Paperback. 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. 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 and unravels the moral narratives that hold individuals to account for their inefficiencies and muddles. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Neither use nor ornament (Paperback)
Publisher: Manchester University Press, Manchester
Publication Date: 2026
Language: English
ISBN 10: 1526194759
ISBN 13: 9781526194756
Binding: Paperback
Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

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.

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About the Author

Tracey Potts is Lecturer in Critical Theory and Cultural Studies at the University of Nottingham

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