STOP THE NOISE!

The beginning of your student life is quite a paradoxical time. On one hand you get to leave your parents and start your own life with all the freedom you might wish for. On the other hand, you are suddenly your own responsibility and thereby forced to save yourself. In this period of adolescence, you will start to create your own lifestyle that will eventually transcend into the rest of your adulthood. (Ray, 2018)

With recent changes in my personal environment I have begun to notice the difference in students’ lifestyles. Some are very punctual and structured while others seem to always play catch-up. What sparked an interest in me during this small-scale social analysis at home, was the interaction between very structured and less structured people. There seemed to be some sort of misunderstanding between the two parties where the less structured housemates were a minority and therefore “annoying”. This made me question ‘’why do people with chaotic lifestyles seem to have a disadvantage in our structure-based society? Isn’t that unfair? And can we change something about that?’’

I’d like to start by saying that I believe that the amount of (un)structure in someone’s lifestyle is on a spectrum and structuredness, of course, changes from time to time. We have all experienced a chaotic deadline, haven’t we. However, I will need to generalize a bit for this article to remain making sense. Therefore I will continue with the terms ‘structured’ and ‘unstructured’ people as well as ‘order’ and ‘chaos’. Besides, I would like to define chaos

‘’Chaotic lifestyle and environment [...] encompasses individuals’ ability to organize and anticipate future events, as well as the consistency and predictability of their daily schedules.’’ (Jazowski et al., 2021) and unstructured lifestyles by the words of Shelley A. Jazowski. In a recent study on life chaos she states: So structuredness, in this definition, has to do with thinking ahead and dodging possible future problems and making life easier for yourself. Jazowski’s quote also indicates that less structured people have difficulty with that. They therefore have a higher chance to, these are just examples, lose their keys, forget to complete their assigned tasks, be late for meetings, or even forget they had a meeting in the first place.

In general, these kinds of characteristics are often perceived as negative. It slows down our contemporary social structure, the term already gives away, that feeds on order, hierarchy and efficiency. In the book States of Knowledge: The co-production of science and social order edited by Sheila Jasanoff (2004), she explains how co-production of natural- and social order has formed every historical period in the past and most of all how order has created the present. In other words, we as a society have organically built our world from a structural viewpoint. Some examples of these structure-based norms are law, bureaucracy, traffic rules but also the hierarchy on the workfloor and additional work ethics. Employees are expected to be on time (schedule), work efficiently (focus), effectively (prioritize) and lastly, especially in the field of architecture, make sure your work is presentable and understandable to your co-workers.

The majority of people are able to fit in this grid or adapt till they can cope. However, adapting to the social standard is extremely challenging if not almost impossible for people who are not naturally well structured.

This chaotic nature might come from certain sources. One well known example is ADHD (attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, did you spot the word (dis)order there?). There are three types of this neuropsychiatric brain inefficiency: some people have problems focusing, an ‘attention deficit’; some have extreme hyperactivity; and some people cope with both (Wilens & Spencer, 2010). Even Though this is mainly diagnosed in children, over half of the people carry their symptoms along into adulthood. Moreover, many adults cope with ADHD symptoms but have no diagnosis. Either because they were never tested, they don’t recognise/acknowledge the symptoms or because the symptoms are not strong enough for professionals to diagnose ADHD (Faraone, 2022). This is quite a shame, because a study (Pawaskar et al., 2020) found that diagnosed adults are ‘more likely to experience better functional performance, work- related productivity […] and self-esteem’ than so-called symptomatic adults. Another source of unstructured lifestyle patterns could be nurture, your upbringing. The first seven years of your life are a very important phase for they create the basis of your later behavior. In these years one develops certain patterns and uses from your parents example that will transcend to adult life with whatever effect they might have. The most common patterns are to wake up and have breakfast, to go to school/work and to have dinner when you get home. Other things might be to learn to always know exactly where your things are, even in a very messy room. Or to feel stressless even though you are running late for the train. academic environments and work performance due to their hardship in earlier life. Somehow the disadvantage stimulates creative thinking and improves problem solving skills.

So to reflect on the question why less-structured people seem disadvantaged in society, I don’t think they do. I think the issue lies in the highlighting of the negative aspects of chaos instead of valuing the positive. A lesser ability to think ahead might have originated in someone’s nature or nurture, but whatever the source, the ‘problem’ of unstructuredness tends to overshadow the value of a chaotic lifestyle. Creativity and resilient work-attitude are a gift that should be celebrated. //

‘’Within your chaos [...] is powerful energy. You don’t have to understand it or control it. In fact, you can’t.’’

Careless from the source of chaotic habits, the downside of unstructuredness is most highlighted. But an unstructured mind has great qualities too. Motivational speaker and author Dan Thurmon (2021) who encourages people to embrace the chaos in life spoke the following in his video blog: Instead of fighting the unstructured in life, one is better off embracing it and learning to weld it into something positive. For example, chaotic people are often experienced to be more creative and naturally think outside the box (Akins, 2015). Unstructured people are less programmed to stay within the grid of society and although some impulsive creative bursts might be too much of a diversion from the norm, with some relativisation many of these ideas are actually very valuable.

Moreover, scientific studies found advantages of chaotic lifestyles in health and work-related areas. ‘Science’ author and editor Robert Pool (1989) has published an article on the correlation between chaotic traits and health. It appeared that many ailments can be associated with a loss of what he calls chaotic flexibility. The body uses the chaotic state to calibrate and find a new order again. Another study by Linda Wilmshurst (et al., 2011) shows that people with ADHD are more resilient in

Sources

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2. Jazowski, S. A., Sico, I. P., Lindquist, J. H., Smith, V. A., Bosworth, H. B., Danus, S., Provenzale, D., Kelley, M. J., & Zullig, L. L. (2021). Transportation as a barrier to colorectal cancer care. BMC health services research, 21(1), 332. https://doi.org/10.1186/ s12913-021-06339-x

3. Jasanoff, S. (Ed.). (2004). States of Knowledge: The Co-Production of Science and the Social Order (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203413845 Wilens, T. E., & Spencer, T. J. (2010). Understanding Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder from Childhood to Adulthood. Postgraduate Medicine, 122(5), 97–109. https://doi.org/10.3810/pgm.2010.09.2206

4. Faraone, S.V. (2022). Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 45(3), xii. https://doi. org/10.1016/s0193-953x(22)00074-0

5. Pawaskar, M., Fridman, M., Grebla, R., & Madhoo, M. (2020). Comparison of Quality of Life, Productivity, Functioning and Self-Esteem in Adults Diagnosed With ADHD and With Symptomatic ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 24(1), 136–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054719841129

6. Thurmon, D., [@DanThurmon]. (2021, 6 juli). Positive CHAOS [Video]. YouTube. Geraadpleegd op 25 februari 2023, van https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Cm7gSAdfWbA

7. Akins, Ashli [TEDx Talks]. (2015, 9 maart). The creativity of chaos | Ashli Akins | TEDxLangleyED [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/h?v=a3RJ0YxRCSg

8. Pool, R. (1989). Is It Healthy to Be Chaotic? Science, 243(4891), 604–607. https:// doi.org/10.1126/science.2916117

9. Wilmshurst, L. A., Peele, M., & Wilmshurst, L. (2011). Resilience and Well-being in College Students With and Without a Diagnosis of ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 15(1), 11–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054709347261