I have never been one who enjoys looking nice or dressing up for class. You can usually catch me strolling across campus in leggings and an oversized sweatshirt and very rarely find me putting on jeans for any reason. However, I also always find myself feeling tired during the day and wanting nothing more than to crawl right back into bed.
I was starting to wonder if how I dressed for the class was having an impact on my life. Did I feel less motivated because I was practically in pajamas? Am I less productive because I never told my brain to wake up by changing my clothes? This week I decided to find my answers and I dressed up every day for class this week.
On Monday, I wore a chunky sweater, jeans, and booties. As I was getting ready my roommate said to me "You're wearing jeans? That's surprising." That really just reiterates how much I dislike putting on anything but leggings. I only have two classes on Mondays, so ordinarily, it is not that bad of a day, but putting in the little bit of extra effort made a huge difference.
I had to get up earlier to get ready, so I was more awake by the time I got to my first class. I felt a lot more prepared because I had the time to fully wake up my brain while I was getting ready, and because I had real clothes on as opposed to whatever I fell asleep on Sunday night, I felt motivated to be more productive.
On Tuesday, I opted for a gray crop top, mom jeans, a cardigan, and my vans. Tuesdays are always one of my worst days of the week, so I was expecting the absolute worst. Waking up to get ready, I kept thinking the day was going to be miserable because I was going to be in jeans from the time I got dressed until after 8:00 p.m. Luckily, it ended up being much better than I expected.
Usually, on Tuesdays, I use my two-hour break in the middle of the day to go back to my dorm and take a nap. This week, since I wasn't in clothes that I could easily fall asleep in, I went back to my dorm and got work done instead. It was a more productive day for me and helped me get ahead in some of my classes.
Wednesday was the day I felt the greatest effect. I wore a jean skirt, a t-shirt, and my white vans. This Wednesday was a lot different than my normal Wednesdays because I didn't go to my classes in order to work on the campaign release that I was working on that day. Normally, this would have been a huge source of stress, but somehow being in a nice outfit, I felt a little more put together and overall prepared.
On Thursday I wore leggings, a sweater, and once again, my white vans. This was my most lazy outfit of the week, but I still made a point to change my leggings in the morning and put on a normal sweater instead of a hoodie or t-shirt.
Overall, making an effort to put in an effort to my appearance this week had a significant impact on my mood and my motivation. Even changing from the leggings I slept into a new pair, I felt more awake and more prepared for the day ahead. Going forward, this is something I hope I can get myself to continue doing and I hope you'll challenge yourself to do the same and see the impact it has for you.
