I prefer to think of myself as “comfortable” rather than lazy. I mean, staying in pyjamas all day is just cosy, right? If I’m not leaving the house, where’s the harm in not getting dressed? And I’m sure the postman loves seeing me in my dressing gown and fluffy slippers.
But a while ago, I started to notice a pattern. I’d look at the overflowing bin and think, “I can’t empty it because I’m not dressed”. Or I’d look at a pile of letters and think, “I can’t post them because I haven’t got my shoes on.” Or someone would drop over unannounced and I’d be cursing their name tearing up the stairs and throwing on jeans and a jumper. Then I thought to myself, “For fuck’s sake, Laura, if you bothered your arse getting dressed in the morning, your productivity would soar and your sense of self-worth would probably skyrocket too.” And, as is usually the case, how right I was!
I don’t do it every day, but the days I make a concerted effort to get dressed and throw on a pair of shoes are the days I can actually cross the threshold and get shit done, like the other night when I had a small package to post and I just popped straight out to the letterbox on the corner. And now the recipient gets to enjoy my gift a day or two earlier than if I’d waited until I could be bothered to throw on some trousers.
I can also now just zip straight out with the bins so that I can save my ‘Honey-could-you’ favours for bigger things, like mopping the floors. Hurray for getting husbands to help out with more challenging chores.
The fact is, you can get more done when you’re as prepared as possible. So get dressed. The FlyLady calls it “getting dressed to shoes”. (She’s a great woman but, for the love of unicorns, don’t subscribe to her newsletter unless you want a bajillion emails flooding your inbox every day.) I like to think of it as emergency dressing. You don’t have to be primped and preened to perfection but, if the fire alarm went off and you had to evacuate, would you be decent enough to step outside and let the neighbours see you? (You’re off the hook if you’ve hit the hay — no-one expects you to be decked out before dawn… or, if you’re a stay-at-home parent, before noon.)
I realise that there are plenty of people out there who are horrified right now that I don’t always get dressed. They’d have you believe that they get dolled up every single day but, honestly, it’s hard to focus on their words when they’re riding around on high horses with their pants on fire. But look, a lot of you are decent, hard-working citizens who regularly suit up and get shit done. You’re already doing a bang-up job and can just go browse some of my other posts.
But for those of us who spend the majority of their time at home, this one tiny thing can produce big results. As a stay-at-home mother, some days I’m lucky if my hair sees the business end of a brush. But I’m trying. If I’m up and dressed, it’s easier to get out the door with my daughter. It means I get more done, and she gets more fresh air. It’s hard to find an excuse not to go to the playground or for a walk around the block when I’ve already got my shoes on. So take a leaf and get laced up.
