Neither use nor ornament: A cultural biography of clutter and procrastination [Hardcover]

Neither use nor ornamentis a book about personal productivity, narrated from the perspective of its obstacles: clutter and procrastination. It offers a challenge to the self-help promise of a clutter-free life, lived in a permanent state of efficiency and flow.

The book reveals how contemporary projections of the good, productive life rely on images of failure. Riffing on the aphorism less is more  a dominant refrain in present day productivity advice  it tells stories about streamlining, efficiency and tidiness over a time period of around 100 years.

By focusing on the shadows of productivity advice,Neither use nor ornamentseeks to unravel the moral narratives that hold individuals to account for their inefficiencies and muddles.

GBNeither use nor ornamentis a book about personal productivity, narrated from the perspective of its obstacles: clutter and procrastination. It offers a challenge to the self-help promise of a clutter-free life and unravels the moral narratives that hold individuals to account for their inefficiencies and muddles.Tracey Potts is Honorary Assistant Professor of Critical Theory and Cultural Studies at the University of Nottingham

Neither use nor ornamentis a book about personal productivity, narrated from the perspective of its obstacles: clutter and procrastination. It offers a challenge to the self-help fantasy of a life lived in a permanent state of efficiency and flow.

There is now a vast industry dedicated to solving the problems of clutter and procrastination. But the recommendations of storage gurus, house doctors, life coaches, lifehackers, and productivity bloggers invariably fail to recognise the social and historical context of mess and exhaustion.Neither use nor ornamentseeks to deepen our understanding of the wider forces that shape our attitudes to storage and attention. It traces the historical emergence of personal productivity culture over the last hundrelc-