
Why Zuckerberg Wears the Same Thing Every Day - nekosuke
https://medium.com/startup-grind/choice-minimalism-why-mark-zuckerberg-wears-the-same-thing-every-day-2f132f1b5706#.6vwh35o42
======
dsr_
Men can reduce their decision making without attracting attention as the
person who always wears the same clothing.

* Pick a color palette for your shirts. Four is enough. Buy multiples of those.

* Get khakis and jeans. Multiples, again.

All of your shirts will go with all of your pants. In the winter, wear jeans.
In the summer, wear khakis. When you decide to cross over, put the other ones
away.

Women, however, seem to have much more pressure to consider fashion. Sorry;
it's a societal construct. If you don't feel bad about it, exactly the same
choices can work for you: pick a blouse in four colors, pick comfortable pants
and jeans, be done with it.

~~~
amyjess
> Women, however, seem to have much more pressure to consider fashion.

As an MtF trans person, the blandness and lack of choice available in male
clothing, especially professional male clothing, always felt like a
straightjacket to me. The lack of options drove me up a wall, and I was either
unenthused about or actively repulsed by the few options that were available.
I think I ended up wearing a polo shirt and cargo pants most days, just
because I couldn't muster up the effort to give a shit.

Before I transitioned, I crossdressed in private just so I could wear
something that I actually _liked_ , even if it was just by myself in my house.
Unfortunately, that actually delayed my accepting I was trans... for years, I
told myself I was "just a crossdresser" because I thought "Well duh, who
_doesn 't_ prefer women's clothes over men's? _Of course_ every guy wants to
be a girl because being a girl is just obviously better." Of course, that
turned out to be a bunch of bupkiss, and cis guys just don't think that way,
but it took me so many years to realize that.

I didn't start giving a shit about how I looked in public until I
transitioned. Finally, I could wear things that I thought _looked good_ , and
I actually had _meaningful options_.

~~~
dsr_
Well... this is a thread about reducing options in order to not make
decisions. Men actually have lots of options, but are frequently limited by
the same social pressures that cause women to have to make more choices.

For example: a UtiliKilt, or actual kilt. Bermuda shorts. A sarong or laplap
-- that will cause comment in most of the US, but is perfectly normal in much
of the Asian Pacific. A guayabera or a Hawaiian print shirt; vests and
sweaters and cardigans and jackets.

Your point about "professional male clothing" is very well-taken, though.
Women have many more options.

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Raphmedia
I really doubt it's about choice and willpower. It's about giving out a
constant image as a public icon.

Everyone knows Zukerberg wears grey shirts. Everyone knew that Steve Jobs wore
black turtle neck. If they were to change their looks, there would be news
articles about it. It would make a lot of noise for nothing.

It's an uniform. They wear it to work.

~~~
michaelcampbell
My memory may be failing, but I think Jobs even said as much in an interview.

~~~
keehun
This is the relevant excerpt from Isaacson's biography:

>> On a trip to Japan in the early 1980s, Jobs asked Sony's chairman Akio
Morita why everyone in the company's factories wore uniforms. He told Jobs
that after the war, no one had any clothes, and companies like Sony had to
give their workers something to wear each day. Over the years, the uniforms
developed their own signatures styles, especially at companies such as Sony,
and it became a way of bonding workers to the company. "I decided that I
wanted that type of bonding for Apple," Jobs recalled.

>> Sony, with its appreciation for style, had gotten the famous designer Issey
Miyake to create its uniform. It was a jacket made of rip-stop nylon with
sleeves that could unzip to make it a vest. So Jobs called Issey Miyake and
asked him to design a vest for Apple, Jobs recalled, "I came back with some
samples and told everyone it would great if we would all wear these vests. Oh
man, did I get booed off the stage. Everybody hated the idea."

