If you devote all your time to organizing, you won’t get anything done. If you don’t spend any time organizing, the resultant mess bogs you down completely. When you find that sweet spot between mess and order then you have a perfect mess. It’s that sweet spot that I strive for.
The current trend tends to be an obsession with the benefits of organizing and just forgetting about the costs. Creative types tend to be messy. It may look like a mess to everyone else, but I know where everything is.
Organization can be limiting. An orderly schedule can be limiting in that unexpected opportunities that “pop up” might be missed if you stick to a planned schedule. We have to find our place of balance between chaos and rigid planning.
Albert Einstein once said “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what , then, is an empty desk?”
Creativity is sparked when things that we tend not to organize in the same category come together. Moderate messiness is completely acceptable, and in fact probably superior in a number of instances to perfect organization.
Having said that, I will have to tell you I struggle to find the balance. I like my home to be neat and orderly, I just don’t always have it there. Cleanliness is a different matter. When I’m finished posting this I will be cleaning the bathrooms. Nothing is grosser than a disgusting bathroom and with two teens, well you can imagine.
Clutter seems to be a big problem. After cleaning out a bunch of clutter, in a short matter of time it has replenished. Books and papers seem to collect on their own. I think the same laws of nature that determine the two socks enter the dryer and one sock leaves rule have also set in place the rule of multiplicity in paper products. Books on a bookshelf attract other books. I don’t know where they come from, but suddenly there will be a stack of books in front of the other books, and possibly a stack of books on top of the bookshelf.
While I’ll never win any awards for good housekeeper of the year, my workspace is comfortable and most of the time inspiring. When it becomes too cluttered I have to deal with it, but I tend to go overboard and then have to reach the perfect state again. It’s a constant fluid environment
The sweet spot that allows for creativity yet, provides an organzied work area is almost magical when achieved. What about you? Are you a neat-freak? Or do you allow a certain amount of messiness into your area?
Write on my friends, write on!
quotidiandose 