Neither Use Nor Ornament: A Cultural Biography of Clutter and Procrastination (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781526173928)

Neither use nor ornament is 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 ornament seeks to unravel the moral narratives that hold individuals to account for their inefficiencies and muddles.

Author: Tracey Potts
ISBN-10: 1526173921
ISBN-13: 9781526173928
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Language: English
Published: 07/09/2024
Pages: 248
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.31lbs
Size: 9.61h x 6.69w x 0.81d