Messy Desk Messy Head?
77“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what then, is an empty desk?" Albert Einstein
Do you suffer from chronic guilt about the mounds of decomposing paper on your desk, threatening to avalanche? Or suffer remorse about never getting around to color coding your kids toy storage system? Or maybe you get down on yourself for not having your DVD collection in alphabetical order. Nowadays organizing tips are everywhere! Magazines, reality shows, even on Oprah! Like we don't feel enough guilt and shame about it already.
Don't despair, according to Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman, authors of, A Perfect Mess, The Hidden Benefits of Disorder, there is no convincing evidence to support the notion that neat is better. In fact, they propose the exact opposite is true, that neatness and organization can actually be bad for your creativity, productivity and life in general. (Ha! I'd like to see them tell that to Sister Mary Margaret, my sixth grade science teacher.)
I stumbled across their book, misshelved ironically enough, in the the audio book section of the library. (I listen to audio books in the car to keep my inner angry motorist persona pacified, but that's a subject for another hub.) "A Perfect Mess," Hmmm, the title immediately appealed to me. I am a recovering "messy," and like many addicts, suffer tremendous guilt about my past indiscretions, not to mention the mother of all unorganized behaviors, procrastination. I knew what that word meant in first grade...not a good omen.
I'm happy to report that I've conquered the procrastination guilt, I just don't feel guilty about it anymore. And friends have actually commented on how organized I am. So, I must be making progress, even if I seek out slobs for friends to make me look better. But it didn't come naturally. In fact I read somewhere, probably in Real Simple, that only 25% of us are born with the organizing gene, you know those anal retentive types. The rest of us poor slackers have to be taught how to properly fold sheets.(I just had a nasty visual, if they're anal retentive, what does that make the rest of us...)
This fact was probably generated by the head statistician from NAPO- the national organization for organizing. According to the Abrahamson and Freedman, NAPO loves to throw around these kinds of figures, like many of us waste over an hour a day looking for stuff we should keep in prioritized, alphabetized, and color coded files. I did try this method when my daughter was two, and had a penchant for emulating Houdini, but she kept climbing out of the filing cabinet.
The other problem I have with this method is when I am struck by an organizing fit, usually 1/2 hour before the in-laws are arriving, I can't find anything later because I can't remember what I filed things under. Whereas, if they're on the northwest corner of my desk, they're simple to locate, real simple. Add to that the stress about deciding whether to file speeding tickets under "Pending Arrests and Court Appearances," or "Raps I've Beaten," and it just doesn't seem to be working for me. Now should that go in a yellow file or a red file? Red...definitely, red.
Organizing is not just for the office area. What about all those arts and crafts supplies I've acquired over the years? I tend to be a bit of an impulsive buyer. OK, so basically there isn't a handicraft, or art form I don't have supplies for, that are in desperate need of organizing. My one token, 25% friend turned me on to The Container Store. Did you know you can buy containers for your containers there? I'm not kidding. So let the compulsive buyer loose there, and...now I need to hire an organizer to organize my organizers.
I have also managed to let go of the shame around my less than perfect housekeeping. You know how we women always apologize for the "mess" when people drop in. Defending our shortcomings, maybe chalking it up some sort of "family emergency." Well now I say, "If my friendships were based on the cleanliness of my house, I wouldn't have any." (Come to think of it, the phone hasn't been ringing much lately.) Heck, I even have tributes to clutter hanging all over my house. A cross stitch that says, "Housework is a Bummer," a framed card, "A clean house is the sign of a life misspent," and a refrigerator magnet, "You should have seen how clean my kitchen was yesterday."
But if I'm still feeling bad about the bum hand I was dealt in the neatness gene department, I take comfort by listening to a chapter from A Perfect Mess," or fall back on that great line from Phyllis Diller; "When I have company, I don't clean the house, I just throw a sheet over the furniture and say I'm remodeling."
Phillis Diller
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A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder - How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and on-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place
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Comments
Thanks Shawna. Glad someone has read it :-)
Sounds very, very familiar! Nicely done, Dale, very interesting reading ... I'll keep my eye out for Chapter 2!
Dale I finally solved part of the problem by putting a large, 2 foot square cardboard box on my desk and everything, i mean EVERYTHING goes into the box. When company comes, the box slides into the front hall closet. Now I'm not sure what will happen when winter comes and people actually USE the front hall closet....
A really fun read! We have a similarly snarly bunch of genes: the procrastination gene compounded by the pack rat gene which runs primarily on the male side of the family. One of my favorie quotes on the subject is: Immaculate homes are run by dull women.
Nice job Dale! I relate so well to the "What did I file that under?" syndrome. I tend to find things better in my messy piles on the corner of my desk than in the file cabinets and drawers. I live with an anal retentive husband. People comment all the time that my fridge is so organized. It's not me, it's my husband. He's not bad though. Just as you are emphasizing that messy people show creativity, one musn't generalize about anal retentive people either. My husband has his creative side also like how he groups things in the fridge or the dishwasher! But it does drive me crazy when he wants me to clear off the phone machine of old messages that are mostly for me. I will do that on my own time! Now I have a brother who has been soooo messy in the past , calling me to let me know he has organized everything in his house, drawers, garage, cabinets, etc. I asked him, "Do you want a cookie?"
