cluttered room affects productivity?

[rdpioneer]

Hello,

I'm studying biology and i've been collecting images of scientists, animals, plants and other stuff to stick in the walls of my room. Also I have posters of tennis players, the sport I love, and famous phrases written in cardboards.

The room is small, do you think the cluttered room (cluttered but "cool") affects my productivity?
thank you very much.

[Rachelle]

I think it depends on the kind of clutter.
I think a "creative clutter" could give way to creativity, but that the creativity may seem disorganized (if that makes any sense?)

I think if a room is simply cluttered and disorganized in a chaotic sense, it will cause your thinking to become cluttered and disorganized as well. At least that's how it usually happens to me.

[supertom]

i think its great, i remember at scool my Bio room actually looked like a bio room, But go for it man, positive feedback from your environment

[Orionjoel]

For me personally i have found very little difference, however, i believe that less clutter is probably better.

I have tried both no clutter all (just getting a box and putting everything in and putting it in the cupboard. Compared to before, i put it all in a box, i have found most of the time very little difference. In addition i find that trying to clear the clutter consumes time and keeping it clear even more time, plus the time when i cannot find things i need now because they are all in a box.

In some respects clutter dismotivates me, but not a lot of the time. I think it really does come down to quite a lot how an individual person views what they have around them. For example you may see these pictures and things you have collected as inspirations, which in your case may not be viewed as clutter, while someone else may see it completly a different way.

[MattFYF]

There was an interesting study done that reported that people tend to think in smaller terms in a room with a low ceiling, and in much larger terms when in a room with a high ceiling, especially when brainstorming.

Now, I don't know if that has much to do with having a cluttered room, but for me, just the feeling of something cluttered makes me feel "cramped", which severely puts a limit on my productivity and thinking ability. I have to have everything organized and in it's own "place" to make me feel good and to make my productivity the best it can be.

[stevedevane]

I think it depends a lot on your personality. Some folks work better in a sort of "scattered" environment. They can keep a lot of plates spinning at one time. I had a boss whose desk had about a thousand things all over the place. When I needed information about something, I'd ask him. He's stand up, put his finger on his chin, think for about two seconds then reach midway through a pile somewhere and pull out a book or some document that had exactly the info I needed. It was amazing. I was often tempted to just ask about some obscure fact to see what he came up with, but I never did it for fear he'd ask me why I needed it.
So, I guess I'd say set up your room in the way that helps you function the best.

[Tigerlilly]

For me clutter is deadly for concentrated creative work, and I know a lot of people who also -before they set upon a creative task- need to clean up the room they work in, cause they "simply can't work in this mess".

And I've also noticed that surroundings affect my thinking and feeling. I'm living in the low country, where there isn't really a view of the horizon and when I was in the mountains for a holiday and woke up to see the sun rising above the snowy hill tops and could see far over the lands to a distant horizon, my thoughts became more expansive and I felt like the whole world lay there ahead of me to explore.

So yes, your surroundings most definitely affect your thinking, feeling and thus your productivity.

[silicon toad2000]

I can't stand clutter. My brain doesn't work properly if there is too much clutter around me. Apparently I'm borderline autistic, I think I just enjoy order and patterns.
Anyway I find I am much more productive if everything has a place and everything is in the aforesaid place.

[Ninja]

I don't mind clutter, as long as it is 'intentional' clutter. Tons of posters on my wall? Okay! Tons of post-it notes and old coupons? No!

[Flavia]

What is clutter? Stuff that isn't supposed to be there but is? Or are we talking stuff that is there but has a purpose? There is a big difference.

[Love]

I think clutter would be stuff that you wouldn't like in your room but is there anyway.
I like to clear all that non-inspiring, shouldn't-be-there-junk before thinking about anything, because I am inspired by a clean space.

It seems like the things you have on your wall are things you enjoy that are inspiring, and thus I imagine they might make you feel more productive. If you find this isn't the case, then just switch everything up and see what happens.

