The Benefits of Having a Messy Desk
We hear it all the time, messy and clutter are bad, bad. We see the shows and the read books which preach, get your life together and de-clutter! There is a new study which may be the game changer for those with messy work areas!
A study from Psychological Science found disorderly environments promoted creativity and out of the box thinking! Hey now, that’s a good thing. Right? Those surrounded by order and neatness are more likely to stick on the straight and narrow, dialed in, and more likely to complete the task. Well, finishing a task and having focus is important too.
It sure does sound like the next time you need to get creative, go ahead and get crazy by messing up the room! Maybe, let out a primal scream! You are the ruler of your messy kingdom! Then, cleanup to restore order in your wild self. Take a look at my clutter extravaganza in the photo above! I especially like the post it note for 'blah, blah, blah... ASAP!' I see 'ASAP' from people way too much that my mind has become a bit numb to the forceful request.
There exists a large and growing industry around instilling environmental orderliness. Proponents claim that people see measurable life improvements from becoming neat and tidy, and they can point to multiple billions of dollars in annual revenue as evidence of success. In contrast, many creative individuals with Nobel prizes and other ultra-prestigious awards prefer — and in fact cultivate — messy environments as an aid to their work (Abrahamson & Freedman, 2007). One such person was Einstein, who famously quipped, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”
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