A messy desk can actually lead people towards clearer thinking, say researchers from Germany. The researchers found in a series of linked studies - using a messy desk and a messy shop front - that people actually thought more clearly when all around was chaos, as they sought to simplify the tasks at hand. Visual and mental clutter  forces human beings to focus and think more clearly. Famous thinkers and writers such as Albert Einstein and Roald Dahl have been notorious  for their untidy desks. "Messy desks may not be as detrimental  as they appear to be, as the problem-solving approaches they seem to cause can improve work efficiency or increase employees' creativity in problem solving," say the authors. "Business and government managers often promote 'clean desk' policies to avoid disorganized offices and messy desks, for the purpose of boosting work efficiency and productivity," writes lead researcher Jia Liu of the University of Groningen in a paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research. "This practice is based on the conventional wisdom that a disorganized and messy environment can clutter one's mind and complicate one's judgments." "However, not all evidence supports this conventional link between a messy environment and a messy mind." The scientists tested people's response in various 'messy' environments - including a messy shop front, a disorganized desk, and even a work environment where a language task 'reminded' people of messiness. The authors found in the series of six studies people tended towards simplicity in their thinking. "They categorized   products in a simpler manner, were willing to pay more for a T-shirt that shows a simple-looking picture, and sought less variety in their choices." said the researchers. How do people look at messy environment according to the conventional wisdom?
Messy environment will create clearer thinking. Messy environment will simplify one' s judgment. Messy environment can promote work efficiency. Messy environment can block one' s mind.