Hurrah for those of us of a rather, ahem, messy nature (remember, I have ‘piles of cr*p’ everywhere?).
I read in the paper today that, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota (bless their little cotton socks), “people working in a messy office come up with more imaginative ideas” because, “disorder inspires the mind to break free of convention.”
Apparently, “this could explain why many ultra high-achievers – including, it is believed, Einstein – liked to be surrounded by clutter.”
So, there you go. We definitely DON’T need to tidy our desks before we start writing! And all that mess around us? It’s just helping our creativity!
Noise or Not?
Would you like some ‘coffee shop background noise’ while you write but without the hassle of actually going into town and paying an arm and a leg for a cappuchino? I don’t see the point of cappuchinos (cappuchini?) by the way. They’re mostly froth AND they’re always luke warm! I’d rather have an americano any day but, each to their own…
Anyway, if you like the sound of all that, here’s an interesting website, Coffitvity.com. Let me know if it works for you!
Writing Workshops in Birmingham
Remember I told you about these workshops?
Well, Julia, who blogs at ‘Life, yoga and other adventures‘, has been to one and she’s written all about it here. It sounds like it was great. Her post is definitely worth a read and, if you can get to any of the other workshops that are coming up at the Barber Institute, book your place quick! (And tell us all about it when you get back!)
Blog About Writing 
My SO bought me a desk in honor of being published in a print magazine…and also to clear my stuff off the dining room table. I’ve already got the new desk stuffed! Glad to know that’s my creative side messing things up!
In that case I should be spewing out ultra-imaginative ideas by the minute….or maybe I’m the exception that proves the rule! 🙂
The Coffitvity thing is quite a cute idea, I can imagine it does work for some. But I’m more of a glass of wine + Miles Davies CD sort of a writer myself….
My mum once gave me a paperweight on which was written: ‘A cluttered desk is a sign of genius.’ My clutter is caused by my tendency to leave my desk drawers open, which means I sometimes fence myself in. The Coffitivity thing is one of thos ‘Crazy, but it just might work!’ things. I’ve had it on for a while this morning and it’s not distracting me at all. Too soon to tell whether it’s a help, but I think it will be useful for those days when I’m fed up with working alone. (And that’s for mentioning my blog.)
Thanks for the ‘messy blog’. I met with a writing friend yesterday and one of the first questions was, ‘have you tided your desk yet? Seems we are both ‘clutter ‘ creative geniuses. (not yet)
You beat me to it as I saw that article in the paper and was going to blog about it! As I write all around the house, you can imagine the mess I leave behind me! There is a desk but as I never use it, it is very tidy!
I was so happy to see a desk which looked as untidy as all the desks I’ve ever worked upon. The introduction of a clear desk policy in my old workplace pretty much sent me over the edge, hence my early retirement and my subsequent writing role. Thanks for the info, Helen. Good wishes KH
Oh dear, Helen, you’ve got me worried because I am an obsessive tidier and my writing space is exceptionally neat and clutter free. I can write anywhere but not surrounded by clutter or mess. And I like writing (or should that be snooping) in coffee shops because of the overheard conversations – you can hear some absolute gems, so not sure a soundtrack can replicate that.
I’m sure other people would describe my writing space as messy, but I prefer to call it organized chaos. There’s no system to it but I know where everything is – more or less!
I’m not telling my family about the messy thing leading to creativity. They don’t need any more excuses not to tidy up!
I’m definitely with Tracy Fells. I have to have a clear space to work in, and can’t start working on any project until the tasks for the day have been done. And going out for a coffee and absorbing the atmosphere of a coffee shop is almost an obsession! In fact my two main procrastinations are cleaning and coffee shops.