Things go wrong. You get stuck. You need a break. You need a change of scene. And if you have more than one project to get enthused about, your procrastination on the project you're stuck on suddenly becomes something creative in and of itself.

I'm Jocelyn K. Gly, and this is Hurry Slowly, a podcast about pacing yourself, where I

explore how you can find more creativity and meaning in your life through the simple act

of slowing down. And today we are slowing down to question one of the virtues we hold most dear

here in our secular capitalist society.

And that's productivity.

I say virtue because much of the productivity advice that we receive these days

is dispensed with the subtle

intimation that the person talking has the moral high ground.

Procrastination is bad. Being disorganized is bad. Being distractible is bad.

And if you are susceptible to these things,

well, it's a bit of a moral failing.

But it turns out that things aren't so black and white.

And particularly when it comes to endeavors that demand creativity,

the distinctions between what practices are good

and what practices are bad, blur even more.

My guest today is Tim Harford, the author of the book Messy, The Power of Disorder, to Transform Our Lives.

An economist and in all-around, brilliant thinker, Tim is constantly questioning

the quiet assumptions that we make about the practices that drive creativity and create lasting

success. In this conversation, Tim and I debunk a bunch of widely accepted ideas about the most effective ways to work and to push creative projects forward.

We talk about why letting stuff pile up on your desk is more effective than filing it away,

how disorganized office environments give birth to innovation, and why a practice called

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