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There’s magic in mess: Why you should embrace a disorderly desk

timharford.com

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Re: There’s magic in mess: Why you should embrace a disorderly desk

#31

Post by putterson »

tdb7893 wrote: post #27
Rezo wrote: post #14

In 2011, Whittaker and colleagues published a research paper with the title “Am I Wasting My Time Organizing Email?”. The answer is: yes, you are. People who use the search function find their email more quickly than those who click through carefully constructed systems of folders. I used to organize email into folders meticulously, later using tags and rules. What a complete waste of time. These days I refuse to spe…

What works for me on my computer is put things into general buckets of downloads, things I don't care about, things I need to keep, and programming projects. This really basic organization allows me to be able to delete lots of files without worry while taking almost no time to organize. With search finding things is easy but deleting everything you don't need can still be hard.

I found it striking how similar the system that I have settled into is to yours, and also the similarity of the benefits that you ascribed to it. I love having my /home/name/tmp folder and being able to delete everything in it without worry when I find it becoming a bit crowded. I find that it takes care of most things I don't need but there are a lot of small projects and downloaded libraries that sit in my programming projects directory that are more difficult to delete. All in all I find the organization very relaxing and passive. Roughly the buckets I have are: - Downloads - Documents - workspace (programming projects) - tmp

Re: There’s magic in mess: Why you should embrace a disorderly desk

#32

Post by mountaineer22 »

DannyB2 wrote: post #20

Some people who have what appears to be a disorganized mess, always know EXACTLY where any particular item is when it is wanted.

I wonder if some people think in 3 dimensions versus taxonomically?

Combining for memory palace?

Re: There’s magic in mess: Why you should embrace a disorderly desk

#33

Post by Avshalom »

Rezo wrote: post #14

In 2011, Whittaker and colleagues published a research paper with the title “Am I Wasting My Time Organizing Email?”. The answer is: yes, you are. People who use the search function find their email more quickly than those who click through carefully constructed systems of folders. I used to organize email into folders meticulously, later using tags and rules. What a complete waste of time. These days I refuse to spe…

Yup I am happily humming along at inbox-7000 and never moving anything from firefox's Downloads folder.

Re: There’s magic in mess: Why you should embrace a disorderly desk

#34

Post by Ntrails »

Rezo wrote: post #14

In 2011, Whittaker and colleagues published a research paper with the title “Am I Wasting My Time Organizing Email?”. The answer is: yes, you are. People who use the search function find their email more quickly than those who click through carefully constructed systems of folders. I used to organize email into folders meticulously, later using tags and rules. What a complete waste of time. These days I refuse to spe…

I use my inbox as a to do list, so I'm fairly brutal about keeping it clear. But it's very true - at my previous job I was often able to pull up that one important email from a year or two ago that I vaguely remembered in just a couple of minutes.

Re: There’s magic in mess: Why you should embrace a disorderly desk

#35

Post by antisthenes »

Rezo wrote: post #14

In 2011, Whittaker and colleagues published a research paper with the title “Am I Wasting My Time Organizing Email?”. The answer is: yes, you are. People who use the search function find their email more quickly than those who click through carefully constructed systems of folders. I used to organize email into folders meticulously, later using tags and rules. What a complete waste of time. These days I refuse to spe…

> Here's another heresy I'm testing that I think may turn out to be true: Spending any effort whatsoever organizing files on your computer is equally worthless.

As long as the proper files are in the backed up folders, I suspect your theory to hold true.

Re: There’s magic in mess: Why you should embrace a disorderly desk

#36

Post by knz »

thedevil wrote: post #10

I wanted to take this opportunity to give a shameless endorsement of Google's Inbox app. I prefer something like what the article called the "piler" strategy. I don't like spending precious time and energy organizing things. But the problem is if I have too many things in front of me, I can't concentrate. My anxiety builds up. My creativity vanishes. The Inbox app lets me reach an optimal balance of order and product…

What is the advantage of the Inbox App over just using the archive button and maintaining only a few important emails in the regular inbox?

I did briefly try the Inbox app when it first came out but found the automatic sorting meant I occasionally missed important emails. If you use the regular inbox and the archive button you can at least see everything coming in and decide if it is important. I've been aggressive about disabling email from services that offer their own inbox (Facebook, Asana, Github etc) and unsubscribing from automated email lists - that helps limit how much I am archiving.

