Artists, like humans, contain multitudes and when it comes to the spaces we create in, they all look different. If we do find ourselves on the messier side, we also know that there’s a difference between a mess you love, that inspires, and keeps the connections flowing, and a mess that blocks, hinders, and holds you back. A fun mess and a depressing garbage mess are two very different things. Mess can also be cyclical—certain projects create more mess than others, and sometimes things just get out of control and you know eventually you’ll reel it back in again.

The Mess of a Creative Space

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The first is that people need clear workspaces to be able to create. We cannot do our best thinking and our best work when all the “stuff” from the past is crowding and cluttering our space. That’s why that archiving step is so crucial: you’re not losing anything, and it can all be found via search, but you need to move it all out of sight and out

Tiago Forte • Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organise Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential

Cleanliness—as the saying goes, and many of us have probably internalized—is next to godliness. To be clean: good. To be messy: bad. While cleanliness might indicate a space free of many things, it’s heavily ladened with value judgement.

We reflect that judgement onto ourselves, resulting in the shame that’s present in that third question in my pol... See more

The Mess of a Creative Space

It’s Not ‘Mess.’ It’s Creativity.

Opinion | It’s Not ‘Mess.’ It’s Creativity. (Published 2013)

Tiago Forte • Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential

In his book Keep Going , author and artist Austin Kleon juxtaposes this messy, networked approach with organization and neatness. “Creativity is about connections, and connections are not made by siloing everything off into its own space. New ideas are formed by interesting juxtapositions, and interesting juxtapositions happen when things are out

Sari Azout • The End of Productivity

Artists know how important it is to protect their space, control their environment, and be free of distractions if they want to flow with their ikigai.

Francesc Miralles • Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

The “self” has many distinct aspects. It’s possible to create a piece, love it, and then look at it the next day and feel completely different about it. The inspired-artist aspect of your self may be in conflict with the craftsperson aspect, disappointed that the craftsperson is unable to create the physical embodiment of the inspired artist’s visi

Tiago Forte • Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organise Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential

The Mess of a Creative Space

Opinion | It’s Not ‘Mess.’ It’s Creativity. (Published 2013)

Tiago Forte • Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential

Sari Azout • The End of Productivity

Francesc Miralles • Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

Rick Rubin • The Creative Act: A Way of Being