>> In the process, however, he became friends with Miyake and would visit him
regularly. He also came to like the idea of having a uniform for himself, both
because of its daily convenience (the rationale he claimed) and its ability to
convey a signature style. "So I asked Issey to make me some of his black
turtlenecks that I liked, and he made me like a hundred of them." Jobs noticed
my surprise when he told this story, so he showed them stacked up in the
closet. "That's what I wear," he said. "I have enough to last for the rest of
my life."

~~~
jimbokun
Interesting. Previous Hacker News discussion failed to turn up any pictures of
the Sony uniforms:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3101265](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3101265)

------
massysett
"Each decision makes us less creative, less in control and less focused."

Sounds hip but it's also ridiculous. Each morning I select a necktie from an
array of choices. That's not making me less "focused" later on.

So Obama and Zuckerburg don't want to decide what to wear because they don't
like making that decision. That's understandable and fine. But it doesn't mean
that someone who does make that decision every day (because he actually likes
to) has somehow depleted his limited reservoir of decision-making ability.

~~~
beefield
Given how well accepted fact decision fatigue is, I would like to have a
source for the claim that it does not apply to certain kind of decisions.

~~~
adamors
Well accepted by whom?

~~~
beefield
Sorry, "well accepted fact" was probably too strong wording. "Well known"
might have been more appropriate. Wikipedia has some sources[1]

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_fatigue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_fatigue)

------
bxrxaxdx
Don't most people do this? Especially the kind of people here on Hacker News?
I have like 10 plaid shirts, and 4 pairs of dark blue jeans and every day i
pick one of each and wear it. The big advantage of my system is that I don't
look like a weirdo because I wear an identical outfit every day.

~~~
snarf21
I have lots of shirts and pants but just take from the bottom of the pile, put
back on the top of the pile. Or left of the closet, put back on the right of
the closet. I don't look like I have only one outfit but never obsess over
what to wear.

It also sounds kind of silly as decisions take only as much brain power as you
put into them. Does Zuck eat only one kind of food ever? (otherwise he'd have
to choose :O). Does he only have one of everything? Seems unlikely...

It seems much more likely to concern having a signature look (aka Jobs) and to
minimize paparazzi since all the pictures look the same and are therefore less
valuable.

~~~
bpicolo
Yeah, same here. Just don't care which shirt I pick out, but have some number
of different ones. I don't buy that having only identical clothes really makes
a big difference here, but maybe for some people?

------
erokar
Summary: Choosing what to wear has a willpower cost, since willpower is
depleted by the choices we make during a day. Therefore, you should reduce the
number of unimportant choices, like what to eat and what clothes to wear focus
on decisions that make an impact.

My take on this:

1\. Eating the same meal over and over again and wearing the same clothes
every day is a sad and overly utilitarian way to live your life. Eating can be
sensual and joyful, picking clothes can be expressive, fun and make you feel
good. And in fact you need not miss out on these joys of life to spend time
deciding JS framwork to use for your next starup or whatever, because:

2\. The theory of willpower/ego depletion is probably wrong and cannot be
reproduced
([http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/cover_story...](http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/cover_story/2016/03/ego_depletion_an_influential_theory_in_psychology_may_have_just_been_debunked.html)).

------
carlio
Daniel Radcliffe war the same thing every day
([http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0051271/](http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0051271/))
in order to prevent paparazzi getting useful pictures of the ongoing filming
of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

~~~
basseq
Kim Jong-Il wore the same thing every day so the regime could release photos
without leaking information on _when_ the photo was taken.

[http://www.hackerfactor.com/blog/index.php?/archives/286-No-...](http://www.hackerfactor.com/blog/index.php?/archives/286-No-
Shirt,-No-Shoes,-No-Shopping.html)

------
retro64
I used to do this for years, just because I realized it didn’t matter (to me).
It drove my colleagues nuts though and they tried to pressure me into
“changing my shirt” or making fun of me because I could care less about
wearing jeans on Friday. I told them I took a shower once a month whether I
needed it or not, so let me be.

Anyway, I no longer do it because I just grew tired of the same look, but I
have been considering going back because I found the plain white shirts I used
to wear turned out to be very high quality and lasted forever. I can’t seem to
find a variety of colored shirts with the same longevity. It seems the mix of
cotton/polyester and weave is different depending on the color die, but the
white shirts with a 60/40 (cotton/poly) were really a good deal in the long
run. Coincidentally, I’m wearing one right now :).