Re: There’s magic in mess: Why you should embrace a disorderly desk

#37

Post by s_kilk »

antisthenes wrote: post #35
Rezo wrote: post #14

In 2011, Whittaker and colleagues published a research paper with the title “Am I Wasting My Time Organizing Email?”. The answer is: yes, you are. People who use the search function find their email more quickly than those who click through carefully constructed systems of folders. I used to organize email into folders meticulously, later using tags and rules. What a complete waste of time. These days I refuse to spe…

> Here's another heresy I'm testing that I think may turn out to be true: Spending any effort whatsoever organizing files on your computer is equally worthless. As long as the proper files are in the backed up folders, I suspect your theory to hold true.

Or maybe split them into folders like "Receipts", "Documents", "Books", etc... But beyond that is a cliff of diminishing returns.

Re: There’s magic in mess: Why you should embrace a disorderly desk

#38

Post by Jtsummers »

s_kilk wrote: post #37
antisthenes wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Here's another heresy I'm testing that I think may turn out to be true: Spending any effort whatsoever organizing files on your computer is equally worthless. As long as the proper files are in the backed up folders, I suspect your theory to hold true.

Or maybe split them into folders like "Receipts", "Documents", "Books", etc... But beyond that is a cliff of diminishing returns.

And tags solve that, along with smart folders for common searches.

Re: There’s magic in mess: Why you should embrace a disorderly desk

#39

Post by BeetleB »

rhapsodic wrote: post #4

I've found the easiest stuff to organize is the stuff I no longer have. I used to feel obligated to file a lot of stuff that came in the mail, like addendums to insurance policies, annual reports for stocks or funds, credit card statements, etc. But it dawned on me long ago that I virtually never need to refer back to that stuff. So it goes straight into the trash. When the bookshelves in my office fill up, I cull th…

>I've found the easiest stuff to organize is the stuff I no longer have.

I'm usually a mess of clutter. Some years ago I started attending workshops on tidying up. Every one of them points out: Before you even begin to organize stuff, identify stuff to throw out and get rid of it. Then organizing is easier.

The real problem is not that it's hard to organize. The problem is we have too much stuff.

For people interested in this, a recent bestseller:

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-Declutter...

I only started applying it, and it's not as quick as it may sound. Time will tell if the principles in it last, or if I become a mess again.

Basic ideas:

1. Get rid of stuff.

2. How do you decide what to get rid of? Keep only the things that bring joy to you.

3. What about utilitarian stuff (e.g. cutlery)? Well, keep some. Better yet, if they don't give you joy, buy ones that do and throw the current ones away.

4. Sentimental stuff you don't use? If you're cramped for space, take pictures and donate. These things may bring you joy when you look at them, but if your home is full, they are literally preventing you from new experiences.

The basic ideas:

1. If you surround yourself only with stuff that brings joy, you'll find yourself a lot happier.

2. This may be a bit expensive, as good quality stuff is pricey. However, if you follow this rule when you go out to shop, you pretty much eliminate buying a lot of stuff with this criterion: Am I buying it because it's a good deal or an impulse, or will this truly bring joy to me? This eliminates most of the useless purchases. Another thought: Do I have things in my home that I bought earlier and have not properly utilized/used? If so, why am I adding more stuff? If I buy this, what can I identify at home to get rid of?

Overall, buying pricier items may be cheaper in the long run.

Recently I went back to using fountain pens. I used to when I was young, but stopped when I entered university. Now that I use them, I wish I had never stopped. I threw away all my "freebie" ballpoints, and just use the fountain pen. Problem? A lot of paper doesn't handle it. So I now only purchase notebooks that have better quality paper. Is this cheaper? Probably never will be. However, I now just love to take notes on paper. I've added a joy to my life and removed something pedestrian.

Re: There’s magic in mess: Why you should embrace a disorderly desk

#40

Post by Pica_soO »

Recombination in the midst of mess, something the neurotic order makers and perfecter s cant see. Your brand new concepts, was born in a bloody mess, imperfected and shivering. And it was born by a different mindset, and will be again. There are things you cant see, you cant become, you cant create, limits, that you can not overcome, because they make you so great in all the other situations.

No, side is more worth than the others, though the cooperate bureaucrats would be of another opinion, because you cant see, what has yet to be. You cant differentiate against what chaos will give birth too. Enjoy your day.

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