Messy Work Spaces

I started a second job a couple of weeks ago working at a church. I have my own office and desk. It’s there that I realized how much I need to be surrounded by clutter to work efficiently.

Crazy, isn’t it?

There are Tidies in the world — who have clean, clear spaces in which to work. They work hard to create those spaces, and I’m sure those spaces allow them to focus on what it is they’re trying to write.

It’s refreshing for me to know that there are also Messies — who are surrounded by papers and books that aren’t in neat little stack. Even the books on the shelves behind them are in a bit of disarray.

I remembered seeing once an article about famous authors and their writing spaces. Unfortunately it’s hidden behind a paywall now, but I used my one free whatever to visit it this morning.

There were over 100 authors on the list and I wrote down 21 names of writers whose workspaces warmed my heart.

Albert Einstein was the first I came to. Is he a writer? I think of him as a scientist. Anyway, I saw the photo, and laughed. How did he get my desk?!

Carl Sandburg, one of my favorite poets, was a Messy.

Arthur Miller, Dylan Thomas, Edward Gorey — I kept working my way through the list, scribbling down writers whose workspace mirrored mine.

Eric Carle delighted me with his. Granted, he is both writer and artist for his books, but I LOVE his space.

My list continued. I won’t bore you with every name. Jack London, J.D. Salinger (sitting naked on an upturned suitcase, writing on the open tailgate of a station wagon — not exactly how I would do it, but his space was definitely a messy space), Ray Bradbury (I went through a serious Ray Bradbury binge when I was in high school so was happy to see that we had a common bond), Truman Capote, and William F. Buckley, Jr.

I’ve never read anything by William F. Buckley, Jr — I think of him as a politician and political commentator — but I’m intrigued.

Somehow seeing other people’s messes makes me feel better about my own.

When I show up at my new job,i get out some notebooks and papers to which I may need to refer and spread them on the desk.

Then, and only then, am I ready to work.