Working From Home Rule #172: Shave
With more than a month behind me since leaving Microsoft, I’ve been adapting my life to my new work setup. ClickStream’s offices are located in Berkeley, California, while my home base is Woodinville, Washington. And by “home base,” I literally mean “home.” It’s a very different experience, commuting to your office by walking downstairs.
When your desk is just 50 feet from your bed, it’s all too easy to abandon some of your usual routine. On your own, pyjamas can become your uniform, and showering can seem like an option. My learning so far: don’t do it.
My day begins at 5:00 a.m., and I am on my computer almost immediately after waking up. I check my email, read the news and listen to a few podcasts to start the day. When my family stirs by 7:30 a.m., I’ve already made great progress on a few projects and sloughed off the creakiness of the morning.
The kids are off to school by 8:30 a.m., and I’m back at my desk for a bit more work. By 9:00 a.m., I’m usually deep into a new groove, cranking on another stack of tasks to complete. It’s a perfect time to stop. To shower. To get dressed. And yes, to shave.
On days I’ve avoided this new routine, I find I am less productive. Going into an office is a social activity, a venture into the public space. With it comes expectations of your behavior, many of which are simple common courtesy. Like, say, bathing. Remove that routine from your life, as I’ve discovered, and it’s frighteningly easy to get complacent. It might sound strange, but I think that if you want to be a self-employed professional, you need to act and dress the part, even when no one is looking. Especially when no one is looking.
So far, I’ve learned that:
- Working in my PJs makes it feel too much like Saturday, and that makes it too easy to goof off.
- Shaving is not optional. Nothing worse than being deep in thought, scratching your face pensively and realizing you probably look like a slob.
- You never know who might stop by. Best not to look like you just rolled out of bed. Or that you are running a meth lab.
- The guilt of seeing your children return from a day at school while you realize you’ve still not showered is a tremendous motivator.
- When I walk by a mirror, I force myself to look and ask, “Would I pay that guy $X an hour to work on my project?” Usually, that gets me staying on top of my personal hygiene for a few days.
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