Does a Messy Desk Mean a Creative Mind?Does a Messy Desk Mean a Creative Mind?

Many of the greatest minds in past and current history sat behind very unkempt desks. What does your desk say about you?

Rob Spiegel

January 6, 2015

1 Min Read
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How messy is your desk? Some claim an untidy desk reveals a cluttered mind. Albert Einstein said, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” Another defender of the messy desk, Harold Geneen said, “If your desk isn't cluttered, you probably aren't doing your job.”

So we turn to the author who wrote the book on disorder, David Freedman, co-author of A Perfect Mess. He noted that a cluttered desk shows that “you're not the kind of person who places neatness and organization over actual efficiency, because a messy desk tends to be more efficient than a very neat desk."

Freedman even argues that a cluttered desk is more efficient than a clean desk. "A survey found that people who had messy desks spent less time hunting for things than people who had very neat desks. That makes a lot of sense, because, when you have a messy desk, you're arranging things in a way that's customized to the way you think and work."

We decided to look through history to see who actually sat behind a messy desk. We’ve also include a couple famous messy desks from the movies.

What does your workspace look like? Send us a photo or share it with us in the comments. We'll share our favorites in another slideshow!

Click the image to start the slideshow:

It takes a messy desk to invent the Internet. In all fairness to this cluttered desk owner, Al Gore co-sponsored the bill that turned the Army’s global network over to the public, thus setting the World Wide Web on fire.
(Source: urbanchoreography.com)

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About the Author

Rob Spiegel

Rob Spiegel serves as a senior editor for Design News. He started with Design News in 2002 as a freelancer covering sustainability issues, including the transistion in electronic components to RoHS compliance. Rob was hired by Design News as senior editor in 2011 to cover automation, manufacturing, 3D printing, robotics, AI, and more.

Prior to his work with Design News, Rob worked as a senior editor for Electronic News and Ecommerce Business. He served as contributing editolr to Automation World for eight years, and he has contributed to Supply Chain Management Review, Logistics Management, Ecommerce Times, and many other trade publications. He is the author of six books on small business and internet commerce, inclluding Net Strategy: Charting the Digital Course for Your Company's Growth.

He has been published in magazines that range from Rolling Stone to True Confessions.

Rob has won a number of awards for his technolloghy coverage, including a Maggy Award for a Design News article on the Jeep Cherokee hacking, and a Launch Team award for Ecommerce Business. Rob has also won awards for his leadership postions in the American Marketing Association and SouthWest Writers.

Before covering technology, Rob spent 10 years as publisher and owner of Chile Pepper Magazine, a national consumer food publication. He has published hundreds of poems and scores of short stories in national publications.

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