Cluttered desk, cluttered mind.
Or is it empty desk, empty mind?
Tour a cubicle-filled office and you’ll probably see a moderate amount of stuff on the desks, a few resources on the wall, maybe some personal effects, but occasionally you’ll run into two extremes:
- The desk so pristine that you wonder if someone actually works there; and
- The desk so full of stuff that you wonder if any work actually gets done in there.
Let me tell you, I have seen both extremes first-hand and both can house esteemed and accomplished leaders!
That being said, I’ve also observed some conveniently well-aligned attributes of these desk owners. On one end of the extreme was the meticulous and methodical, and on the other was the unconventional with a tendency to challenge the status quo. You can guess which one owned which desk!
I think this is just one of many examples where the desk has nothing to do with success, but much to do with the way the mind behind the success works.
It’s the mind behind the desk that determines whether their space works for them or not. In this post, we’re answering the question, is the creative cubicle a haven for inspiration, or a sign of a cluttered mind? in the context of those who choose to operate in the “creative cubicle”, and are perfectly comfortable functioning in such a space.
(If your “creative cubicle” it’s distracting and makes you feel anxious, it’s probably time to declutter!)
But first…
What is a Creative Cubicle?
To answer the question, let’s talk about what the “creative cubicle” is, how it comes about, and how people function in there.
This cubicle is full of stuff, but not just any stuff!
Here’s the thing – if you have a creatively inclined mind, it needs to be engaged. Sure, you can try telling it yes, yes, once we retire, but it’ll find a way, and one of those ways tends to be bursting forth with stuff that inspires it, all over your workspace.
Of course, the creative cubicle comes in different flavours.
It may look chaotic, with working papers, memos, reminders, stationery, and empty snack bags strewn about. Sure, it could be laziness, but it could also be the product of a divergent or big-picture thinker (with little patience for minute details). When your work days feel long and tedious, having an easy-access organizational system (that looks like stuff all over the place, but that’s “organized chaos” to you) can help dispel the tedium a bit.
It may also look expressive, full of decor, knick-knacks, photos, notes and quotes. While this could be a lack of focus on the work at hand, it could also be the product of a creatively inclined or outside-the-box thinker (who would be bored to tears staring at a blank wall). If you’re so inclined, a little magic on your cubicle walls can make that energetic creative mind just a little less restless so it can get on with the tasks at hand.
The Curating Process
A cluttered mind can be forgetful and inattentive, causing the inadvertent accumulation of stuff.
An inspired mind (or a mind in pursuit of inspiration) tends to be focused and intentional in curating their space. (It may not look like it on the outside, because inspiration is so personal!)
Most of us don’t just decide to create a chaotic organizational system and spend hours decorating our space in one go. The space grows with the inhabitant.
That is unless you have to move to a new cubicle in which case everything comes down, and if you’re like me then thanks to your sentimentality, everything goes back up. It’s on your own time, but it’s worth it!
I thought it would be fun to explain the curating process with a timeline. Although this won’t apply to everyone, I suspect that a lot of creatively inclined people are drawn visual sensory input, and so the inclination when something interesting crosses their desk is probably to pin it up on the wall or place it on a surface to enjoy for the foreseeable future.
In the beginning: a welcoming environment
When the cubicle first showed up in my life, it was intimidating: a greige blank slate that marked the end of my cozy group training with my fellow new hires in the first week of my new career. It’s uncomfortable being new at the zoo.
A few personal touches here and there made the new digs feel a bit less intimidating and a bit more welcoming. One neat personal photo intentionally placed could give your space a little personality (and hopefully spark some conversation while you’re trying to get to know your coworkers).
The growth phase: commemorating your favourite moments
If you’re sentimental like me, you slowly start amassing cards, photos, and post-it notes commemorating work life (and the occasional personal life) events, from the photo of you and your fellow designees at convocation to the inside joke on a post-it note that almost made you spit out your coffee. Almost.
You’re also getting more comfortable and confident in your role, and quite possibly a little bored (there’s usually a little period of drudgery before you break through to your next big role). What do you do? Make the cubicle just a bit more interesting to be in.
Here to stay: an authentic workspace
You’re not a renter once you’ve decked out your cubicle – this is your home now, and you (figuratively) own everything in it.
