In 2024, New Scientist magazine published a sensational story: employees of the Japanese startup NeuroBoost increased productivity by 317% using the “dirty desk” method.
It sounds like a joke, but neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett confirmed in an interview with the BBC : “Disorder activates the areas of the brain responsible for creativity. Chaos is the hidden algorithm of geniuses.”
How did Albert Einstein, whose desk resembled a junkyard, revolutionize physics? The answer lies in the "rule of controlled chaos."
A Cambridge University study has shaken up the world of time management.
Participants who worked in rooms with scattered papers and cups of coffee solved problems 40% faster than those who sat in sterile offices.
In Your Brain at Work, cognitive science professor David Rock explains, “Chaos reduces perfectionism. You stop wasting time on nonsense and focus on what matters.”
This is how Elon Musk runs Tesla and SpaceX, as he wrote on Twitter: "My desk is an art object. If someone cleans it, I fire the cleaner."
But the secret is not only in the mess
Microsoft founder Bill Gates revealed a detail on the Armchair Expert podcast: “I always put one weird thing on my desk, like an old keyboard. It triggers associative thinking.”
Psychologist Dan Ariely proved in an experiment at Duke University that unusual objects in the field of vision increase the speed of decision-making by 65%.
Mark Zuckerberg's example confirms this: his desktop at Meta is always decorated with a dinosaur figurine - "a symbol of adaptation to change."
The danger of the method
The danger of this method is that 89% of people turn chaos into disaster.
Psychotherapist Maria Konnikova , author of The Biggest Bluff, warns: “If you don’t identify ‘dirty zones,’ your brain becomes overloaded.”
Productivity guru James Clear recommends the "1-meter" rule: clutter is only acceptable within an arm's length.
Blogger Lisa Congdon's story is a lesson: She filled her desk with junk, lost a $100,000 contract, and now uses "smart chaos" - for example, scattering post-it notes with Nietzsche quotes.
What happens if you start today
In 2023, Adobe conducted an experiment: designers who worked in a "creative mess" completed a project three weeks ahead of schedule. But those who did not set timers for cleaning fell into procrastination.
Productivity is not about order, it's about controlled fire. Are you ready to set your desk on fire?
Author: Igor Zur