You might be surprised by what they say. Scott Bea, who has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, says that having a messy desk isn’t always a bad thing. All that matters is how comfortable you are with yourself. It might just depend on how you are as a person whether you keep your desk clean or messy.
I was coming back from a friend’s house when I saw her 13-year-old son’s room. I was shocked. She yelled from the living room, “Don’t look in there!” when she heard me stop. It’s terrible! She said that they were choosing which fights to have with him and that they weren’t going to go to war over the bedroom. Even though I understood, I couldn’t help but think about the link between dirty rooms and depression, since my friend has struggled with mental illness.
Productivity experts today say that a person is more productive if their desk is organized and there is “a place for everything and everything in its place.” This is the main idea behind inboxes and outboxes.
A recent University of Minnesota study found that people with messy desks were more likely to be creative and take risks. People with clean desks, on the other hand, were more likely to follow rules and were less willing to try new things or take risks. In the last sentence of their study, Dr. Vohs and her co-authors wrote, “Disorganized workplaces seem to encourage breaking away from tradition, which can lead to new ideas.”
Giang says that the study “found that it’s best to start a project with a dirty desk and finish it with a clean one.” A clean desk helps your mind focus on order and what you should expect, but a messy environment helps you think of new ideas and be creative. Get away from the noise and you’ll be able to finish your project (the cluttered desk).
But the study says that a messy desk is not the same thing as useless clutter. Workers who were not organized were more likely to come up with new and creative ways to use an old commodity than those who were (ping pong balls). In a few words, chaos is a creative force. The Palm Beach Neuroscience Institute’s Arif Dalvi, MD, MBA, says that most geniuses are creative. One sign that you are smarter than you think is that your desk is messy.
Albert Einstein once said, “If a busy desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what is a clean desk a sign of?” The Nobel laureate was clearly praising the benefits of messy desks, but he had no idea that his question would lead scholars to give him an answer decades later.
What does it mean when a desk is messy?
The results show that people with busy desks are friendlier and more outgoing. A cluttered desk is a sign of a creative mind that doesn’t get things done. Most of the time, a messy desk means that the person is busy, which is why it is not in order.
Does a full desk mean you’re smart?
A study from the University of Minnesota found that geniuses’ messy desks are linked to their IQ. If you don’t spend much time cleaning up and putting things in order, you must be thinking about more important things.
Is it true that people are more productive when their desks are full?
Clutter can affect how you think and how you work. They also found that when people cleaned up their workspaces, they were more productive because they could focus and think better.
Why is keeping your desk clean so important?
Keeping your office clean and clear of clutter is very important if you want to be more productive and have a better mood. Bacteria love to grow on desks, so it’s important to keep a regular cleaning schedule to keep employees happy and healthy at work.
Is a clean workplace better than one that’s messy?
in the study, Giang says that the study “found that it’s best to start a project with a dirty desk and finish it with a clean one.” A clean desk helps your mind focus on order and what you should expect, but a messy environment helps you think of new ideas and be creative.
What does it say about you that your desk is clean?
“I think the orderliness or disorganization of our desks or offices often shows how we deal with stress and relax in general.” He also said that some people might feel less anxious if their desks were clean because they wouldn’t have to look at all the unfinished work.
Are neat people intelligent?
So, those of us who are naturally messy feel a lot of pressure to change and start living in a more organized way. In fact, though, we shouldn’t. A study from the University of Minnesota found that people who are messy are smarter and have more ideas.
What is said about people whose rooms are a mess?
Psychology says that being disorganized can mean that someone is having trouble. If someone is messy, it could mean they have depression or another mental illness, just like someone with OCD might feel like they need to control everything.
What did Einstein think about a desk with a lot of stuff on it?
Albert Einstein once said, “If a busy desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what is a clean desk a sign of?” The Nobel laureate clearly supported cluttered workstations, but he probably didn’t know that his question would inspire scientists decades later… Also, the researchers found
Why is it good to have a messy desk?
A study that was just published in Psychological Science found that having a dirty workstation at the beginning of a project and a clean one at the end is good. A clean desk helps your mind focus on order and what you should expect, but a messy environment helps you think of new ideas and be creative.
Why should the tabletop be kept clean?
When there aren’t a lot of things on your desk, you can work better. When your work area is clear of clutter, you can focus on the task at hand. When you organize your workstation, you have more “space” to do chores, you can see your work, and you have more room to be creative.