3 Reasons Why The Way You Dress Impacts Your Productivity

by vbmomblog | Nov 1, 2019 | Organization, Productivity, Time Management

3 Reasons Why The Way You Dress Impacts Your Productivity

Productivity and procrastination go hand in hand. If you suffer from procrastination then you probably aren’t very productive. So you have to overcome procrastination to become productive. Even a simple change in the way you dress impacts your productivity!

The best way to overcome procrastination is to work hard on becoming productive and your procrastination issue will take care of itself!

Here is an easy productivity tip to implement right away. The way you dress. Here are 3 reasons why the way you dress impacts your productivity.

1. How you feel about yourself impacts your productivity

Believe it or not, the way you dress sets your mindset for the day and impacts your productivity. If you walk around in your sweats all day you feel tired and well…lazy.

You may not be lazy and you may actually get some things done but your mindset is not 100% confident.

When you “dress for success” there is something magical about it and it impacts your productivity in a positive way! You feel good about yourself. Every time you look in the mirror you will see a professional that has confidence and stands up strong.

If every day you wear sweats then when you look in the mirror you will struggle to see a strong individual that is ready to take on the day so that impacts your productivity in a negative way.

Try it for a week and see how much better you will feel about yourself!

2. How others perceive you impacts your productivity

Others will sense the same feelings. Dressing professionally will get you more respect from others. It’s not their fault, it’s human nature and we all do it.

If someone comes to your door dressed in their sweats with stains on the front, their hair a mess, and they look like they just woke up, you would be taken aback.

Thinking what in the world does this person want?! I would be scared to open the door!

However, if someone that looks clean cut and dressed nicely (not over the top) then I would feel much more comfortable opening the door.

Now we all know that isn’t always the case. You can’t trust everyone but I’m sure you see my point.

If you are “dressed for success” you will put off the vibe that you are a professional, you are important and intelligent.

I have tested this theory out many times. I have people give me a hard time for always being “dressed up” like I am going somewhere special when I work from home.

But I will say that…

A) It is usually just some makeup, curled hair, and a WalMart dress.

B) It isn’t everyday but more often than not.

C) this way I am always ready for those surprise visits when the doorbell rings.

Surprise visits

Just like how if there is someone dressed sloppy on the other side of the door you don’t want to be the sloppy one answering the door. On those days I am working in my pj’s, that always seems to be when someone knocks on the door and I am so embarrassed to answer it.

Another time, I had a friend randomly FaceTime me because she was with a huge group of our friends and she joked saying “Were you ready for my call? You look like you just left the salon!”

But it felt great to get complimented and to be prepared instead of being embarrassed at how I do look sometimes!

Just like when we see a well-dressed mom at school looking like she is rocking her life we tend to be envious and want to be like her.

That is our perception of her. Just like others have a perception of you. Because that mom is dressed nice we assume she has her life all in order. And just like when we see a mom riding the struggle bus looking all sloppy, we assume she doesn’t. Again, it is human nature.

3. The universe goes in your favor and impacts your productivity

Do you ever have those days you just feel like everything clicks and falls together perfectly? Of course, we have the opposite days too where nothing could go right no matter what we tried.

But if you think back to the good days you may realize that those are the days you are “dressed for success”.

That is usually the start of everything falling together perfectly – you found the perfect outfit for the day. This goes all the way back to school days.

Remember when you got a new outfit for school? And how excited you were to wear the new outfit you just got.

From there everything seems to fall in order. You knew all the answers in class. The boy/girl you liked talked to you at school. The cafeteria served your favorite lunch. It all comes together and it all started with the way you dressed.

It works the same as an adult but with different circumstances. You hit all green lights, traffic is flowing smoothly, you’re first in line for coffee, and you found the best parking spot.

Now I am not trying to push you do go out and buy a whole new wardrobe and make you think that will make everything go perfect for you, but I am trying to steer you clear of wear pajamas all day every day.

If you are rocking at productivity and you wear PJs all day then you probably are reading the wrong post. This isn’t for you.

This is for those looking to improve their productivity right away and stop procrastination from taking over their everyday life.

