Maintaining Personal Style While Working at Home

During one of my recent mindless social media scrolling sessions, I came across an interesting weeklong master-class series called “Live Like an Editor” hosted by Tonya Leigh. As a writer, I was intrigued with the wordplay and was curious about the methodology.

Tonya Leigh, a registered nurse, decided to change her life after a late-night conversation with a doctor who asked her, “Who do you want to be?” Interesting choice of words. He did not ask her what she wanted to be, rather he asked her to define who she is, sans professional title, personal history, and the litany of overtold stories about who she was supposed to be based upon the story others told about her.

Overweight, divorced, and frustrated with the condition of her life, Tonya chose to start removing (editing) things that no longer served her and began to create a new narrative that better suited her. The results have been amazing. Now a coach, an entrepreneur, and self-proclaimed real-estate investor, Tonya’s goal is to help 5,000 women create a new self-image to fuel their transformation.

You may ask yourself, “What does this have to do with work and career?” Plenty. While one of the attractions (and benefits) of working remotely is the freedom to wear anything you want, and if you’re lucky, you can (usually) avoid being on camera during most conference calls; if we’re honest with ourselves, sometimes, that can be a double-edged sword. Working from home daily can change your image and how you see yourself.

Let’s face it.  Remote life is great! You can get up, brush your teeth, throw your hair in a bun, and sit down at your desk with your coffee cup and get down to business. However, eventually, if that becomes the norm, it could lead to negative self-thoughts.

Don’t get me wrong. I like sweatpants and T-shirt workdays as much as the next hybrid/remote employee; however, sometimes, how you dress can influence how you work and how you feel while doing it. I’ve noticed I wear less makeup and iron my hair less often now that I’m working from home most of the time. That’s great until I open the front door or jump into the car or—gulp–must be on camera with the boss. UGH! That last one matters.

Live Like an Editor isn’t only about appearance and workwear; it’s also about defining your personal style, how you speak (including what you say to yourself), and editing out the things that people think and say about you. You’re a grown person, own it and make your decisions and live by them.

Tonya’s introductory five-day editor program is the prelude to her yearlong membership series, The School of Self Image, where she teaches courses on finance, self-respect, health and wellbeing, style, communications and so much more. The $37 fee (worth it) can be applied to the annual program once the introductory course is completed. Even if you don’t choose to move forward with the membership program, you retain access to the five-day course indefinitely. That’s a bonus.

Remote-based workers can pick up a style trick or two to help break up the pajama-wear routine or perhaps redefine a new, more business-causal fashion methodology that speaks to the soul and allows you to express yourself through what you wear.

I opted not to pursue the lengthy program but did get a mini reset benefit from the introductory course and applied the lessons immediately. Now, rather than lazily linger in my bed until the last minute every morning, I give myself a (short) window of time to drink my first cup of coffee, write in my journal, catch up on the news, and then bolt for the shower, style my hair and makeup, and “dress” for the day. I’ve noticed this boosted my production and also helps to remind me that the workday hours are from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Staying in my PJs all day is no excuse to sit longer at my desk because I’m already dressed for bedtime.

Live Like an Editor reminded me there’s a balance to working from home, but my personal style and self-image don’t have to suffer or change because I’m tucked away in the upstairs office of my house. I can continue being myself while evolving my personal style and fashion sense, and I can still wear my fuzzy slippers while doing it.

Stay fashionably comfortable!

M