wearing a uniform

I see a lot of people wearing the same clothing every day when they show up for work or life. They have a dedicated uniform that helps them stay on their course. Some examples are Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Christopher Nolan, Tom Wolfe, Michael Kors, Robin Sharma (in his Mastery sessions) and The Minimalists.

Adopting a uniform reduces our micro decisions every day that when compounded can have a significant impact on our creative ability and our productivity. As psychologist Barry Schwartz, author of “The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less” says, “When people make one decision after another after another, it saps their self-discipline and self-control.”

There are both professional and personal benefits when we stick to wearing the same outfit every day (either every work day or daily):

1. It establishes our brand and promotes our brand identity, thus creating brand awareness
2. It boosts trust
3. People listen better to what we say
4. We experience less stress as we don’t have to choose a new outfit every day
5. It saves time
6. We embrace timeless fashion
7. We minimize our wardrobe and that can lead to other side-benefits
8. It makes laundry easier
9. We start realizing people don’t even care and/or hardly notice

I can personally attest to the fact that wearing a uniform every day can be a great life-changing move. I have a uniform for my work days and on weekends I wear whatever I want to.

It’s a win-win for both ourselves and the brand that we represent. Other than that, as we have one less decision to make every day, we are also able to save our precious time and attention. In the long run, life not only becomes easier but we make our unique mark in the world and enhance the way people perceive us.