Work-Life Balance – Style

Style is an important component of work-life balance. It can not only boost your productivity, but also helps you to find confidence. Finding your style will enable you to stay authentic in both your personal and private life, which helps you to better balance those two.

1. Dress for Success

‘Dress for success’ or ‘dress for the job you want, not the job you have’ –  while it may sound cliché, that advice may actually be a lot more important than you think. Have you ever considered how the clothes you wear can affect your they way other people perceive you and how you perform at work.  In fact, decent clothes can increase our efficiency, which was proven in the research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Three experiments demonstrate that wearing a lab coat increases attention. It was proven that the influence of clothes thus depends on wearing them and their symbolic meaning. Wearing appropriate outfit at work can lift you up and your look can send others a signal about you being successful and confident. Being aware and taking care of your personal style is some form of communications of your personal brand, which is why it is so important for your physical appearance to be perceived as appropriate to the occasion and professional at work.

2. Look and Feel Good

Looking good will also make you feel good. And in order to look good, you need to feel confident in your skin and outfit. The easiest way to make yourself feel confident? Act like you already are!  Looking good will help you to show that confidence when meeting new people in your private and personal life and show them that confidence. Even though beauty is much more than skin deep, there is a strong connection between looking your best and feeling confident, capable, and empowered. Psychologist Nathaniel Branden in his book, The Psychology of Self-Esteem, explains that our physical appearance has profound effects on thinking processes, emotions, desires, values and goals and is closely tied to your self-esteem. For entrepreneurs or those who work from home I would always advise to put this additional effort in the morning to look put together and neat, as it will influence your mood and efficiency throughout the whole day.

3. Express Yourself

Your style will help you to express yourself in your professional and private life. Your style can tells a lot about your personality and cultural background, as it is expressed through the clothing and accessories you wear. Do not put too much pressure on you to conform the current trends spread in the media, but try to find and follow your unique style that would be balanced between your work and free time. I am not encouraging you not to adhere with the dress code, but to subtly add some touches of your individual style into each outfit. You can show your style in all dress code types e.g. by combing an uniform suit with a female frilly blouse if you are a romantic soul. Interesting jewellery can draw the attention to your hands or necklines, which will help you to focus on your assets and feel confident.

We would love to hear what are your views on the importance of style in your life.  Feel free to comment.