Because a messy organization can still be organized, right?

The other day, I walked into my daughter’s room and nearly gasped. Clothes were strewn across the bed, books were piled in precarious towers, and her desk—if you could still call it that—was buried under layers of papers, chargers, and half-empty cups. “How can you live like this?” I blurted out, fully stepping into my role as a responsible, order-loving parent.

Without missing a beat, she rolled her eyes and said, “Mom, I know exactly where everything is.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but then I stopped. Because in that moment, it hit me—she was right. Not just about her room, but about me.

I am exactly the same way.

My work desk? A mess. But I can find the exact document I need in seconds. My kitchen? Sure, it looks chaotic when I’m cooking, but that’s when I work best, instinctively reaching for ingredients and tools without thinking twice. Even when I study or plan lessons, my notes are scattered, my books are open in random places, and yet, somehow, I’m more productive that way.

It turns out, this isn’t just some personal quirk. Studies suggest that messiness and creativity are often linked. Dr. Kathleen Vohs, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, conducted experiments showing that working in a disorderly environment can lead to more creative thinking and problem-solving. The idea is that when you’re not bound by strict order, your brain is freer to make unexpected connections.

Take Albert Einstein, for example. His desk was famously chaotic, but that didn’t stop him from formulating theories that changed the world. Steve Jobs, Mark Twain—history is full of highly successful people who thrived in what looked like absolute disorder.

And honestly, I see the same principle at work in my professional life. As a teacher and department head, I’ve witnessed that rigid structures aren’t always the most effective. Some of the best ideas come from unstructured conversations, messy brainstorming sessions, and moments when things seem to be all over the place but are actually moving toward something meaningful.

Even in the classroom, students sometimes learn better when they’re given a bit of freedom to make sense of things in their own way. A perfectly ordered, rigid lesson plan might look great on paper, but real learning often happens in the unplanned discussions, the unexpected questions, the creative detours.

So, maybe my daughter has a point. Maybe messiness isn’t the enemy of organization—it’s just a different way of organizing. A way that works for some of us. A way that allows creativity, efficiency, and flexibility to flourish in ways that rigid order sometimes stifles.

Of course, I’m still going to remind her to put her dirty laundry in the hamper. Some chaos, after all, has its limits.

The other day, I walked into my daughter’s room and nearly gasped. Clothes were strewn across the bed, books were piled in precarious towers, and her desk—if you could still call it that—was buried under layers of papers, chargers, and half-empty cups. “How can you live like this?” I blurted out, fully stepping into my role as a responsible, order-loving parent.

Without missing a beat, she rolled her eyes and said, “Mom, I know exactly where everything is.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but then I stopped. Because in that moment, it hit me—she was right. Not just about her room, but about me.

I am exactly the same way.

My work desk? A mess. But I can find the exact document I need in seconds. My kitchen? Sure, it looks chaotic when I’m cooking, but that’s when I work best, instinctively reaching for ingredients and tools without thinking twice. Even when I study or plan lessons, my notes are scattered, my books are open in random places, and yet, somehow, I’m more productive that way.

It turns out, this isn’t just some personal quirk. Studies suggest that messiness and creativity are often linked. Experiments show that working in a disorderly environment can lead to more creative thinking and problem-solving. The idea is that when you’re not bound by strict order, your brain is freer to make unexpected connections.

Take Albert Einstein, for example. His desk was famously chaotic, but that didn’t stop him from formulating theories that changed the world. Steve Jobs, Mark Twain—history is full of highly successful people who thrived in what looked like absolute disorder.

And honestly, I see the same principle at work in my professional life. As a teacher and department head, I’ve witnessed that rigid structures aren’t always the most effective. Some of the best ideas come from unstructured conversations, messy brainstorming sessions, and moments when things seem to be all over the place but are actually moving toward something meaningful.

Even in the classroom, students sometimes learn better when they’re given a bit of freedom to make sense of things in their own way. A perfectly ordered, rigid lesson plan might look great on paper, but real learning often happens in the unplanned discussions, the unexpected questions, the creative detours.

So, maybe my daughter has a point. Maybe messiness isn’t the enemy of organization—it’s just a different way of organizing. A way that works for some of us. A way that allows creativity, efficiency, and flexibility to flourish in ways that rigid order sometimes stifles.

Of course, I’m still going to remind her to put her dirty laundry in the hamper. Some chaos, after all, has its limits.