English Writing

David Freeman argues in“ Messy Desk Means Something’s Getting Done”, that although we often admire neat-freaks, it’s often the disorganized who are the most productive. He says, “About two out three people in the U.S. feel shame or guilt over their messiness, and almost all of us think poorly of messy people and highly of the neat and organized.” He continues Sure, most of us are messy, but only moderately so, and we do just fine with it – other than feeling bad about it or getting grief from others. Once people start thinking about it, they realize there’s often a good side to their messiness. Moderately messy people don’t spend two or more hours a day straightening up, the way some of their neatnik friends and colleagues do. Their houses and cubicles feel friendlier, lived in and personalized. They’ve got the stuff they like at hand. They make serendipitous discoveries when they excavate through their piles. And, surprisingly, they usually know where everything is. Messy people let things spread out and stack up in ways that naturally suit the way they work and think. There’s evidence that messy people are more improvisational, maintain more impressive workloads than their neatnik colleagues and reap other benefits from their relaxed sense of organization. *