Some things don't change!

[fryke]

That's why I moved to notebooks. I can take them to my clean sofa when the desk is messy. :P

[Rhisiart]

Originally Posted by icemanjc

Yep it does, and Im a clean freak so it annoys me when I have a messy desk.

Two wonderful kids, a sucessful career in physical medicine.

Yes messy, but pretty OK.

[icemanjc]

i've never seen a zip driver in that G4 tower before.

[bbloke]

Don't worry, rhisiart. There's an article in the New York Times to back you up!

Originally Posted by New York Times

Studies are piling up that show that messy desks are the vivid signatures of people with creative, limber minds (who reap higher salaries than those with neat “office landscapes”) and that messy closet owners are probably better parents and nicer and cooler than their tidier counterparts. It’s a movement that confirms what you have known, deep down, all along: really neat people are not avatars of the good life; they are humorless and inflexible prigs, and have way too much time on their hands.

(You need to register, for free, to view the article online.)

[fryke]

It's really simple, isn't it:

If you live in a chaotic environment and you're enjoying that, finding everything you need, then that's good for you. It won't hinder you. Might inspire you.

If you live in a clean environment and you like everything tidy, then that's good for you. It'll let you focus on the task at hand etc.

Problems arise only when it gets _too_ messy for your own taste, or if it gets too _tidy_ for your own taste. I've cleaned up my mess under pressure every so often (mothers, girlfriends , they kinda do put pressure on tidiness) only to regret if afterwards, because I couldn't find things anymore. It's not a cliché. If you _are_ chaotic in these ways, you'll find what you need because you _remember_ on what pile of stuff you last put it, even if it's now below a lot of other stuff. (I recently found my original installation DVD for my MacBook _instantly_ under a miniature billard table. Of course it "doesn't belong there". But I _knew_ at the time I put it there that I'd pile lots and lots of original disks on _top_ of that table, but _also_ knew that it was the original installation disk I'd one day be looking for, whereas I would probably ignore that hp-printer installation disk for years to come, because Apple would add a newer driver for it sooner or later anyway.

[Qion]

Well, what exactly does that say about people like me?

I don't entirely consider myself an inflexible prig, but my workspaces (three desks, two Macs, and a light table) are always extremely organized. I know that I have a small case of OCD, but I don't do anything about it; it helps me do my job. I -by instinct- arrange objects in sensical visual patterns, and along with that I can move objects by eye very accurately. For me, instead of the smell of fresh coffee (or cut grass, or whatever), the look of my office in the morning is what makes me happy.

The only thing that irks me here is my boss, with ADHD, leaving his food wrappers and thousands of victorian lithograph books strewn about my light table every so often.

[Rhisiart]

Originally Posted by Qion

I know that I have a small case of OCD...

Ironically so do I, but this has got better with age. Now I can choose to have a tidy or untidy desk rather than feeling compelled to have one.

I am flattered by the article bbloke, but I don't agree with dissing tidy desk people (but I like the bit that makes me look good!).

[bbloke]

Originally Posted by rhisiart

I am flattered by the article bbloke, but I don't agree with dissing tidy desk people (but I like the bit that makes me look good!).

Hehehe

Aww, I wasn't being insulting to anyone who is very organized. I think the article was meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek!

(Just to be sure: no offense to anyone if my post came across as criticizing them, I meant the quote in a light-hearted way!)

As for myself, I am probably a bit on the organized-mess side of things. I have times of cleaning everything up, and then I let it all become steadily messy over a period of time. And then I clean up again. The best of both worlds, perhaps!