Tips to improve the way you dress that impacts your productivity

I am not a fashionista. I choose comfort over fashion. Again, if you are a fashionista you too are probably reading the wrong post. You don’t need help dressing to impress. You already know that changing the way you dress impacts your productivity.

If you are still following along then you probably also like to dress comfortably. That’s why most of us choose sweats or our PJs.

Here are simple tips to help you dress better without sacrificing comfort!

1. Paint your nails

I always feel like a million bucks when my nails are painted. I never go without toenail polish (because let’s face it, it stays on longer and is much easier to touch up). But I don’t keep my fingernails painted all of the time because it is more upkeep.

That is why my husband bought me a gel nail polish kit like these. It costs too much to get my nails done and I hated how regular polish came off so fast but I loved my nails to be painted so he got me a kit!

I love that thing! I have had it for years and still have the same bottles I started with. Again I don’t keep my nails painted all of the time because I like to let them heal up since my nails are so weak and gel polish tears them up a bit.

However, gel polish stays on for about 3 weeks!

There are other options out there as well like all those stick-on nails and nail polishes. I just feel much more confident with my nails done!

2. A little bit of makeup goes a long way

If I haven’t made it clear already, I am not one to spend hours on my appearance. I do get my hair colored every 5-6 weeks but other than that I don’t go all out on clothes, shoes, tanning, fake eyebrows or eyelashes, none of that.

Since I live in Coastal Georgia that stuff would just sweat right off if I did.

I do fill in my normally tiny thin eyebrows, put concealer on my dark rings under my eyes, and wear mascara. That is about it. The days I don’t do that are because we are out on the boat or at the pool.

Otherwise, I will do those small steps and it makes a huge difference. I don’t contour, paint, or glue anything on and I still get told all the time how good I look. I am not saying that to brag because I myself don’t see it but hey at least I am not scaring people away.

And it just goes to show that a little bit of makeup can make a big difference and make you feel more confident.

3. Clothes don’t have to be expensive

A new outfit can make all the difference. Not a new outfit right off the runway but a newer outfit works just fine! If you have the finances to buy new fancy clothes and that’s your thing then go for it!

I am trying to help those who can’t but still are looking for ways to increase their productivity by dressing better to improve their confidence.

With that said you can find all kinds of cute clothes at garage sales, on the trader sites, at Goodwill, WalMart, Target, JC Penny, and so many more!

Here are a bunch of cute summer dresses you could have shipped right to your door! I love dresses! They hide flaws (like eating too much pizza the night before), they are very comfortable and flowy, and they definitely make you look professional!

4. Self-Hygiene

Even making small changes in your personal hygiene will make you feel more confident! Besides painting your nails you could whiten your teeth, get a new haircut or style, try out a new perfume or cologne, apply lotion, take a warm bubble bath, or get a massage!

You would be surprised how much confidence you will gain by taking better care of yourself. My husband works so hard that he puts himself on the back burner.

Finally, I got him into the dentist and started getting things fixed and back up to date. In doing that he loved how his teeth looked and has started whitening them and taking better care of himself!

Another awesome product that I love so very much is Spark. It is a sugar-free energy drink. The fruit punch flavor tastes just like Hawaiian fruit punch juice to me. There are a bunch of different flavors though.

I started drinking it in 2012 and I don’t go a day without it! I love it because it gives me motivation, energy, and mental focus to tackle each day.

What does this have to do with hygiene? I added it to this category because since it is sugar-free and full of vitamins I lost weight after starting on it and some of AdvoCare’s other products!

And taking care of yourself and being healthy (losing spare weight) is definitely self-hygiene!

Disclaimer: Just because I and MANY others lost weight by taking AdvoCare’s products does not guarantee you will.

5. Earrings/Jewelry

Adding earrings to any outfit dresses it up. So just throw on some earring or bracelets or a necklace to dress up your outfit quickly and easily!

6. Accessories

Accessories tie every outfit together. If you have a simple summer dress you want to spruce up all you have to do is add a fancy sandal and a purse!

Or I love all of these hair accessories!

Here are more ideas to help you dress to impress!

