false 132176 10 Like Freakonomics, here is a book that combines counterintuitive thinking with stories from everyday life to provide a striking new view of how our world works. Ever since Einstein's study of Brownian Motion, scientists have understood that a little disorder actually makes systems more effective. But most people still shun disorder--or suffer guilt over the mess they can't avoid. No longer! With a spectacular array of anecdotes and case studies of the useful role mess can play, here is an antidote to the accepted wisdom that tight schedules, neatness, and consistency are the keys to success. Drawing on examples from business, parenting, cooking, the war on terrorism, retail, and even the meteoric career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, coauthors Abrahamson and Freedman demonstrate that moderately messy systems use resources more efficiently, yield better solutions, and are harder to break than neat ones. A Perfect Mess will help readers assess what the right amount of disorder is for a given system, and how to apply these ideas onto a large scale--government, society-- and on a small scale--in your attic, kitchen, or office. A Perfect Mess will forever change the way we think about those unruly heaps of paper on our desks. 2814586 2006 A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder--How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and On-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place total:219|5:35|4:71|3:86|2:21|1:6| 219 765 493 97 5 3 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Mar 05 19:13:46 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 05 19:14:00 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 2 true false Tue Nov 06 07:38:04 -0800 2007 Sun Oct 21 15:22:34 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 06 07:37:56 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 2 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 20 07:20:20 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 20 07:21:33 -0700 2007 1 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Jun 06 11:05:06 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 06 11:20:40 -0700 2008 Getting Things Done I felt like it would be appropriate to follow up with this book which advocates messiness as the key to productivity. While I could see the truth in this idea, the book failed miserably to make a strong case often citing frustratingly irrelevant anecdotes instead of...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 24 19:21:36 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 19:26:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 true false Tue Feb 12 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 10 13:44:06 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 07:06:42 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Oct 07 09:28:21 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 14 20:21:46 -0700 2007 Consider this example I saw on the news. They had a gardener on the show for how to plant a beautiful garden. The female anchor was arranging...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 11 16:59:48 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 17:18:28 -0700 2009
Not surprisingly, the American obsession with neatness and order is fairly r...more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 19 14:50:18 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 14:50:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 16 05:28:09 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 16 05:28:09 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 17 10:53:49 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 11:17:50 -0700 2009

Great book! Throughout the first chapter I found myself practically yelling 'YES!' outloud, I could relate so well. I love his explanation of organizing chronologically, in a stack (or 2...or 3...or....) on your desk, as it is me and it works. The stuff ...more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Sep 07 11:03:01 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 11 11:51:16 -0700 2007 2 1 false false Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 11 08:58:23 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 12:54:27 -0700 2008 1 0 false false Sun Jan 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Dec 21 11:41:38 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 18 13:36:22 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 15:19:46 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 15:35:21 -0700 2009 Using the natural way of having items kept by the most re...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Apr 14 12:05:14 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 18 05:29:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Nov 24 20:30:06 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 24 20:30:39 -0800 2009 more...]]> 0 1 false false Tue Oct 14 09:25:22 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 14 09:26:19 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Mon Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 19:38:38 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 10:34:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Dec 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Sep 17 15:08:05 -0700 2008 Fri Jan 23 08:15:07 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3437058