Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to go low maintenance. Spend less time
Speaker 1: getting ready so you can spend more time on what
Speaker 1: matters to you now. I know that this podcast has
Speaker 1: both male and female listeners, and many time issues are
Speaker 1: the same for everybody. On the margin, though women tend
Speaker 1: to spend more of the twenty four hours we all
Speaker 1: have each day getting ready a today's show. A O
Speaker 1: L survey found that women spend on average nearly an
Speaker 1: hour a day on their appearance, dealing with longer hair,
Speaker 1: make up, a wider variety of outfit choices, or maybe
Speaker 1: nails for people who are into that can add up.
Speaker 1: I know that a lot of people feel that putting
Speaker 1: time into these matters is essential for being perceived as professional,
Speaker 1: but I'd argue that this may not always be the case.
Speaker 1: With more people working from home, and as we're going
Speaker 1: fewer places in general, now is the perfect time to
Speaker 1: experiment with going lower maintenance. You can see how things
Speaker 1: shake out now. I am pretty low maintenance in general,
Speaker 1: but I have spent the past few months going even
Speaker 1: well lower. I realized the other day that I've used
Speaker 1: my hair dryer and curling iron approximately half a dozen
Speaker 1: times since March, before the pandemic. I thought that for
Speaker 1: all video calls I should properly curl my hair, do
Speaker 1: my full makeup, and so forth. Then I saw that
Speaker 1: many other people weren't exactly going overboard in this department.
Speaker 1: I think some men I know didn't shave for the
Speaker 1: entire month of March, and then once I ran tight
Speaker 1: on time and didn't do my hair, the video call
Speaker 1: went fine, and this was pretty liberating. I found that
Speaker 1: proper lighting also seems to matter more for my coloring
Speaker 1: than my makeup, so I tend not to worry much
Speaker 1: about this anymore either. This feeling has now extended into
Speaker 1: real life too, as we start to go places again.
Speaker 1: I went to outdoor church with straight hair the other day.
Speaker 1: I might add that if you have to wear a mask,
Speaker 1: no one can see half your makeup anyway, so maybe
Speaker 1: no need to worry about it. In any case, you
Speaker 1: might not be ready to go to low maintenance, but
Speaker 1: maybe you can pick one area of you're getting ready
Speaker 1: routine with which to experiment. When you're getting dressed, consider
Speaker 1: having a work uniform. If you know you'll wear a
Speaker 1: pair of black pants and a nice shirt scar for
Speaker 1: fun necklace, then choosing each outfit takes almost no time.
Speaker 1: You could have a weekend uniform too, maybe a crew
Speaker 1: neck sweater, jeans, and slip on sneakers. The fewer choices
Speaker 1: you have to make, the less time it takes. Lots
Speaker 1: of women or people with long hair in general, can
Speaker 1: save time on their hair as well. I realized that
Speaker 1: my shampoo and conditioner routine could be come just a
Speaker 1: shampoo routine. Could you let your hair air dry? Experiment
Speaker 1: with hairstyles that look polished but are quick, like buns
Speaker 1: or low ponytails. As for makeup, see if you can
Speaker 1: take out an item or two from the rotation without
Speaker 1: too huge a change in appearance. Instead of full foundation
Speaker 1: and powder, maybe just do some under eye concealer. If
Speaker 1: you're accustomed to getting your nails done, I'd note that
Speaker 1: absolutely no one is seeing your nails on a zoom call.
Speaker 1: If it's a bother to you, this could be a
Speaker 1: great thing to let go now. There are lots of
Speaker 1: things we have to do in life, but spending an
Speaker 1: hour a day on our appearance just maybe isn't one
Speaker 1: of them. Going lower maintenance frees us up to have
Speaker 1: more time for what brings us joy and meaning, and
Speaker 1: that looks good to me. So today, ask what parts
Speaker 1: of your getting ready routine you can experiment with. If
Speaker 1: you decide that something really matters or is fun for you,
Speaker 1: then by all means keep it, but challenge yourself to
Speaker 1: ask what really does matter? There are probably a lot
Speaker 1: fewer things than you think, especially now. In the meantime.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's b the number
Speaker 1: four than Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot
Speaker 1: me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart
Speaker 1: media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with
Speaker 1: all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to
Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit
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