In Defense of the Messy Room
I have a friend whose bedroom floor is perpetually covered with old cereal bowls and dirty laundry. On the rare occasion he feels the need to clean, his strategy is to throw everything into the closet and hope it doesn’t avalanche out.
One time his roommates decided to prank him by hiding an entire raw salmon under his mattress to see if he’d noticed.
Weeks went by without him taking action — he shrugged off the putrid smell as another byproduct of leftover milk and stale sweat.
Eventually, the roommates had no choice but to reveal to him the real source of the stench: behold the fly covered fish.
As gross as he sounds, if you met my friend outside of his room, you wouldn’t except his life was in disarray. That’s because it wasn’t.
He is one of the happiest people I know, and one of the sharpest storytellers. Besides his room, all other aspects of his life are generally in order.
I’m not advocating to live in filth until you’re inhaling black mold, or to push off doing a rewarding habit simply because you’re feeling lazy.
My point is that maintaining a clean room isn’t always necessary to leading a successful, fulfilling life.
First off, there’s no ignoring the many benefits people draw from maintaining a clean room.
We’ve all heard the advice from some billionaire that the first thing you should do in the morning is make your bed since it starts your day on a productive note, that the little things matter, discipline, etc. And I do believe in the saying that a clean room reflects a clean mind and vice versa.
But often times the most successful creatives or innovators have chaotic, unfocused, and even insane minds.
Some of the best works of art and technology come from people with underwear on their lampshades.
Though, we rarely hear about those who achieve greatness with a messy room.
Albert Einstein once said, “if a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk the sign of?”
And check out Steve Jobs desk:
And there’s no need to discuss how many of the world’s most talented authors wrote their novels while dwelling in filth (see: Charles Bukowski’s, “Too Sensitive,” from Tales of Ordinary Madness).
Maybe you’re inventing computers amongst piles of empty Popeyes boxes, or writing a novel in a room that resembles a dumpster (ok, this does sound depressing). But it’s possible that in your case, you’re just dedicating less mental bandwidth towards cleaning your room, and more towards doing what you love.
In other words, a messy room isn’t necessarily a sign of laziness — it could be a sign of relentless obsession towards a passion or hustle.
And let’s admit it: often times you must be crazy to succeed, and craziness can come with the price of a messy room.
I’m not saying to not give a clean room a try. Maybe you already clean your room and it keeps your head on straight. Maybe you don’t clean your room and it really is the kick-start you need to lead a more disciplined life.
All I’m saying is everybody’s brain is different. Prioritize your actions and figure out what works best for you.
Just don’t think you’re destined for failure if you don’t have all your i’s dotted and t’s crossed.