BONUS TIP!

Sometimes just believing in yourself is all you need! Here is a freebie bundle of inspirational quotes for you to print off and tape to your mirror! Read them every day and remind yourself you are professional and productive. And that you will not let procrastination get the best of you!

This will help motivate you to change out of your sweats or PJs to look better and feel better. These tips will for sure impact your productivity in a positive way!

Thanks for reading!

Vanessa

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Bye Bye Bullet Journal, I Found Something Better!

by vbmomblog | May 31, 2019 | Bullet Journal, Planning

Bye Bye Bullet Journal, I Found Something Better!

I love journals, planners, pens, pencils, stickers, anything office supply related. And I know I am not alone! There is a whole community out there of people who are obsessed with office supplies too! I don’t even know why I want all these things but I do! One year for Valentine’s Day my husband got me office supplies and I was so excited! That’s why I can’t wait to share with you what I found that is even better than the bullet journal!

The bullet journal has taken over by storm. Every blogger I see is talking about this bullet journal and how awesome it is. I finally decided to get one for myself after seeing all the fun everyone was having with them!
I ended up getting this journal, this washi tape bundle, and these pens. But this bundle right here comes with that and much more so looking back I should have just got this bundle instead.

My sister told me about these gel pens that erase so I got those too and they are much more my style because I like to erase (I’m a perfectionist some times).

The big craze with the bullet journal is that each page is customizable. Every page just has dots to use as a guide to be able to create all kinds of beautiful pages. One page could be your grocery list, another your calendar, and the next your cleaning schedule. There is no limit to what you can do with each page and I do really enjoy that flexibility.

I just had one issue, I would always forget it. I don’t think to always have my journal with me. So even though I like to write things out and use the fun pretty colors and all that, I would never bring it with me. It was just one more thing I had to remember to lug around. (However, if you do love to carry that thing around and you are looking for more ideas on how to use your bullet journal, Suzi has an amazing post that you can check out!)

Digital Planners

I tried to use apps and a Google Calendar instead to make it more digital and less inconvenient but it didn’t work. I like the fun bright colors and I did find one app that worked well enough to keep me on schedule however, I didn’t have the flexibility of each page being something different.

So I needed something that was a digital version of the bullet journal. The only thing I could find was the Notes app on my iPhone. I use it quite often to keep all of my important information all in one spot. I started that about a year or so again and that has been great! There is an option where you can write things out with my finger but then you couldn’t read any of it. So I was missing the fun artistic appeal the bullet journal has.

That is until I got my new iPad! I have been wanting to get a new iPad to be able to make my business more mobile. When school is out and I don’t want to lose work time and I don’t want to lose precious time with my daughter either. I thought if I could be more mobile then I could work on things while we are at the pool or the park. That’s when I decided to invest and get the new iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil and keyboard.

After I got it I started researching all of the ways to use my Apple Pencil with my iPad. That is when I came across digital planners. I fell in love with them! It was everything I was missing in a physical bullet journal! So I created a digital bullet journal that you can download for free to try out for yourself! Don’t worry you don’t have to be an Apple user to use this. Learn more about digital bullet journals and planners here.

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Or here is why I love the Notes App on my iPhone and how it can be used to replace your bullet journal!

Notes App Features

It’s FREE
You can add tabs and organize thoughts
There are options to Bold or Underline Text
You can have clickable links in it
It automatically saves new changes on any device
You can scan documents
Take Photo or Video
Add Sketch
Photo Library
Mark Checklists that actually checkmark off for you

I like the option to add documents or photos to the note. I have actually taken pictures of notes and stored it in a note in the app instead of retyping it all in there just so I could throw the paper note away! As you can see I really do use this app a lot. All along the side are major categories in life and then there are folders under them to organize further down.

Then lastly within each folder is individual notes as you see in the second column. This helps me break things down and everything is easy to find! Now with the new iPad Pro, I can use my Apple Pencil and write on the screen just like you see (sorry I have horrible handwriting).

I can change the color, the style of pen or pencil, and even the thickness of the stroke I am using. With a bullet journal, you can’t break down into categories or sections as easily as you can with this notes app. You would have to bookmark every new section in a bullet journal.

