans are going to work a stylistic treat because you’ve worn the get-up before. But it will neither look nor feel good if it’s got last Friday’s armpit stank and a small spillage from an after-work do. Make sure you have a good old look at what you’re planning on wearing tomorrow.
3. Actually, physically, try it all on
Sometimes something makes sense in your head but it doesn’t quite translate in real life, like thinking that dating a friend or telling your boss to shove it are good ideas. (Only in theory people.) The same thing applies for outfits. After you’ve chosen your outfit make sure you actually put it on your bod to make sure everything goes and that you are feeling damn fine and confident.
4. Move ’round in the outfit
While you’ve got it on, make sure you can do all the things you need to do at work in this fire ensemble. Sit, stand and stretch in it. Depending on where you work, it’s worth making sure your butt crack is not on display. If you don’t do this, you might be on your way out the door, go to tie up a shoelace and realise that those pants are not going to be practical in the office. Then you’ll be back to square one with your outfit and – you guessed it – late.
5. Iron and hang ’em up
Now that you’ve done the hard yards, iron (or steam) it all. Why can’t you just do this last little bit in the morning? Because you could cook the garments, quite literally, when you go to do it and metaphorically poo on all your hard work up until now. Just do it the night before, OK? You’ve come this far. Finish it all off by hanging everything in your closet so the outfit, as well as yourself, is ready to go come morning with zero chance of creases.
6. Get dressed and out that door
You don’t need me to explain this one for you, surely.
Extra points if you plan your entire week’s worth of outfits on the Sunday.
Seriously, you’ll be my new hero.
*Panadol contains paracetamol. Use only as directed. For the temporary relief of pain and fever. Incorrect use could be harmful. Consult your healthcare professional if symptoms persist.
