If your desk is a mess, you are either a genius with good thinking skills or disorganized. Being disorganized makes you less productive and more stressed out.
It may seem like the right balance of energy “just happens” because people are drawn to it when it has the right mix of calm and high energy. But, contrary to what most people think, it involves more science. In fact, our research shows that proximity, openness, and cultural diversity are the three things that give people energy.
Business Insider took pictures of desks and then looked at what they showed. 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.
The idea that a clean desk means an employee is working hard dates back to the middle of the 20th century. In this piece of art from the 19th century, the 18th-century genius Samuel Johnson is shown with a full desk, as geniuses have always been shown:
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. Dr. Bea says that a person with a dirty workspace might just be too busy with their work to clean it.
What does it say about you if your desk is a mess? Depending on what you read or where you look, you’ll find different answers to what seems like a simple question. But the vast majority of them fall into one of two groups. If your desk is a mess, it could mean that you are a genius or that you are not organized. If you are not organized, your mess makes you less productive and more stressed.
Harford also thinks that messiness isn’t just limited to the physical world. It is also true for our mental and emotional health, our business and political decisions, and our relationships with other people. Accepting it means accepting the unplanned, unquantified, chaotic, impromptu, imperfect, incoherent, unrefined, cluttered, random, ambiguous, vague, challenging, diverse, or even dirty.
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.
What does it mean when a person’s desk is not in order?
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.
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
Is it good to have a cluttered 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.
Is it good for creativity to have a messy desk?
Again, half of the people who took part worked in a messy environment, while the other half did not. The participants came up with the same number of ideas, but a group of impartial raters found that the people in the dirty room came up with far more creative ideas.
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.
What does it say about you if your house is 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.
Who said that a messy desk shows a messy mind?
Albert Einstein famously asked, “If a cluttered desk is like a crowded mind, what does an empty desk look like?” It’s an interesting point to make. But a recent study found that clutter has effects on our bodies as well as our minds. It has the potential to make stress much worse.
What does the “clean desk policy” mean?
A clean desk policy (CDP) says how employees should clean up after themselves when they leave the office. Most CDPs require employees to clear their workstations of all papers at the end of each day. In the past, a clean desk policy was enforced at the management’s whim.
How does a crowded desk affect how much work you can do?
When your work area is a mess, you lose information, misplace papers, and feel more stressed. It also affects how other people see you, which can make you feel more self-conscious than usual (which can detract from focus on work-related tasks).
Why is it so important to have a clean desk?
A clean and organized workspace makes people more productive and less likely to get sick. If your desk is a mess, you will lose information, misplace files, and make more mess. If your desk is clean, you can find what you need when you need it, which will make you less stressed.
What is the main cause of clutter in the office?
Look at all the stuff on your desk. When: You don’t have clear places to store the many supplies you use often. You always forget to put things back where they belong after you use them. Other folks drop items on your desk.
Why does chaos make you feel better?
Some of us are happy to live in the chaos we have. This is where we put in the most effort when we work and make things. It’s a nice place to think deeply and look inside yourself.