I think this is a bit OCD... But I always find that I can think better, when I'm in a tidy, big space. This leads to me cleaning my room a lot, trying to have every little thing in order. I do know that there are a lot of successful people in business, sports, etc., who also are this way... So I don't really care too much. Are you like this as well? Also, how much is too much?
Clutter has a way of effectively making me feel disoriented. According to some theory, a messy office or place makes someone feel stressed out. If you felt stressed out if further aggravates that . . . But studies aside, I've learned from experience that I can't work well when there's clutter around me. To be more productive, my work place has to be neat.
Yes, I actually think better when my things are organized. I just can't stand working in a cluttered environment unlike my husband who's a bit of a pack rat. Anyway, I don't know if it's just me but I do feel a lot better after cleaning something or some area in the house like the closet. Sometimes when I feel down, I'll find something to clean or organize and I would feel better afterwards. Is that weird? My sister thinks so.
Actually a cluttered room or office doesn't affect your productivity. I have proven it so many times. Whenever I can't think straight or if I'm being unproductive I always attribute it the set up of my room so what I do is I clean my room (which is also my office), I rearrange the bed and table and clean out everything and I find that my productivity goes back up and I'm less irritable.
It's not about having OCD. Of course, a normal person doesn't want to to see a lot if mess in his work place. Other than he can think straight, he can also save time if he'll put his things in the right places. It will be easier to find files if he arranges them into a certain way. I have to admit that when I am in a hurry to meet a deadline, the papers in my table are scattered everywhere. It gets really distracting not only to me but also to my office-mates.
Not really, I am a creative type. If everything is too tidy and perfectly clean, it feels rather sterile and it's hard for me to think outside the box, I feel kind of stuck and tense because it's all perfect and I don't want to mess it up. If things are a little more relaxed I feel a lot better and tend to think more quickly and come up with solutions more quickly.
I'm not sure about that but I do wish I was more organized. It really is more stressing, the more disorganized you are. I am the type of person who goes insane when I can't find something even if it's something that's not really important like an ordinary pencil.
I don't have OCD, but I don't function well in a cluttered or disorganized space. It just blocks my thinking process. I really don't understand how people work and live in such a cluttered state.
Yes I do. I'm pretty much a real mess when my room or my office table is a real mess too. Before I can work on anything I make it a habit to clear up all the clutter and keep everything organized from my physical desktop to my virtual one.
My office doesn't exactly have to be tidy for me to work well, but it definitely needs to be organised in some way. I have a system of "organised mess" where I always find everything that I need. I can't share my space with people who are overly tidy because it takes me ages to locate the things that I need. This annoys me and interferes with my concentration and work efficiency.
Ha! Very good topic! I can very much identify with you on this one, as I too am a "neat-freak", for want of a better term really. I do enjoy arranging things "in their right order" so that the room: whether it's at home, the office or my study. This, as is true in your case as well, allows me to feel more focused and able to complete the tasks that are set before me, and I really don't think it's "OCD" as of such, to be honest. I just think that there are some persons who are more geared toward focusing in a neater environment than others; this is similar in the case where there are persons who are better able to study with music, as opposed to persons like me, who just cannot even focus on breathing right if things like studying and music are interspersed consistently. I don't think this is a problem, but merely a difference in way different human beings function, and emphasizes the need for people to have specific conditions and a certain environment, in order for them to fully flourish.
I don't think it matters that much to me unless the surroundings I was in was filthy instead of just being messy. If it's just messy, I know I can block it out because I'm that way when I concentrate anyway, so the mess would not matter much nor would it help if the place were tidy and neat, but if it were filthy, I would never get over that fact because I really abhor filthy surroundings, whereas I could deal with messy and sometimes even prefer it.
I couldn't really say. But my office or my study area is always under the state of messiness, and that doesn't make me think less well. I am still able to get to my peak performance whenever I am working. For me it doesn't really matter. But for some, it does. I know some people that before they start working, they would clean their messes first because they couldn't really perform well with all those clutter around them. They feel like they are suffocating.
I say,"It's not about how tidy or neat one's office, desk, or work area is; it's about how effective one's work area is in relation to one's duties and obligations." When I used to work for a State Agency, I used to observe how my coworkers setup their work areas, and the most effective people were not the ones who kept their areas neat and clean - it was the people who kept their work areas in a ordered relation with what he/she needed to fulfill their jobs on a daily basis, were the most productive people. I worked in the mail room, and everyday, me and a few coworkers had to open and file buckets of mail letters into separate categories. It always got messing during the day, but since we preordain our work area to be designated properly to our job needs, by the end of the day, me and my coworkers always had everything filed correctly and easy to process for other coworkers who will be processing the letters. So I recommend,"Forget neat, go for need," when it comes to organizing a work space or area.
I definitely find I can't work properly unless I am comfortable and everything is tidy or in an order that suits me. When I used to work in an office with others, I had to have my files piled up on the right side and my stapler nearby and my phone positioned away from my coffee! Now, I can only write at home when I have everything I need to hand. It doesn't have to to be tidy, but as long as I know where everything is and things are in piles.
Yes I like this post because I often get moaned at for being clean and tidy and I question whether it is too excessive but still do it anyway. It's comforting to know I am not the only one. I can't help it, I can't get comfortable if I am surrounded by mess it really bugs me. I think better and can relax when things are neat and tidy. "A place for everything and everything in its place" I can't stand clutter and hoarding if you don't need it or use it throw it. I am a minimalist.
Nah. I think my level of comfort doesn't depend on the office's appearance. I'm just comfortable when the office has a homey setup and it's basically got everything you need (e.g. supplies). Also, my brain talks to itself almost always so ideas are not hard to come by. I guess as a writer I've been trained to just think things through regardless of the time and place.
