Should we be making messy decisions amidst mess?

Should we be making messy decisions amidst mess? This is a question I've been asking myself lately, particularly when I find myself hosted in beautiful environments to think about complex problems. I love being in these beautiful environments, but I'm also acutely aware that their effortless existence is a fantasy: there is so much hidden work to make the world around you that simple.

Clearing distractions and providing physical clarity can be important for creating a headspace with the space to think about big issues, but it is also easy to feel distanced from the complexity of the world in these spaces. I think about the decisions that were made during the pandemic, with cats on keyboards and washing hidden just off camera and I wonder if finding solutions for the challenges posed by global 'mess' could be supported by making our environments that little more 'real'.

We often don't see the mess that it takes to make a pristine meeting room, and we hide the 'how' of creating these environments. We don't see the off-cuts of building materials and out-of style office furniture taken to landfill. We don't see office cleaners coming in out-of-hours to change bins and vacuum floors. We don't see the events staff set tables with pristine notepads next to a single pen or who is actually keeping those plants alive. And maybe that makes us underestimate the work it takes to create change and order.

Maybe we shouldn't be trying to make decisions in beautiful venues - maybe we should be in messy rooms, with mismatched mugs and that pile of books you've been meaning to get rid of for 4 months. Slightly uncomfortable, surrounded by imperfection and not sure where all these miscellaneous knick knacks came from or what you're going to do with them - but having to get on with it anyway.

If you've ever had to tidy a messy bedroom in a short period of time you will know the moment where you realise at some point, for now, you're going to have to shove some things in the closet. And in deciding to whittle down the tasks to the laundry, making the bed and a quick vacuum, what having mess around us can remind us to focus on is: what is going to make the biggest difference in this space?