Dale - great article! Hope you remember me, we had lunch last November during the ScriptShark seminar. Hope all is well!
Great job Dale! Man oh man can you write! I too, have the sloppy and packrat genes. Not a good combo. :) My uncle had it so bad he had a barn filled with newspapers that he was saving for the articles! No one wants to come over because of it so I do need to get moving. Easy does it, but do it is my motto lately. Why is it so darn hard for me to throw stuff out? And what do you do with all those Birthday, Holiday and Mothers day cards anyway?
Just a tip....when emailing to all of your fans...think about sending all addresses using bcc. That way when one opens your email all the addresses will not appear.
Thanks for removing at least some of my guilt. And in a very entertaining and enjoyable way. You truely hyave no idea of my clutter. But I do know where it all is. Usually within the centimeter. And woe unto the 'helper' who arranges any of it for me.
jjc
Hi Dale. Loads of identification in this article for me !!! GREAT job my friend !!
Hi Dalie,
I love your pen-style. I would have never guessed you are the untidy type having seen your home and VERY organized work station. Ah Ha...Maybe you pulled it together knowing I was going to visit. lol
I was born anal retentive. When I realized there was a lable attached to my condition, I tried to find ways to change it. My head was constantly trying to organize the world. I mean, I would clean the house before the cleaning girl showed up. If she was early, I would actually appaligize.
Back in the 70's, I was in bed with a broken back, leg, arm, ribs, along with a few other bones due to a boating accident. The Saint of a person that was caring for me knew what a neet-postashio I was. So he was constantly picking up, cleaning, and rearranging everything to please me. I found it so unatractive. My head was spinning thinkjing that I looked that way in front of my friends, family, guests, etc.. That was the begining of my road to recovery. I would practice being a slob. Hotel rooms were very challaging. I made sure the room was left up-side-down. Wet towels on the floor, newspapers, unfolded, clothes thrown on the chair, etc.. It was painful but slowly I became, what I thought, was pretty close to a normal postashio-nut.
Now I am old and tiered and I let someone else do those things. I think it's brilliant to write an article on this topic. It is very important and to some people can create huge problems in their lives.
Keep plugging with the elegance you were born with Dale.
Love,
Gail
Hey it's not only women who apologise about the mess of the house. I looked around my office desk and thought yeah that's me. My desk is huge, goes around the whole four walls of my office and it still is cluttered with half finished projects.
Still we are what we are.
Thanks for the read.
We have a choice of being organized or of being creative. There are only a few people who can do both.
As a former business owner, I found that you did not have to be incrediby smart to be neat and organized....which includes being on time[by that I mean always early]. Being organized makes you look smart to others. That includes dressing and grooming right. First impressions are so important! Try to get money from a bank with a sloppy busness model. I think this new generation of Cell/E addicts does not think they have to plan in advance. Big mistake!
Dale,
What can I say, I have that gene. I've tried and tried to pass it on and you're right, you are much better than you were 25 years ago. I love the container store but I never know what to buy. Oh well, I laughed out loud and very hard while reading your story. Very entertaining! Keep them coming.
Love, Susan
Carol- Thanks! I could write 10 more articles on this subject
Leslie- When do you find time to go through all those boxes in the front hall :-)
Marie- Well according to that definition, I'm definitely not dull...
Marilyn- Yeah, myhusband has a thing about clear counters, but I'm the one who complains if the chili powder is not on the A-L spice rack
Liz- I totally get your angst... being a pack rat is definitely a challenge for me. Add to that trying to be "green" and saving stuff to properly dispose of it.... it's ugly. I once read in a Woman's magazine article, in a doctor's office, that if one has difficulty throwing out stuff, you don't really know yourself. I immediately rushed home and started to toss things out, but later retrieved it out of the trash :-) My husband and son are also pack rats... One strategy is to pack away those skinny clothes you're going to someday get back into in a sealed box, and then wait a couple of months and then donate it to charity, without opening it. You forget what's in the box and it's less painful.
Jim- It's obvioulsy in our genes
Heather- Thanks, glad you liked it. Did you sign up to me a fan? :-)
Gail- Being at either extreme can be painful. Balance, isn't that the lofty ideal we seek?
Brainstormer- Academics are the only ones allowed to be messy in our culture. Call me Professor Lewinski
budwood- I use cleaning and organizing to procrastinate from writing sometimes... not good
Georgie Porgie- I've heard it said, "People make plans and God laughs." I think the key is to plan yet be flexible enough for the unexpected.
