For many college students, like myself, our daily routines involve a mix of classes, extracurricular activities, and personal responsibilities, which all require focus and time management. One aspect of this daily routine that is often overlooked is selecting an outfit. This process might seem minor to those whose interests don't normally include fashion. Still, the way students approach their style and stay organized with their outfit choices can have a large impact on productivity, confidence, and overall well-being. Personal style helps individuals express their identity, become unapologetically themselves, and boost their self-esteem. Self-confidence is defined by the University of South Florida’s Department of Student Success as “an attitude about your skills or abilities." Building our self-confidence is a major stepping stone for us to feel confident in the future in professional settings. Although some of us can agree that our personal styles include sweatsuits and sneakers, or sometimes even pajamas, our daily fashion choices can dictate how productive we are throughout the day. This post will outline how we can use fashion to create organizational skills that will directly help us with time management skills in the future! As a full-time, college student who participates in extracurricular activities, such as a part-time job, I must prioritize comfort for a long day of classes followed by an 8-hour shift! Many students aren't extremely interested in fashion, however, every student wears clothing, so therefore it is important to find what works for you and what you feel the best in!

Fashion and our Futures?

 To many of us when we think of “Fashion” we think of runways, Vogue, and brands such as Prada, and Louis Vuitton. However, it is much simpler than that. According to Merriam-Webster, fashion is defined as “any way of dressing, behaving, writing, or performing that is favored at any one time or place”. As a student tapping into your personal style is essential for success. The act of dressing ourselves every morning in clothing that represents who we are can significantly influence our self-esteem, time management skills, and overall college experience. However, for many students, spending time in the morning picking out the perfect outfit is a luxury that they don’t have. Spending time to plan out outfits for long days of studying, class, and extracurricular activities will set you up for success daily and in the future. It is no secret that the way you present yourself affects how others view you. The way you dress directly correlates to that theory, according to The University of Texas at Austin in an article called “Why You Should Be Dressing for Success”, “Your clothes are more than just frivolous purchases; they are a reflection of who you are and who you want to be buying quality clothes that show off your personality is equivalent to investing in yourself.” Starting healthy habits such as incorporating organization and time management in something as simple as daily fashion, can create more healthy habits of time management, promptness, organization, and planning for our future careers.

The Role of Organization in Reducing Decision Fatigue

Organization is directly responsible for students’ success, Influencing them in the right direction for academic achievement and their mental well-being. A reoccurring issue that students are faced with constantly is decision fatigue which comes with when to complete homework, how to balance academics with extracurriculars, and a social life. Decision fatigue is described by  Grant A. Pignatiello, Richard J Martin, and Ronald L Hickman Jr from the National Library of Medicine, as “The impaired ability to make decisions and control behavior as a consequence of repeated acts of decision making.”  The analysis focuses on how American adults make over 35,000 decisions a day, and how decision-making can cause negative emotions when overdone. With this analysis in mind keeping an organized schedule and planning, makes our lives easier to manage and minimizes mental clutter that often leads to extra stress and procrastination. Students who are dealing with decision fatigue can take multiple steps to make their lives less stressful and to focus more on academics and their futures by creating an organized routine for themselves. These steps can start with a decision as small as picking out an outfit in the morning. This step may seem small but surprisingly it can be overlooked when we have such busy schedules.

A Simple Routine

With our morning routines come various activities such as brushing our teeth, taking a shower, picking out an outfit, cleaning our rooms, and eating breakfast. This routine looks different for everyone but if you don’t have a routine currently, your mornings probably feel chaotic and stressful. The Cambridge Dictionary defines Routines as “a usual or fixed way of doing things.” This repetition is important for us because we as humans need some sort of structure in our lives. In an interview with Dr. Vanhorn, A Psych professor at North Central College, He states that “Students are busy as ever and have many commitments competing for their time (e.g.-, academics, work, family, athletics, and friends). Setting a schedule helps students think about and prioritize their commitments”. Not only will it help with their daily lives, but it will also help with building other skills such as time management. Dr. Vanhorn explains that “Setting a schedule can help us spend our time in a way that better matches our values/priorities. Also, making decisions can be time-consuming and exhausting. We all must make so many choices every day, therefore developing a routine/schedule and following it saves us time and energy. It takes something effortful (Making decisions) and makes it automatic (which requires much less effort)”. For the sake of this specific topic, we will be focusing on creating a routine around picking out an outfit. In a study done by Mihaela Laura Bratu and Ionel Cioca, they describe the development of organizational Competence and how it directly reflects a person’s individual lifestyle and work life. Organizational competence is the skill where individuals can keep themselves organized. Having organizational competence is important for students in schoolwork, their social lives, and their futures. This reflection should be a motivator for students everywhere to create some sort of structure in their lives. A great starting point for anyone who is looking for some structure in their daily lives would be this organized routine.

1.    Check your schedule! - Start by looking ahead at your schedule for each day of the week. Consider the activities that you have planned, such as classes, studying, meetings, or fun social events. That way your outfit will fit with each day’s demands. Not every day is the same, and therefore neither should your outfit! However, that doesn’t mean you need 7 different pants and 7 different shirts each day, mixing and matching is an amazing tool that we will discuss later in the personal style section.

2.    Consider the weather for the week – No one likes to be wearing shorts on a freezing cold day because you forgot to check the weather, I know I don’t! Making sure to check the weather for the week ensures that you choose an outfit that you will be comfortable in, and one that is suitable for the climate.

3.    Choose a piece of clothing to build from – Picking one base item that will be the foundation of your outfit is the easiest part. This way it creates less room for decision fatigue later because you are only searching for items in your closet that work with your base outfit. This will be the piece that guides the rest of your choices.

4.  Layer with your favorite accessories- This step is optional! If you are feeling simpler, or the activities you have planned are more casual, feel free to do what makes you comfortable. However, laying with accessories and layers can add more depth and functionality to your outfit. Such as if it’s cold outside that particular day, focus on layering a sweater or jacket to keep yourself comfortable!

5.   Do a quick final check – Before starting your day, do a quick check in the mirror. Make sure you feel confident and comfortable in what you pick out. This step is essential to make sure that you have a successful day ahead of you because if you don't feel comfortable, chances are you won't be productive. If something feels off, swap your favorite pieces until you feel confident.

This simple act of time management can be a huge motivation to students and a skill for the future. Starting this simple 5 step routine and following along with it for a long period will eventually create a strong habit, according to the Student Learning Programs Team at Stanford University in their research article “Organization Strategies for Students", organization is one of the best ways for students in college to reduce their stress. Planning and organizing your day is the best way to dissipate any form of procrastination as well, which comes in handy for students as well as for their future careers.