Trivial theory of human productivity

Whipped up this little chart after a fleeting thought I had while driving. It occurred to me that everyone I know has a unique tradeoff between chaos and order. Some strive for perfect order, cleaning messes as they occur, crafting perfect filing systems, trying to keep their email inbox empty. Others simply forge ahead, valuing progress and production over cleanliness and structure.

From my point of view, pushing too far on either end of the scale bears a heavy price. Organizing and cleaning all the time leave a mind rigid and too many aspirations unfulfilled. Doing doing doing is ultimately just as counter-productive, since the damage you leave behind for others to fix eventually alienates you from your family and society.

The two dotted vertical lines, delineate the middle ground where the tradeoff is optimal - you have the raw creative energy that comes from chaos and drives innovation, intuitive leaps and superhuman productive spurts, and you also have the structure that sustains productivity by nurturing precision, calm and poise.

It's no secret to my loved ones that I tend too far towards chaos generally, but as I grow older and wiser I think (I hope!) I'm trending towards the middle.