Messy

The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives

By: Tim Harford

Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith

“Utterly fascinating. Tim Harford shows that if you want to be creative and resilient, you need a little more disorder in your world.” —Adam Grant, New York Times-bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take

“Engrossing.” —New York Times

From the award-winning columnist and author of the national bestseller The Undercover Economist comes a provocative big idea book about the genuine benefits of being messy: at home, at work, in the classroom, and beyond.

Look out for Tim's next book, The Data Detective.

Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives celebrates the benefits that messiness has in our lives: why it’s important, why we resist it, and why we should embrace it instead. Using research from neuroscience, psychology, social science, as well as captivating examples of real people doing extraordinary things, Tim Harford explains that the human qualities we value – creativity, responsiveness, resilience – are integral to the disorder, confusion, and disarray that produce them.

From the music studio of Brian Eno to the Lincoln Memorial with Martin Luther King, Jr., from the board room to the classroom, messiness lies at the core of how we innovate, how we achieve, how we reach each other – in short, how we succeed.

In Messy, you’ll learn about the unexpected connections between creativity and mess; understand why unexpected changes of plans, unfamiliar people, and unforeseen events can help generate new ideas and opportunities as they make you anxious and angry; and come to appreciate that the human inclination for tidiness – in our personal and professional lives, online, even in children’s play – can mask deep and debilitating fragility that keep us from innovation.

Stimulating and listenable as it points exciting ways forward, Messy is an insightful exploration of the real advantages of mess in our lives.

©2016 Tim Harford (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“This absorbing book offers a different approach from instructional decluttering manuals by celebrating the successes derived from the unplanned, unscripted, and unknown.” (Library Journal)

“Weaving together lessons from history, art, technology, and social and scientific research, Harford’s theories have many potential benefits for individuals and businesses seeking to remain on the creative cutting edge, as well as profound implications for society.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Harford presents the strategies of disorganization as unique and enlightening and convincingly offers reinforced encouragement to those who may find themselves 'tempted by tidiness' to instead 'embrace some mess instead." (Kirkus)

So great to hear

Incredible, validating, and enlightening book on the value of messiness. Good examples and explorations. Highly recommended.

Formulaic Review of Randomness

I found it a bit amusing that book ascribing the value of mess, or as a scientist would call it "random noise" has such a predictable pattern. That is, this book like the vast number of other pop psychology and behavioral economics books out there all follow the same pattern: key in on a few personal and emotionally appealing anecdotes and make sweeping generalizations on human behavior based on these isolated stories. In fact, more than a few of the stories were borrowed from other pop psych books. That said, the stories are entertaining and the narrator has a pleasant, baritone voice (with a hint of a British accent) that made this book easy to listen to on my daily commute: which by the way I am very certain is the fastest way to/from work since I ride a bike everyday and have systematically reviewed all routes possible! Enjoy the ride.

Must read

Learned a lot.
Great narration.
I’d recommend it.
Life is messy, it’s what makes us human and at the cutting edge.

I live in chaos and succeed, now I know why

I’ve spent the better part of 5 decades trying to conform and tidy around me, attempting to “fit in” in a most uncomfortable way.

Messy, not only explains the organization of chaos, but gave me permission to just do what I do. I’ll never keep an organized office, but clearly I don’t need to. My success isn’t hindered by my chaos, my messy, it is because of it.

There is hope

Tim wrote a great book that put me at ease about messiness.
Tim references several pop culture reference making it easy to relate stories I knew to his argument.
Nick 'the nice' Guy Smith narrates perfectly making X1 speed a comfortable pace.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who has ever pooh-poohed another's messy workspace.

Tim Harford's podcasts are better

I chose this title on the strength of Tim Harford's podcasts, namely "Cautionary Tales."

However, what works in 20 or 30-minute segments doesn't necessary work as well in a longer format. Perhaps this would have been a better paper book than audio.

The biggest disappointment, frankly, is that Harford himself doesn't do the reading. Harford has a much warmer, more personable voice, rather than Nicholas Guy Smith's "I went to Oxbridge and you didn't" timbre. His pronunciation of "LeCorbusier" sounds like he can't stand French people, whether that is his intention or not.

The book's premise is used up rather quickly. We get it -- diverse teams and untidy desks produce greater creativity. Harford takes a swipe at Steve Jobs for his obsession with minimalist design. Well, the day that your maximalist, disorganized workspace produces as much creativity and invention as Steve Jobs, then I'll listen to your book. There -- you just saved nine hours and 42 minutes.

I'm a neat freak with three kids...

Would you consider the audio edition of Messy to be better than the print version?

Yes, listening to the British accent of the narrator is soothing for considering the idea of thinking different to accept that sometimes Messy is just the right challenge to make us excel.

Which scene was your favorite?

Chapter 7 & 8 discussing the AirFrance flight 447 tragedy. It was an interesting and overwhelming doing a step by step of the final moments wishing you could help them.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

To consider that when I've been confronted with a mess, the best choices I've ever made were to take a deep breath and get to work.

Any additional comments?

As a mom of twin toddlers, I've had to give up my neatness, and it's not been easy to accept the 'mess' this helped me understand the positive side of that, and how I've thrived in the chaos.

Making space for the mess

The principles explored in the book are as relevant for personal relationships as they are for organizations, communities, and other human systems. This is also an important book as virtual reality and artificial intelligence become more of a focus in the business and technology sectors. I also felt empowered as a parent to allow —and perhaps even create — space for messiness in my children’s lives. Lastly, as a “piler” rather than a “filer” I felt encouraged that my messy way of approaching my life is perhaps not as dysfunctional as it may appear on the outside. Of course there is always a balance to be struck but I think holding space for the messiness that is simply part of the human experience is something missing in so many facets of American culture.

The audio book was a delight to listen to.

In short, I highly recommend this book.

Meh-ssy

Sometimes it's good to mix things up a little bit. And scene.

This felt like a story that could have been better told in a shorter form Fast Company article. I found it more entertaining than insightful. In analytics, one of the best methods for avoiding a local optimization trap and to find a better global optimum is to introduce a little randomness into your equation, and so it is with life. This is a book of those illustrative examples from life.

Loved the book. Tim Harford does a great job explaining why being Messy is a good thing.

I must admit that I’m a messy person, when it comes to my recording & art studio. Mr. Harford’s book has vindicated my seemingly disorganized creative lifestyle :) In fact, according to the author, in just about any situation being messy beats being well-organized. It may seem counterintuitive but Mr Harford makes his case based on many different situations, observations, and logical conclusions.

Messy is one of my favorite books - it’s at the top of the pile on my cluttered desk. Listen to the book to understand what I mean. I’m a songwriter, musician and artist. Mr. Harford’s discussion about creativity is spot on. My studio is a far from decluttered, giving me the freedom to be creative. No one else may be able to find things, but I can, and that works fine for me.

The narrator is excellent, one of the best Audible books I’ve listened to. The author does an amazing job of using many different examples to reach his conclusion (and vindicating my messy studio in the process). I would love to read other books by Tim Harford, and listen to other books by the narrator.

This is one book that I flew through in a few days. I highly recommend Messy!