All my life I’ve been a messy person. Not gross messy… like stinky, dirty, don’t-want-to-touch-you type messy, just clutter messy. You could say that an outsider would consider me visibly disorganized (though I will always maintain that my mental file system is quite reliable), and that my friends, is the important note for this conversation. Before I dig in though, lets chat a little more about my history.

When I was young, “messy” meant that my bedroom was very rarely presentable. I left laundry on the floor, toys all over the place, extra pocket change was dropped on whatever horizontal surface was near when I changed my pants, in short I just kind of let things lie. It was not uncommon to have to dig a small hole with my foot before I could step on carpet as I walked across the room. Of course my parents and sisters would get on my case about it, I even remember it coming to a few shouting matches, but I just had no interest in cleaning it up. My ADD just took a hold of my brain and wouldn’t allow me to focus on cleaning. More often then not I would enter my room with the best intentions of cleaning up, but wound up face down in a soft pile of laundry for an afternoon nap!

I really attribute my messiness, and aversion to cleaning, to the confounding way that my brain processes information. In a future post I plan to elaborate on the finite set of rules that govern my brain processes. They are hard-wired into my subconscious giving me almost no say in their execution or enforcement. I think of them as very related to the 3 Rules of Robotics from the movie iRobot. But like I said, that’s for another post. For now lets get to the messy desks…

Knowing my history, it should come as no surprise that my adult working life has been riddled with messy work areas. These have varied from recording studio consoles, to a TV news video editing bay, server clusters, and several desks with multiple levels, baskets, drawers, cupboards, trays, shelves, cork boards, binders and of course post-it notes strewn anywhere the was a surface to bury.

At this point in my post I was going to tell you about a few other people I know who let their workspace get even messier then mine. I was planning to use examples of respected powerhouses in the entertainment industry who I look up to as mentors and have the privilege of working with every day. But then I realized that didn’t get me any further to my point, so I’ll leave it out. I only bring this up to illustrate that I’m not the worst of the worst… but I’m pretty bad.

So what’s wrong with a messy desk?

A question like that is definetly better directed to another person. As far as my personal effectiveness in my roll is concerned, I really don’t think it’s a problem. But then there are are always those who pull out the old quote “a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind.” That expression, which I don’t completely agree with in it’s original context but does have a ring of truth, gave rise to an entire industry designed to help business executives clean their desktops as a sign of their mental acuity. No doubt you have seen the way movies portray the successful execs, where the boss sits in his office atop a downtown skyscraper. He sits behind a glass-top desk with no drawers. The only adornments are the impressive pen set for signing important documents and a telephone or intercom so he can give orders.

Then there is the other camp. These are the people who, like me, see nothing wrong with piles of paper covering the desktop, even spilling on to the chair seats and office floor. We will pull out our own quotes like “a cluttered desk is a sign of genius” and “a messy desk is only a sign of a messy desk.”

I’m sure you all know someone like us. You don’t see how we can even tell if the desktop is metal or wood. Yet when you ask for something, most of the time we can go right to a pile, leaf through 2 or 3 sheets, and pull out what you asked for. We really do have a good idea where everything is at… it’s all socked away in that mental filing system that I mentioned earlier.

Why bring all this up?

Last night while surfing around the internet in my usual places I came across an article that very plainly explained that a messy desk can really hold you back in the working world. Not because it didn’t function well, but because those around you will perceive that it doesn’t function well. So us messy people will say: My work gets done; I know where everything is; people are too concerned about appearances. And all of that may be true… but another this thats true is: If your desk is a mess, you look like you’re not in control.

So, no matter how many times I impart my opinions dismissing nay-sayers. No matter how many projects I execute perfectly and on time. No matter how many fantastic ideas come bouncing out of my work space… If my desk is messy, people will think I’m not in control and can’t handle bigger projects. DAMN! It’s totally true, and I have no rebuttal.

The real deal is that perception is reality. There is very few things in this world that intimidate me, or make me flinch. I can truly handle just about anything this crazy industry could throw at me. But am I projecting that to the higher ups? SURE! … well as long as they don’t stop by my desk.

So what are you going to do about it?

Well, I did it today. When I got to my desk this morning I started purging files like a mad man. I was throwing away, filing, dusting, wiping down, straightening, archiving, and cleaning up like a champ. Before long I was pretty amazed at the difference it made. The whole place became more pleasant to work in. By the time I left work that place was sparkling clean.

When I started cleaning, my cube-mate asked if I was moving… my manager even stopped by with her jaw on the floor wondering what was up. It genuinely surprised people that I was straightening up my piles. It made me laugh. I guess I’ve got a little reputation in my office for a messy desk. 🙂

So from here on out, I’m going to make a real effort to keep my files organized, clear my desk every night, and just generally look like I can handle the giant projects that I love so much. They know I can… but I would hate for some of our new leadership to get the wrong idea by letting a few papers stack up. Who knows, maybe I’ll be posting about a new promotion here soon!