We were at a party chatting with a friend who is a psychiatrist. I jokingly asked him if there was a mental disorder that led to clutter.
He said people who have ADD are “blind to clutter”. He said, “they are so busy thinking about multiple things at the same time, clutter doesn’t even register on their radar screens.”
I found this interesting since I sometimes feel like I suffer from work induced ADD. When the pressure is on to write code, fix networking problems, write tech reports and provide client support, I have a tendency not to notice clutter. But when I do sit down and take a breather, clutter becomes very obvious.
I think it’s the constant go, go, go without breaks or down time that causes ADD blindness. Scheduled downtime where I can just sit and think does me well and leads to great ideas. It also allows me to “see” again. Though, being still is counter intuitive. It’s tough to do when the pressure is on. That is why I schedule it, I set calendar alarm reminders to do it. No TV, no radio, no computer, just quiet reflection.
If ADD causes blindness, then being still is the cure.
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