You Could Wear Pajamas, But You Probably Shouldn’t

So the great thing about being a writer is that you essentially work for yourself. Unless you are one of those people in copywriting who have to get up and go into the advertising firm that employs you, most of your work happens at home on your own time. The first thing people usually say when they hear that I work for myself is that I am lucky that I don’t have to get dressed to go to work every day.

This occurrence always bothers me. Is there some great angst amongst employed people about putting on pants and going to work? Has the drudgery of button-down shirts and loafers become a social issue of which I am unaware? I almost hate to tell them that I, a professionally unemployed person, must also get up in the morning, shower and get dressed. The idea of being able to lay in bed and complete assignments sounds very tempting. Even I dream of having such liberties. Unfortunately, I have to work for my living.

The reality is that in most cases, being in bed results in being asleep most of the day. If you have one of those soul-sucking, cubicle hell dimension jobs, you could argue that most employees are sleeping most of the day. The difference here is that my check is not guaranteed, so I must wake up and do work if I hope ever to get paid.

And to be honest with you, the thing that attracted me to this lifestyle wasn’t the distinct lack of pants. It was the ability to get up and go someplace I wanted to be, or nowhere at all. There have been many days when the trek from my bedroom to the kitchen table has been the longest commute of the day. On other days, I can go off the beaten path. I can go to a library and sit and write, or a museum and sit and write, or a coffee shop and sit….you catch my drift. There is a whole lot of sitting involved.

The point is that if you decide you want to work for yourself or work from home I recommend that you reconcile yourself to a life with pants, a shirt and sometimes even shoes. Experts say that the act of getting up, making your bed and getting dressed helps to keep us motivated. They are cues for our brains that tell us that this is time to work. Whatever that work may be, I can almost guarantee that you will be better at it if you get dressed first. Even new moms report feeling more in control if they get a chance to shower before the busy day starts.

So while I support all of the new freelancers and mompreneurs of the world, my advice would be to continue to get up and get dressed for work. Clock in with one of those old-fashioned punch cards if you need to, George Carlin did. Do whatever it takes to stay motivated and professional during your work day. Remember, this is your business and you should run it like one.

Working from home isn’t really about being free “from” anything. I have found the freedom of being a solopreneur is that I am free “to” do a great many things. And that freedom is worth the commute.