I’m a “messy desk” person. I’m one of those kids that had their desks turned upside down more than once. Turns out I’m in good company. Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison were all “messy deskers.” I recently cut out a picture of Karl Lagerfeld, the famous former creative director of both Chanel and Fendi, sitting at his very messy desk. In the photograph, it looks like he is about to be buried in a mountain of papers, magazines and pens, with him barely noticing the catastrophe at hand. I can relate.
Einstein said, “If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, then what are we to think of an empty desk?”
A recent study at the University of Minnesota found that creative geniuses work better in chaotic work spaces. They found in a study comparing “messy deskers” to “neat deskers”, that the messier participants came up with far more interesting and creative ideas than the neater participants when judged by an impartial panel of judges. The study came to the conclusion that the neater desk people tended to be better “rule followers”, whereas messier people are more likely to take more risks and to try new things.
This makes me feel good. Today’s world seems to definitely lean towards “Apple Store kind of living.” Minimalist is the modern theme for rooms, stores, computer homepages, you name it. This stinks for girls like me who love clutter and trinkets. I’m with Iris Apfel on this one. She says:
“More is more. Less is a bore.”
Now of course, I am smart enough to know that “facts” and “statistics” are easily skewed to one’s particular point of view. If I were a “Tidy Tammy”, I’m sure that I could write an equally compelling article as to why I am so much better for being neat and orderly and efficient. That’s what is so great about perspective. It is easily skewed. So, I’m going to stick with my perspective that my messy desk points to me being an absolute creative genius. It will help make my Monday more bearable, as I look for my coffee cup under my piles of folders and tablets.