[Kaspian]

When I'm working on something creative, I like to start with a clean, clear space. By the time I'm in the middle of things, however, I might have the project spread all over my desk or the room. It could look like chaos to someone else, yet I know where everything is and it's in its place. When I'm done, back to clear and clean. For day to day stuff, clean and organized works better for me.

[persephonevii]

I don't mind a little mess, a little bit of clutter. If it's too pristine, too clean it actually distracts me, makes me nervous... almost as if I'm waiting for something disasterous to happen to such a clean, sparkly room. So a bit of clutter is good for me. But too much clutter makes me feel disorganized, lazy and apathetic. Eventually I get so sick of it, I just clean it up... make it uber pristine and start all over again!

[BenThere]

I think you have decor, not clutter.

To me, clutter means junk that is in the way, keeping you from having access to what you actually need. You simply like a lot of posters. Nothing wrong with that unless the posters are in the way of something else that you have to do with the wall. At any time, you can look up and catch a glance of someone or something that is interesting, inspiring, beautiful, or different. How could that not help spark new ideas?

[Duckienz]

What about finding a gorgeous frame in a second hand shop. Think great frame with really tacky picture in it. You can get them really cheap. Put a corkboard or thin wood behind it and make your pictures, quotes etc into a montage and then frame it. Hang this on your wall. Then it is about a design piece rather than clutter on the walls. Hang it somewhere that inspires you but doesn't distract. For me, it is on a wall beside me when I am working. It inspires me when I am looking at it but doesn't overwhelm me when I need to be focussing on the task at hand. Good Luck

[aelle]

In my experience, clutter does hinder reflexion and efficiency.
On the opposite, for creative work, I work best with inspiration around me (stuff on the wall is great for that)

[CoolBee]

Originally Posted by Kaspian

When I'm working on something creative, I like to start with a clean, clear space. By the time I'm in the middle of things, however, I might have the project spread all over my desk or the room. It could look like chaos to someone else, yet I know where everything is and it's in its place. When I'm done, back to clear and clean. For day to day stuff, clean and organized works better for me.

Like he said

Clean up before I start a big project, then over the course of the project I have heaps all over the place for different aspects, which look chaotic but aren't, then end of project, wipe down clear up.

At work I used the volcano filing method on my desk top, and every 2 weeks piled everything in to a box - threw out all those ludicrous hanging files and just shoved the big box in the desk drawer - in which I made coal (ie just used to pile everything in it, the least used papers would gradually sink to the bottom and once every six months I could properly file away - or more likely throw away- the bottom inch).

Greatest advantage, my team always knew where things when if I was out of the office - in the box or on the desk. The more recently I was using it, the nearer the top of the box it was likely to be. Nothing filed away obscurely.

[CoolBee]

Interview with theoretical physicist David Deutsch who developed quantum computing and attributes his creativity to his untidiness. He makes the comment that he knows very few creative physicists who ARE tidy.. I can vouch for that

http://www.takingchildrenseriously.c...and_untidiness

and I so agree with what he says about not putting things away between different jobs helps it flow more easily - as a multi-tasker I so agree with that, when you are juggling many balls, you keep them all up in the air not put each one away in between juggles.

[KtotheB]

Clutter definitely affects my productivity. If my room is too cluttered, I can't work. Clear your clutter, clear your mind!

[this is fun]

Originally Posted by stevedevane

I think it depends a lot on your personality. Some folks work better in a sort of "scattered" environment. They can keep a lot of plates spinning at one time. I had a boss whose desk had about a thousand things all over the place. When I needed information about something, I'd ask him. He's stand up, put his finger on his chin, think for about two seconds then reach midway through a pile somewhere and pull out a book or some document that had exactly the info I needed.

I'm pretty much the same I always know where something is when I need it. When everything is in 'order' it's distracting and it makes me nervous.