How to Prepare for Work Quickly

The Wall Street Journal just published an article advising men. how to quickly prepare for workand I thought it might be interesting to discuss here: What’s your best trick to save time in the morning if you’re running late?

Here are some general tips from the WSJ article, some of which are somewhat amusing:

• wear just one color or stick to neutral colors
• “don’t waste time on laces” – author tosses aside brooches for lace-up Chelsea boots
• along similar lines, they quote someone who wears nothing with “shirt buttons, belt loops, or shoelaces.” (How much time do these guys spend buttoning and tying things up?)
• Steam your clothes while taking a shower.
• one LA stylist recommends “staying away from the mess.” . . wear your clothes in this order: underwear and socks first, then pants, shoes and tops. (Golden advice!) His theory is that if you have to bend over to tie your shoelaces, the upper should be last so that your buttons don’t crease.
• “Just put your head under the tap for a short while, then apply pomade after it dries to lock those strands in place.”

I mean… I didn’t know that men spend so much time buttoning and tying things or that they need advice on putting on their underwear first. But hey.

So let’s discuss it from our own perspective…

My Top Tips on How to Get Job Ready Quickly

I’m just going to go ahead and steal some tricks from WSJ: if you’re not sure where to start, put on your underwear first. One decision less, BOOM. (You’re welcome.)

Develop a uniform. This is a great uniform if you work in a place where it’s acceptable to wear a suit on regular days – you look neat and professional, but you don’t have to think about it at all. Here’s another option: a dress (one and done!) or a one-tone look (black, navy, beige – but keep in mind that sometimes there can be shade variations between colors that are better if they appear deliberate).

(Obviously: make sure your uniform has no laces or buttons because, you know, efficiency.)

Default for an easy hairstyle. For me that would probably be to leave my hair long and loose, but we’ve collected some. great (and easy!!) updos for work if this is not an option. My favorite is the reverse chestnut bun. (We had a great discussion about it a few years ago. how much time do people spend on their hair for work – overwhelming answer, it wasn’t a ton of time!)

Don’t forget the makeup you have in the office. This is a great reason to keep some easy makeup products in the office — Not only can you retouch yourself before moving from the table to dinner, but you can also fill in some gaps if your morning routine needs to be shorter. We also had great discussions that readers shared. short makeup routines.

The hardest part, of course, is your cleaning routine – I almost always shower at night these days so this wouldn’t be an issue for me…. Also, keep in mind that it’s actually more effective if you rub things like dry shampoo into your hair before bed.

For my $0.02, I’d skip the bathroom faucet if you want to wet your hair without showering – I tend to use a combination a mister and a large mixing bowl (like the plastic kind you get at Walmart for $3) – add some water to the bottom of the bowl, then submerge your head in the water. You will save water and be more comfortable trying to put your head under the bathroom faucet. (This is similar to Curly Girl”bowl method.“)

Readers, these are my tips – what are yours?

Psst: here is our last discussion morning routines!

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Stock photo via Deposit Photos / Maridav.