We rearranged our apartment two weeks ago, slotting furniture into new configurations and making more space for my partners stuff. Then, I got sick with a head cold, and my partner inherited the cold from me, so the job remains 80% done instead of getting everything tucked away and finalised. My desk, which was one of the few pieces of furniture not moving during the process, has played host to a small pile of things set aside as part of that final 20%, which I’ve largely been ignoring for the last seven days as I worked from the couch.
It’s all too easy to find reasons to work from the couch, instead of addressing the problem. To work with the state of the desk as it is, and look for a quick solution. It’s not that the mess is hard to clear, but that clearing it means I may need to consider the questions that come after the space is work-ready.
The advantage of a big, physical mess is the way it provides space to consider less-visible, procedural messes that get in the way of using a space effectively: I haven’t downloaded the virtual drive onto the desktop PC at the present; I’ve started using a bunch of tools on the laptop that aren’t compatible with the desktop PC; shifts in focus and daily attention that no longer sync with existing long-term goals, and projects that have been set aside without thinking about the implications.
My mess isn’t a sign of a project failing; it’s an invitation to reset, re-evaluate, and start doing things better.
