Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Chaos, close-up


I've been busy lately. Calls aren't returned. Voicemails remain in an eternal blinking red-light state. E-mails stay in my inbox until they are buried by the never-ending torrent of new messages. Even my wife often has to IM me from across the room.

Often, when fighting a deadline or otherwise juggling more things than I should, I tend to let the blizzard of papers get the better of my desk. Strangely, it doesn't slow me down any. I seem to thrive on the chaos that is my environment. It stresses me to that just-optimal point where I am most creative. Any more and I'd freeze up; any less and I'd be so relaxed that I'd spend too much time making the perfect mug of tea.

So this is a desk's-eye view of where I work. One the surface, it's pretty routine stuff: two-21-inch monitors, a keyboard (Microsoft...sorry), a set of headphones for the requisite drown-out-the-world soundtrack, enough paper to start my own recycling plant, and pictures of the people who inspire me. But it's homey, and I can't imagine it being any other way.

(BTW, those are indeed my hands. Madge - of dish-pan hands/Palmolive fame - would not be impressed. Typing is murder on my skin.)

Your turn:
What does your immediate workplace look like? Is chaos the answer for you as well?

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hm, well my current "workspace" is me curled up on the couch with a blanket, cell phone, and dirty dishes from the dinner I just finished, lol! And at work I manage to stay fairly organized--not as obsessively as some--but everything with a place and everything in its place!

kenju said...

Carmi, I am always extremely neat. The problem with this office is that it has not been painted in the 23 years we have lived here, and it needed decorating even when we came here. Since I am the proverbial pack rat, this office (above my garages) is full of stuff. The stuff is neat, but I cannot bear the thought of having to remove it all so that the room can be painted.

Marcia said...

I always make my husband IM me from the other end of the couch. I think it's funny. And when we're busy, it cuts down on idle chatter.

Zinnia Cyclamen said...

Like yours, only worse. You can't see any of my desk!

Anonymous said...

From my point of view it is an organized chaos, but a third party would leave the "organized" part out... I mostly find what I need. I am not a neat person, I leave traces...(a cup of coffee, reading glasses, pieces of paper...)

Anonymous said...

.. My workspace is somewhat cluttered with some papers...but i can be organized sometimes...btw, thanks for dropping by on my blog

The Mistress of the Dark said...

Just remember a neat desk is the sign of a deranged mind. :)

Ms Mac said...

"typing is murder on your skin" Lol!

You poor little love! ;-)

carmilevy said...

Testing removal of word verfication feature.

Misti said...

MESSY!!! thats my life. no matter what I do this house is messy. You can eat off the toilets but its still messy *sigh*

Misti said...

Messy is a good word. And i apologize if i already posted. i thought i did but its not there.

No matter what i do, my house is messy. Legos here,blocks there,crafts on the tale,dishes in the sink. Just messy!!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Chaos is indeed, the answer to that question,Carmi. Papers, papers, papers..and right now, many many photographs of The Cotswolds, for the coninuing sage for my blog...other photo's of other things I want to scan in for the future and for posterity!!...Post it notes, galore...It's a mess, but it's MY mess! So like you,I wouldn't have it any other way! Loved you sharing yours and LOVED the photo, too..it doesn't look that Chaotic to me!!!!(lol)

Sandy said...

My home workspace is a barely clear space at the base of my keyboard for my wrists to rest on admist the disarray of scrap paper and kid stuff.

My office space isn't much better. I tend to try to push that off as "Hey, it's hard to organize when you're only here two days." Who am I kidding? My desk looked like that when I worked full-time too.

Thumper said...

My office is a mess right now, because there's still boxes from moving in and things people keep shoving in here because they don't know where it goes yet.

I don't know what excuse I'll have for it's natural state of disorder a month from now...

Anonymous said...

My space looks a lot like yours, just ramp up the clutter a bit. Every time I clear it off, I hit a whirlwind of activity and before I know it the only clear space on the desk it where my wrists rest when typing. Drives me crazy, but I seem to be existing... oh well!

utenzi said...

Chaos is the only way I operate, Carmi. Paper everywhere!

Anonymous said...

Hi Carmi! Michele sent me! ;)

utenzi said...

Now that's techie heaven, Carmi. Two 21 inch monitors! I have one 19 inch set to 1600x1200 and that's a lot of real estate. Since I seem to recall you mentioning in the past you're using the same setting that gives you 3200x1200. Yikes!

I have a second 19inch monitor from a past computer--maybe I should do this too! LOL

Michele sent me by, Carmi, and I had to tunnel down here to comment.

Anonymous said...

My state of work (home and work offices) are both organized chaos. I must admit I thrive on multitasking and a fast pace. The only problem with that is it takes a while for my mind and body to relax; if Ido have downtime I can get antsy.

Alas, I do know how to relax though ;).