It’s time to turn off the web cam, turn up the heat, and take it all off! You almost missed it, but February 3 is the eighth annual “Working Naked Day.”
The first Friday in February is the designated day to strip away encumbrances and celebrate the unconcealed freedom that accompanies working—or studying—from home.
Working Naked Day is the brain child of Lisa Kanarek, a home-office expert and author of Working Naked: A Guide to the Bare Essentials of Home Office Life. According to her website, naturally at http://workingnaked.com, Kanarek has been working from home for over 20 years “commute-free, boss-free, and annoying co-worker-free” and is now a work-from-home guru.
Although the concept of Working Naked Day is—dare I say it—tongue in cheek, Kanarek founded this essential day to expose the unadorned pleasures of working from home. It’s not just about wearing—or not wearing—what you want, according to Kanarek. It’s about finding your own motivation, being resourceful, and celebrating your own successes.
Since AU’s unofficial motto is “Study Naked!”, AU students are plainly well-positioned to embrace the unfettered freedom of Working Naked Day. As Kanarek writes in her blog post for 2016’s Working Naked Day, “It’s all about celebrating the freedom you have to work from home.” We get that! AU students are all about freedom and flexibility (and not just in our wardrobe choices.)
As an AU student, I can relate to the freedom of working—and studying—from home and the advantage of wearing what I want. I spend most days in comfy casuals: yoga pants in winter, shorts in summer, and slippers all year long. My commute is a seconds-long shuffle from the kitchen during which I spill not a drop of coffee. I haven’t yet tried the nude option, but I revel in the freedom of knowing that I could.
On the eve of the eight annual Working Naked Day, I asked Lisa Kanarek whether the attention surrounding the day still serves its original purpose. “It serves as a way to bring awareness to the advantages of working from home: the freedom to work when you want, where you want, and wear (or not wear) whatever you want,” replied Kanarek. “The term “Working Naked” has a dual meaning,” Kanarek explains. “The first is working on your own, without the support of a corporate workplace. The other is working in your birthday suit. We focus more on the former.”
Shivering Canadian students might think cruel February an odd choice for Working Naked Day. However, in Dallas, Texas, where founder Kanarek lives and works, today’s forecast was for a refreshing 21° Celsius. For the rest of us, pyjamas might be the safer option. But today at least, the choice is yours.
Barbara Lehtiniemi is a writer, photographer, and AU student. She lives on a windswept rural road in Eastern Ontario. Follow Barbara on twitter @ThereGoesBarb.