Working from home fully well-dressed was considered as pleonastical thing, my thought at first. Being a freelancer for over a year has dramatically changed my mind. Wearing makeup & good clothes for working at home are changing myself and improving my work ethic.

For those who usually work from the office, work from home (WFH) somehow feels like heaven. At least, that’s what happen to my parents (in this case, my uncle & aunt, because I was live with them). My aunt seems happy with this WFH thing. Work from her son’s room while looking after the kiddos, no need to rush & stuck in the jams in the morning, added with the freedom to wear the daster (while not on the zoom meeting, indeed).

For a freelancer who work from literally anywhere I can connected to internet access, WFH is not something considered as “luxury”. We can work from any aesthetic & free wifi coffee shop in town, but due to the pandemic and for the sake of financial efficiency too, inexorably, staying at home is the best choice.

Some people are dreaming of having a job like me. When people are jealous at me for the opportunity to make money and do the household stuff (I’m a wife, btw) at the same time, without the needs to put on makeup or the struggles of picking the right outfit every day, tbh I’m already fed up with this air and craving for a proper & ‘real’ workplace. What people can’t see behind the privileges of freelance working is the feeling of stuck and demotivation.

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I mean, really, man! Working while taking care of the house is like juggling balls! Can’t even imagine how overwhelming is it when you have to take care of kid(s) too. Highly efficient energy management skill is needed. Don’t be confused if I’m complaining much about getting stuck on a creativity block because working while taking care of the house drains my energy, physically and mentally.

Working while wearing daster is not a new thing to me. It’s no longer bring comfort and convenience. It brings me to the burnout hell instead (who says burnout only comes to those who do corporate job?) Recently, I sort of discovered the reason of my creativity block and demotivation: THE DASTER ITSELF!

I don’t mean to blame that “great garment” of women, nor to offend the line of “emak-emak dasteran”. But one day, I stood in front of the mirror and a thought flashs, “OMG, is that me? Seriously? Am I always look this ugly every day?" I just realized that letting myself looking so worn-out is really a disrespectful act to myself. Like, how can I try so hard to respect people by showing them the best-dressed version of me, while I didn’t treat myself as good as I treat others?

Damn, I feel pathetic. Encouraging people to practice self-love is part of my job, but me, myself, personally did something that’s opposite to the act of self-love! Feeling guilty to made myself wear smelly yesterday’s daster, skip shower and did not even bother to brush my hair at the most productive times at the day, in order to save on laundry and water. No wonder if the motivation and creativity are leaving me.

Ever heard about “Genius” and “Eudaimonia”? The Romans believed in the existence of house fairies as protectors, they were called "Genius the Guardian God". For the Romans, people with extraordinary talent were not geniuses, but they had "Genius" with them. In the ancient Greek society, the highest level of happiness in life is called "Eudaimonia" which means "good protector".

Everybody has their own Genius or Eudaimonia. That's why in life, sometimes you feel like a very talented person and capable of anything. However, from time to time you feel that you have lost your talents and feel incapable, then you feel more inferior to people who look much shining. You feel like a mediocre.

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Actually, it's not because you are literally stupid, or untalented, but the Genius or Eudaimonia are just not with you, though. From the books I read (Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert, 2017, highly recommended!), Genius and Eudaimonia are human-like. They’ll unfriend you and unfollowing you from Instagram & TikTok if you’ve been ignoring & not appreciating their presence for too long.  

Well, that makes sense. What I’ve done is very disrespectful for the Genius and Eudaimonia. They definitely turned off because of my ugliness. So, now I’m trying to respect myself more by taking care of my appearance in front of myself (and the unseen Genius & Eudaimonia). Simply by putting my favorite lipstick on, and dressing up with a proper outifit give me an unknown power. Boosting confidence and self esteem.

I who initially considered every article about WFH makeup tips as bullsh*t, now begin to understand that this is not a mere marketing gimmick in the beauty industry so that they can keep improving their sales even during the pandemic (like, logically, who’s on earth will purchase a new lipstick when you have to wear face mask all the time?)

Being properly dressed & wearing makeup are a form of self-love and our sense of respect to the job, no matter how small or insignificant the job is.