Including the work you produce!
There came a point in my career where I had progressed enough that I got a significant cubicle upgrade which afforded me twice the space I had previously.
Perfect, a blank canvas.
At this point you’ve been grinding for a while, you have the extra space, your coworkers feel like family, and next thing you know, you’re thinking, you know what this space needs? A french press and a potted plant. Also that quirky frog mug you picked up at the dollar store is coming to work with you tomorrow. Let’s make a flower arrangement in coffee beans to remind us to bloom where we’re planted, even if it requires a lot of caffeine…
Anything that makes the space uniquely yours brings just a little more authenticity into your work space.
How do you Work in Such Chaos?
It’s organized chaos, and it’s been developed specifically for the inhabitant, by the inhabitant.
Meaning, what is chaotic to you may not be so for them!
Inspiration and Finding Order in Chaos
If your work is inherently creative, it’s helpful to have some sort of creatively stimulating images around you. I’ve a lot of time staring at my curated surroundings while trying to come up with a new solution to a problem, or a new way to communicate a theory. I have to believe it works! I probably would have gone nuts just staring at a blank wall.
One of the things I’m often tasked with at work (and many creatives probably excel at) is creating order from chaos by building a framework, finding a structure, identifying patterns, and so-on. I have a theory that a little organized chaos in the work environment can help the mind handle finding order from chaos in the work.
Efficiency
While not considered “universally efficient”, it can be efficient for the way your brain works, and depending on what type of work you do.
Let’s look at the everywhereness of papers and workbooks. Often, they aren’t really scattered at random, there was a system there – it just doesn’t look like a standardized one.
That’s because there’s nuance – there’s no simple way (at least in my mind) to say “I do this first, then this, then this”, because the workflow is dynamic and ever-changing for any number of reasons. So there were categories, and then prioritization within the categories, but everything was approximate and so too were the physical categorizations.
Comfort Zone
A lot of us like to make our work spaces feel “homey”.
The feeling of “home” may very well be supportive enough to serve as a foundation from which one could spring forth to meet new challenges.
They also make late nights a lot more comfortable, and foster a sense of belonging. “Home” decreases the stress a bit and calms the mind, and a calm mind leads to great work!
Haven for Inspiration or Sign of a Cluttered Mind?
After talking about what it is, why it is, and how it is, I’m convinced the creative cubicle is a haven for inspiration.
It could also be a sign of a cluttered mind – but not in the way you’d think.
Allow me to explain!
I’m an accountant: the profession of convention, of the prescriptive, of the buttoned-down, the basis of which is “because they did it in the prior year”. Combine this with a lack of creative outlets outside the workplace, and you get an itchy mind that craves some sort of inspirational stimulation in order to work well (or at all). In that sense, my mind was cluttered with all the ideas I had and things I wanted to try, but without an outlet, they just rattled around in there.
I like to think my workspace, though chaotic itself, was actually what my cluttered mind needed at the time to relax a bit and let me focus on the task at hand. In that sense, it was a haven for inspiration – the inspiration that let me do my work.
I suspect this has since changed.
In the years between my last creative cubicle and my new blank slate of one, I’ve taken up considerable time and space to nurture my creative practice after hours, and I think this has really changed my approach to office life.
I can still exercise my creativity at work, but I don’t crave it.
My ideas have a home outside of the office, and generally they happily stay there, because at this point they trust I’ll be back soon to breathe life into them.
I don’t feel as distracted looking for opportunities to innovate or escape the status-quo. When I step into the office, I can really just focus on the work, whether it’s procedural or not.
I’m enjoying the clarity, focus, and dare I say logic that the clean, clear workspace seems to encourage. Occasionally I wish I had something more interesting to stare at while trying to solve a problem, but overall, I don’t feel like I need to get in there and redecorate, or pull out my old cards, inside jokes, or pieces of encouragement. I no longer have that craving for all of my quirky bits, or my items that made the cubicle feel a little more like “home”.
It turns out that when you’ve been at the same workplace for over a decade, it’s the people who make it feel like home, who make me laugh, and who keep me inspired. Regardless of the cubicle decor.
It could sure use a potted plant, though. 🙂
Back to the beginning of the series: Making Space