~~~
pram
"I told them I took a shower once a month"

That is disgusting.

~~~
retro64
Haha! If only it were true. I think it was more like once every 2 months.

(I'm kidding of course, just in case anyone else is offended by my lame
attempt at humor)

~~~
arkitaip
We can't really tell because our industry is so messed up wrt personal
optimization and unhealthy work practices that showering once every two month
sounds kinda probable.

------
ftio
I wear one of the same few models of black shirt (I have 5-10 each of a
tshirt, a sweater, and a polo) and one of the same few models of jeans every
day (I have one or two each of those).

For me, it's less about the decision making process than it is about feeling
confident in what I wear. Before I started building a more uniform-like
wardrobe, I had anxiety about whether I looked good, whether my clothes fit
well, whether what I was wearing matched. I found that I felt more confident
in black.

Now, I know I look good (or at least I feel that I do), and I'm never
concerned. Sure, it can at times be tiresome to have the "yes, I wear this all
the time" conversation, but for me the tradeoff is worth it: I have zero
anxiety in the morning and confidence all day.

------
swift
The author's argument about willpower and the limited capacity for choice is
definitely true, but I'd like to push back a little and point out that if you
let yourself get into it, clothes can be _fun_. Your outfits can be an
opportunity to express your personality and creativity, even if only in small
ways. I get a lot of pleasure from dressing in a way that I think looks good
and feels "right" to me, and if you're not familiar with that feeling, you may
want to experiment a little and see if it has a positive effect on your life.

------
jasode
I first got the logic of wearing the same clothes from Jeff Goldblum in the
1986 remake of "The Fly":

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktYrYErBN-0&t=27m25s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktYrYErBN-0&t=27m25s)

------
andreygrehov
He tries to be special, whereas in reality he is just lucky. That's about it.

~~~
joopxiv
This is a good summary. If grabbing a shirt and a pair of pants that somewhat
go together requires too much brainpower to do on a daily basis, maybe you
don't have much to begin with.

I especially like this part:

 _Eat the same few meals. This is in part due to decision fatigue, but it’s
also a powerful dieting tool. For example, Tim Ferris’s Slow Carb Diet
suggests eating the same few meals to boost adherence._

Yes, it's also very unhealthy to have a one-sided diet. That's why you're
losing weight, your missing our on the nutrients a balanced diet offers.

------
mullsork
The only thing in this article I could never subscribe to is this:

> Set “key objectives” before bed. I decide what I want to do BEFORE I go to
> sleep. This saves time in the morning when I want to jump right into doing
> focused work.

Going to sleep is my disconnect from the world. I do my best to let go of all
worries or thoughts and embrace what an active brain really needs: shutting
down for a while.

~~~
Jtsummers
Making some decisions before going to bed helps reduce the time to mental
shutdown once you're in bed.

If you go to sleep and know you have tasks the next day, you need to let go of
them somehow. One way is to make those decisions now, have a plan or a list of
things that will be done tomorrow (even if it's just basic). For instance,
look at the calendar and see that you have an 8am appointment the next day.
Better to know before going to bed than to realize it as you're halfway asleep
and suddenly jolted awake by the memory.

~~~
mullsork
Old thread but that's a very good point. Kudos!

------
zschuessler
Alternative opinion: the character trait not talked about is focus & drive.
Obama is focused on doing his job the best way he thinks possible. So is Zuck.
That means they don't have time for playing the "what should we eat tonight?"
game with their SOs. And they simply don't care what they wear.

I'm aware of studies suggesting a set amount of decisions each day and that
does make sense. However I don't think removing the choice of what you're
wearing (and other menial decisions) measurably impacts your performance. It's
a symptom of your ambition and drive for efficiency.

I recently went to a startup weekend. A group of young men started wearing the
same shirts each day after reading the Zuck story. I think that is missing the
point entirely.

~~~
mi100hael
That's literally what the article says...