I love this. Geat post and great humor and writing style. I am redeemed! I've reached a point in life where I've stopped flailing at perfection. I'm having so much more fun and have even resolved to be happy. I'm amazed how well & quickly that simple affirmation has worked....allowing me to throw off the guilt & worry and struggling. This philosophy is assisted by the mantra: Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or go without. I don't need any more containers that I will never look into for the next 5-10 years. It's clear to me that over-organizing leads to over-consumption on a national level. I was tickled to recently see that on her blog, one of my favorite authors (a woman wealthy enough to have sweeping manicured lawns and a team of gardeners), shows a photo of her lovely untamed rustic looking property, and a growing technique where she used a rusty old piece of fencing to cage her project. The plants don't care.
Keep writng Dale!!
Dale, love the article and love the quotes!
my best,
Carol
Hey Dale!
Great article! Cute picture!!!
You Biggest Fan,
Cindilu
Great article Dale! Here's my philosophy:
Housework, if you do it right, will kill you. Erma Bombeck
Hey Dale-
A funny article.
I liked it.
I want one of those containers for my containers.
Keep it up.
Kathy
Great job, Dale. Looking forward to reading the next one :)
Laqueta
Carolyn- Re bulk mail- yeah- forgot to limit the number of people I sent it to. :-( But if i try to put thme in the bcc, gmail won't send it out... ugh! Thanks for reading it!
Susan- Thanks- why don't you write a hub? You have LOTS to tell :-)
Mary- "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or go without." Love it! I am in the process of "downsizing," (in the worse Real Estate market in 1000 years) so I am especially challenged right now. I need to have a yard sale to get rid of all the fabric, yarn, and knick knacks I have acquired from yard sales! Thanks for your comments.
Carol- Thanks. Yeah- I'm a quote junkie. I even carry little pieces of paper around in my purse with quotes on them that I give to people. I'll have to give you one next timeI see you :-)
Cindilu- Thanks from your biggest fan.
Gretchen- Thanks- Erma is my hero...
Kathy- Thanks- I probably have a few extra- come to my yard sale :-)
Laqueta- Thanks- This is just what I need- motivation to keep me writing. I am working on a few others.
Dear Dale, what a cute and very useful hub, which makes me to think about my office and my large table there...I always try to keep it neat and tidy and I do the same with all other computer tables around me, as well. However, I need to admit that my younger brother creates and works in his 'creative paper disaster office', which always looks like a bomb crater. He is always extremely successful in selling his rare technical computer expertize to big companies for big bucks, which allows him to travel all over the planet regularly. Many times I've been thinking, if I am doing something wrong and being too tidy with my office, and if maybe that lower my creativity level in comparison with him...:)
Solarsingles - thanks- I actually have gotten pretty organized over the years, and now I'm feeling guilty about it stifling my creativity :-) ya just can't win.
I'm confused - is it a good thing to be messy? If I could find my phonebook I'd call to discuss! Besides, I get to use the excuse that we just moved in and are getting ready for contractors, at least for now. Keep writing!
Wendy- that is the rub. After listening to this book, I feel guilty for being neat!
You know, there are some of us who are, ummm... excited, let's say, by a trip to Container Store. Containers for containers are hot.
Looking forward to the hub regarding your strategies for pacifying your inner angry motorist persona. Are the audio books the only method?
Good stuff!
"Messy desk = ordered mind," expert says. Perhaps even a sign of GENIUS! http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/smth08.shtm
I CAN'T WORK WITH OUT A MESS! Chaos breeds creativity. My own personal Chaos Theory says that LIFE = CHAOS. Too neat can give you a nervous breakdown, then the mess is the result. A Beautiful Mind and a Beautiful Mess!
Em Writes- Thanks! Regarding the inner angry motorist perosna- I actually use a few strategies. I'll get to work on that hub :-)
Paulie Walnuts- Love your name! I've spent the past 15 years trying to be organized and neat, and now I'm trying to break myself of it to expand my creativity! I do feel uncomfortable when visiting a friend's house that is too neat. COme to think of it, my workspace is pretty messy, so I feel redeemed. Thanks for the link. I have to figure out how to add better links and more stuff to my hubs.
It sounds like my desk..I clean it up..it looks perfect and the next day..my husband gets near it and wham it's a a mess. Loved your writing.
Judy T.- Thanks! Maybe he needs his own desk :-)
Great hub! Entertaining for Sure!
I've been teaching clients how to use teh right tools ot be 'organized' for about 10 years. The bottom line is that as long as you find a system that works for you, and is 'neat' (piling everything across your desk may work for you...but it's hardly neat! LOL!) you are on to a great start. You also have ot stick with it. Like a diet. Or a work out routine. Systems work best when they become habits.
Check out my lens on unique and useful organizing tools.
Hi Defmall-
Never say Diet, is my Motto! I'm actually a closet organizer- I don't organize closets- like a closet eater :-) It does feel good to have things in some order- it's just taken me a long time to get there...
Terrific! I really enjoyed reading your article!
shawna.wilson says:
16 months ago
This was very entertaining! Great job and welcome :)