But wait it gets better, there are lines and grids!

You can add lines and grids to your note! Just like the bullet journal you now have guides to help you design your page. Also, you only need one pencil and you can change it to any color!

Before if I would remember my bullet journal I would want to bring all the pens so I had all the colors I wanted to use for each page! This way you only need one pencil and one device.

Now you don’t have to take your iPad with you everywhere you go (but let’s face it there is a better chance you bring that than your journal). Because if you need to refer to that note you created such as this one below… Then you can still do that from your iPhone and no one’s going to forget their phone! You can make all these changes from your iPhone too it just isn’t as easy using your finger but you can still access the same note.

So if you are at the grocery store you can still cross off your list as you get each item. The Add Sketch feature is pretty cool because it gives you a ruler to use as a guide that you can move around!

All This For Free

A lot of people are Apple users so if that is you then you have all this for free! If you have been on the fence about switching to Apple then here is a little insight into some of the features! I’m sure there is something similar on the Andriod phones too though.

It is just nice to know some of the ways you can utilize what you already have access too. If you have an iPhone then odds are you have an iPad and might have been in the market to upgrade to the new iPad Pro. So far it is amazing!

Not just because of this example but so many other reasons! But if you are like me and you want to be able to have all the fun colors and designs but are not good at using a bullet journal then I hope you learned something fun and new with this post! I know I was so excited when I realized it!

Thanks for reading!

Vanessa

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Here is more information on the iPad and Accessories that I bought.

iPad Pro

This is the exact iPad that I bought. I did go with the lower storage because I need to get a hard drive anyway so this way I can just get one of those and save money on buying the extra storage.

We looked into purchasing the iPad through our phone carrier to add data to it but that costs more also. Plus we found out that our T.V. provider has hotspots I can use when I am away from home. Just some things to think about!

I wanted the bigger screen so that was my main priority. I wasn’t as worried about storage because I have a bigger icloud storage plan and then again I plan to get an external hard drive to save all pictures and important documents on it.

Now I don’t pretend to be all tech-savvy, I know just enough to get by. I know that I am a busy mom and this all makes my life easier and more portable. I do want to say that it comes with a completely new charger.

Supposedly it is to be able to connect to your computer better or other techy stuff I don’t understand but my point is no more USB on one end and no more of the other normal end that all Apple products have.

The cord has the same end on each end. So either way, it connects to your converter to plug into the wall and then into the iPad to charge. Just a heads up.

Keyboard

Then since I got the bigger screen I had to get this keyboard that fits it. They are both 12.9 inches so that gives plenty of room for using your screen and typing on a good-sized keyboard, not a tiny one.

The iPad connects magnetically to the keyboard and there are three dots on the back of the iPad that connect it to the keyboard.

Then you can have it in two different positions to adjust it to your liking while typing. Then when you aren’t using the keyboard you can fold it over to close and you will hear the iPad lock. Also, you can flip it around and under the iPad to quickly use the iPad only.

Apple Pencil

Then, of course, I got the Apple Pencil 2nd Generation that is compatible with the iPad Pro. It is very sleek and easy to use.

There are no buttons, it looks and feels just like a regular pencil. It doesn’t erase like one although I think it should. I keep wanting to flip it around and erase with the pencil eraser like you normally would.

But it doesn’t work like that, to erase you just double-tap your finger on the pencil and double-tap again to go back to writing. Another fun feature of the Apple pencil is that it connects to the side of your iPad magnetically to charge.

This is great to keep track of the pencil and know that it is always charged up. No plugging it in or cords involved! Once you connect it to the iPad it will tell you what charge level the pencil is at as well.

Accessories

Because I will be on the go I did get myself a case and as I said I also have the keyboard too. I have seen some creators have these cool pencil gripper sleeves.

I don’t know if that effects the double-tap feature to erase or I don’t know how the gripper effects it charging magnetically and staying safe on the side of the iPad. I worry that it might come off and I would lose it.

There you have it. Let me know if you have an iPad and use it for digital planning!

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