As a favor, at 4 p.m. on one recent February afternoon, I delivered two portable electric space heaters to a rental home owned by a close acquaintance after the fuel company had neglected to refill the tank. The 20-something tenant who answered the door was monosyllabic, unshaven, and wearing a ragged sweatshirt, pajama bottoms, and sandals.
The living room, where I plugged the heaters into a socket and showed him how to operate them, was a mess of spectacular proportions. Books, papers, fast food wrappers and boxes, and other litter covered all flat surfaces, including the sofa, two chairs, and much of the floor.
Personal Appearance
Most men and women who work at home are surely more casual about their dress and grooming than those who head off to an office, with some undoubtedly spending long parts of the day in sweats or pajamas. But here’s a question: Would they be more productive—or perhaps less so—if they duded up a bit?In my case, a shower and a change of clothing make me sharper and more effective at the keyboard. This spiffing up is a signal that it’s time to get serious, put my derrière into a chair, and perform. If you’re still decked out in the clothes you wore for sleeping but you’re feeling unproductive, try the shower and clothing change tactic.
On the other hand, maybe you already roll out of bed before sunrise, shower, and slip into a button-down and a nice pair of slacks, but then find yourself drifting and unable to face that screen on the table. In your case, maybe it’s time to try the more casual approach—no shower, and sweats, or jeans and a T-shirt—get right to work, and see what happens.
Order or Disorder: What Works for You?
Though I prefer tidy to messy, I don’t consider myself a neat freak. Nevertheless, force me to work in that young man’s house, and you’ve flung me into a 10th circle of hell in Dante’s “Inferno”—worse, say, than bedding down on a sheet littered with boxes of saltines and gummy bears. Two or three times a week, I tidy up my workspace, which is a desk. The rest of the house I keep uncluttered, in large part because I recognize that disorder throws me off my game.
Once more, here’s an opportunity for some testing and evaluation. Are you a neat freak who keeps pens and pencils lined up like soldiers in ranks, or are you awash in piles of paper? Are you one of those men and women in the trades who keep the shop and tools neatly ordered, or, like some I know, do you just toss everything into the back of your truck?
Again, consider fiddling around with your situation. Could you be less of a slave to a tidy desk and more involved in the project at hand? Schedule a few minutes each day for straightening up your work area, and then pay it no more attention. Or maybe you’re tired of rooting through sheaves of folders looking for some important document? The same tactic applies. Organize your papers, then try to keep them that way without slipping back into your old habits.
In either case, will you be happier and more productive making this shift? Try it and find out.
Are these trite issues? Only on the surface. The persona we bring to our work, whether we’re alone at home or in the offices of a large company, includes our attire and our habits of organization. Finding what best fits us will add to our efficiency, satisfaction, and pleasure.