 _> Here’s Obama in a Vanity Fair article:_

 _> > “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about
what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.”_

~~~
zschuessler
I agree with you that Obama's quote is similar to what I stated (although not
explicitly).

The article goes into detail on how to setup a full-blown plan of cutting down
decision count. I think _they_ missed the point entirely.

------
treebog
The idea is that willpower is depleted through use ("ego depletion"), but the
research seems to be divided on whether this is actually true. Some recent
studies have found "a growing body of evidence suggesting ego-depletion is not
a reliable phenomenon."

[http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/03/psychologys-favorite-
th...](http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/03/psychologys-favorite-theory-about-
willpower-may-be-totally-wrong.html)

------
lobo_tuerto
Didn't someone already debunked this? or was it proven right?

"Our daily willpower is limited"

~~~
BeetleB
Neither proven nor debunked. Conflicting studies. Still being scrutinized.

------
basseq
I didn't set out to do this, but I wear _effectively_ the same thing every day
(jeans, button-up, topsiders, north face). The biggest choice in getting
dressed is which socks I'll wear, but that's _fun_.

I love variety in my food, and cooking is my "relaxation" time every day. I
would (and do) get depressed eating even the same thing for lunch every day.
Similarly, I like wandering the aisles for the grocery story (when I go—my
wife does most of the shopping) to find interesting ingredients that inspire
food ideas.

------
probablybroken
For over a decade I wore blue jeans and black t-shirts ( The previous decade I
just wore black ). It becomes a self reinforcing habit; I once wore a red
t-shirt, and everyone commented on it as if it were the most hilarious and
bizarre thing I had ever done. I didn't wear it again to avoid the
humiliation. On top of this, it becomes especially difficult to find clothes
that genuinely suit you - especially when you know that you will come under
such critical scrutiny for any deviation from your standard uniform.

------
raverbashing
Wasn't the whole thing about "willpower depletion" shown to be an exaggeration
some time ago?

Oh by the way, I do want to chose. Because there are some days where I want to
dress down, some days up, because I do have stuff after work to attend
(sometimes). Some days are cold, some are hot (and I don't take an air-
conditioned car from an air-conditioned house to an air-conditioned office)

Same thing with having lunch.

------
pcunite
I can't speak to the motive behind why Zuck actually does this, but I can
applaud the fallout if this gains traction. No more being held prisoner by the
fashion houses. I once attended a school that made us wear the same thing
everyday (cleaned multiple sets). Two days a week we got to switch to Kaki
color or whatever. I loved it.

------
Grue3
For people like presidents, it's that they can be easily photoshopped in order
to make more flattering pictures, or even completely fake pictures. In fact,
you don't even need photoshop, Soviet leaders used this trick constantly.

------
EmptyBoat
The summary on will power is interesting: it's a limited, required resource
for making good decisions.

I'd guess the effects of the use of will power can be additive or compounded,
like choosing not to have to choose clothes.

------
busterarm
I also do this. I rotate a few different styles of jeans but always buy the
same ones. I have 20 of a specific black t-shirt and wear the same hoodie. I
mix it up a bit with my shoes though.

------
traviswingo
I actually started doing this about a year ago and it was the best thing I've
ever done for me mentally. I purchased 12 of the same shirts, three pairs of
the same jeans and two pairs of the same shoes.

I found that, not only am I not worrying about what to wear in the mornings
and focusing more on important problems, I'm more confident around others. I
forgot how influenced our wardrobe choices are by our peers. I used to dress
while dwelling in the future, which is a recipe for anxiety. Now, I put on the
same thing every morning, on autopilot, and think about a problem I'm trying
to solve.

It's really working great for me.

------
reactor
I don't know if Mark is doing any coding now a days, but if you do, you you
are making tons of decision's every day. Does that count?

------
serg_chernata
I do the same thing; specific model of Levi jeans and grey Mossimo shirts I
buy in bulk. It really is liberating.

------
antoineMoPa
"Eat the same few meals" \- This would make life very sad and boring.

------
veeragoni
they made a choice to chose the same everyday.

------
sickbeard
Maybe it's comfortable and they don't care?

------
wslh
Because he LIKEs it. Sorry, today is Monday.

