Messy worker: Your piles are all right.

Recently a colleague pointed me to Malcolm Gladwell's 2002 article in The New Yorker, "The Social Life of Paper." I read this article yesterday in connection with a research project I'm doing on the future of print and paper. Gladwell confirms a thought I've had frequently in the past: Paper is a great interface.

Gladwell's article considers paper as a tool for knowledge workers, and he cites some interesting research about messy desks. The research suggests that actually a messy desk with piles of paper everywhere can be a sign of an effective worker and does not necessarily imply disorganization.

AB -- 1/10/07