Guest Appearance

(My friend Emily Shirley sent her friends a very special email message on Friday evening. Emily is not a blogger ( not yet, anyway), but her message is blog-worthy. She has given me permission to publish her post here on my Wetcreek Blog. I am proud to welcome Emily to "blogland" as my very first guest blogger.)

Getting Dressed the First Thing in the Morning

By: Emily Shirley

Last week a friend called and invited me over for coffee.  I didn’t have to stop and think, “Oh I’m not dressed, or I haven’t taken my shower yet.”  I didn’t have to check the time for coffee and determine if I could get dressed by then.  I was already dressed for the day and it was easy to say “yes, I will be there.”  

I don’t write a blog or anything like that on-line.  I do a little writing and editing of two newsletters for a couple of organizations I belong to.  But, those newsletters are “horticulture” related and the little blurb that I have in mind tonight has nothing to do with horticulture.  So, I decided to write something and send it to my friends in the form of an email.  Just sharing thoughts.  If I did write for an on-line blog, I would write an article about “getting dressed” early in the morning - for women that don’t have to rush off to a job. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love to snuggle up on the sofa in the library and enjoy an extra cup of coffee and read a few minutes after my husband leaves for work, but I allow myself just a few minutes for this.  Then, I get dressed.  For almost ten years I worked in Houston and got up at 5:00 AM each morning in order to be in my first meeting of the day at 6:30 AM.  Getting dressed then was getting dressed in full corporate dress for the day and getting to my office in a high-rise corporate building downtown Houston.  So now that I am retired, I REALLY enjoy not having to rush the minute my feet hit the floor in the morning and I do enjoy not having to look the part for work every day (by 6:30 AM no less!)  However, I also know the benefits of getting a shower and getting dressed early in the morning.  I have to really work hard on the “self-discipline” some days, so today I am reminding myself of the benefits of getting dressed the first thing in the morning, and sharing my thoughts with you.  This would be my blog article on getting dressed early in the morning (if I wrote for an on-line blog):

Get Dressed and Put Your Shoes On – 

By: Emily Shirley

Did you know that one of the main rules for the Mary Kay Company several years ago was that you could not make a single phone call from home in the morning unless you were totally dressed?  And that meant dressed all the way to include shoes. Other companies that allow their employees to work from home also encourage their employees to get completely dressed in the morning before they start working on the computer from home.  This is because people are more productive when they get dressed, even if they are staying home and working on the computer.  You act differently when you have clothes and shoes on. You are more professional, more alert, more creative, and more willing to move rather than just sit around. You even sound more energetic on the telephone.  It is healthier to move rather than just sit around, especially early in the morning.  Try it – If you are staying home for the day, get completely dressed the first thing in the morning and see how much more productive you are. And like all habits, you will have to work hard at this for the first week or two, but I think you will see the benefits.

Even if you are going to stay home all day, you still want to impress anyone that stops by.  We all want to impress others; especially our best friend, and I hope that best friend is you.  You will feel so much better about yourself when you have gotten dressed the first thing in the morning. And your best friend will be proud of you. 

Always put on shoes!  From a health and safety standpoint, you are safer if you are wearing shoes (even around the house).  Wearing shoes affects the way you walk, and you are less likely to run into something, or step on something and hurt your foot.  If you typically don’t wear shoes in the house because you don’t want to track things into the home, keep one special pair just for wearing in the house.  It is understandable that you may want to put on “comfortable” shoes and not “dress shoes” (or heels of any kind), but definitely put on some shoes.  Putting shoes on your feet that lace up are better than slip-ons, because they are harder to take off. Instead of kicking your shoes off for a quick snooze on the couch, you actually have to go to a bit more trouble. Maybe in that short instant you will realize that there is something more that you can do. With shoes on those feet of yours, you may be encouraged to do more – or at least one more thing.  And, you have no excuse for not going outside to take the trash out, clean the drive, clean off the front porch, walk to the mailbox, walk the dog, etc. You are literally ready for anything. Maybe a friend will call up and invite you for coffee.  Even if you have to quickly slip into different clothes (because when you got dressed that morning you put on your favorite jeans with holes in the knees), you can still be ready to walk out the door in a matter or minutes.   

(Dear Followers: I am sure Emily will be reading this blogpost the next few days, so feel free to leave your comments below. Always, Linda)