Everyone's relationship with clutter looks different, and so does their ability to thrive among the chaos of a messy desk.
Everyone's relationship with clutter looks different, and so does their ability to thrive among the chaos of a messy desk.Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsAnyone who spends their time in a messy office has likely heard it before: “I don’t know how you can work like this.”
“How a person deals with clutter depends a lot on how that individual’s attention system is set up to deal with clutter,” she says. “Each brain is different.”Productivity isn’t an easy thing to test for empirically, Kastner says. But as a sort of proxy, she typicallyAt any given time, our brains filter out most of the things our eyes can see in order to focus on whatever interests us at a given moment.
As a result, the filtering system in our brains helps us select important information, which then gets forwarded into a memory system for further processing.This filtering system has been important for human brains for far longer than we've been sitting in cubicles trying to meet deadlines. The thing is, nature is cluttered. When the task at hand was to hunt our next meal, that meant navigating a cluttered environment, like a forest.
“Our brains are attuned to , but some brains may have lost some of that capacity in the modern world,” Kastner says. “It’s not about that level of survival anymore.” She also notes that it’s difficult to reconstruct our ancestor's precise conditions, so understanding how people filtered visual clutter in the past, and to what extent, is pure speculation.
Still, clutter may be better for encouraging certain tasks, or even ways of thinking. In a study published inThe scientists found that those who worked in cluttered offices were more likely to choose a healthy snack and donate to charity after completing a survey. In other words, they did what they were supposed to do, said psychological scientist Kathleen VohsBy contrast, those working in a cluttered office came up with more creative solutions to a problem presented to them.
And just like other kinds of clutter, some people can likely filter it out better than others.sometimes struggle to filter out distractions, Kastner says that working in a cleaner space may help you focus better on work.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Office Buildings in San Antonio Empty as Remote Work IncreasesOffice buildings in San Antonio experienced a surge in vacancy rates in 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing trend of remote work. The vacancy rate reached its highest point in the past decade, prompting companies to focus on leasing newer and more attractive office spaces to entice employees back to the workplace. The availability rate, which includes subleased spaces, was also high. While San Antonio's vacancy rates were lower than other cities, such as Austin, Houston, and Dallas, the increase was expected.
Read more »
Botox in a Bottle 2024: 13 Products That Work Like BotoxProducts that work like Botox in a bottle use retinoids, peptides, or other ingredients to smooth fine lines and wrinkles. Shop our top picks now.
Read more »
How Slack brought the group chat to workTen years ago, an enterprise startup, Slack, grew into a massive business that changed how we all communicate — even outside work.
Read more »
Brighton: Demolition work begins to make way for £155m cancer centreThe new centre will bring 'world-class cancer care' to Brighton and Sussex, says Dr Sarah Westwell.
Read more »
Is 'Kind Productivity' the Future of Work?The emerging trend centered around kindness could be the key to achieving the best work-life balance, experts told Newsweek.
Read more »
Andy Warhol’s Unseen Work on Display at London’s Halcyon GalleryThis exhibition provides a look into Warhol’s printmaking practice and the fundamental truths about the enigmatic artist’s worldview.
Read more »