Guest Blog - Dressing for Productivity

Today's blog post is brought to you by Wendy Wright, owner of The Wright Fit. Enjoy!

Be really honest here. Do you ever think about how your daily presentation to the world affects you? And do you think your personal appearance matters when it comes to your productivity? I've noticed when people are immersed in a more casual work environment, or when they work from home, they sometimes think their appearance doesn't matter as much. I beg to differ, and here's why.

First impressions matter, as do impressions after the first one! Let's say you're looking fab when you meet a prospective customer on Monday, but then you show up looking like you just fell out of bed for Thursday's follow-up meeting. That, my friends, sends a message of inconsistency, fair or not.

Now let's say you work from home and you typically throw on a ball-cap, yoga pants and oversized T-shirt for your work day. What would you do, or how would you feel, if an unscheduled meeting popped up? Hopefully, you'd scramble to look a bit more presentable, but think of the possibilities if you'd started the day in a great outfit. Let's call this authentic, appropriate and comfortable ensemble one of your personal uniforms. It could be a casual dress with tights, booties and a jean jacket. It could be dark-wash skinnies with a beautiful, chunky sweater and flats. 

In Nettie's case, it was a cute wrap dress and low-heeled nude pumps. I actually ran into her at TJMaxx and took this picture.

I asked her if she had just met with a client or had an important meeting. She said no, it was just what she was wearing that day.

Needless to say, she looked amazing and I was a proud friend/stylist.

Ladies, a little make-up can also make a huge difference in how you feel about yourself and how others see you.

Take, for instance, my 3 pictures. Whew doggie, I would not want to run into anyone whilst out-n-about looking like I do in picture 1. I feel self-conscious and it's written all over my insecure smile.

But with just 4 makeup products, I feel like a million bucks, as you can see in picture 3. And I guarantee you I'll have a much better chance of making a million dollars if I present myself as I do in pic 3 vs pic 1. Haha.

So, if you're an entrepreneur or business person, this is important stuff, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming or expensive. Some may call it "dressing for productivity," but I like to think of it as respecting yourself enough to care about how you present yourself to the world. And, with a few, simple style tweaks, you can be on your way to a much more productive day! ​

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Wendy Wright is an ACSM/NSPA certified personal fitness trainer. She created The Wright Fit to combine healthy living with the immediate gratification of great personal style.  Her passion is to help women discover their potential — right now.

​Wendy is a Body Beautiful Institute (now Style Core) certified personal stylist, as well as a personal stylist in Essential Color. 

To learn more, visit her website: www.thewrightfit.net. 

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