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.
By:
Tracey Potts
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 240mm,
Width: 170mm,
Spine: 13mm
Weight: 396g
ISBN: 9781526194756
ISBN 10: 1526194759
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 29 April 2026
Audience:
General/trade
,
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
ELT Advanced
,
Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Prologue Introduction 1 Theorising the ‘outside’, aka, the social 2 ‘Less is more’: European modernism and its ‘zoos of agencies’ 3 ‘More with less’: form, function and American modernism 4 ‘The more of less’: clutter, ecology and the new minimalism 5 ‘Be more with less’: life hacking, procrastination and everyday rhythm Conclusion Index -- .
Tracey Potts is Honorary Assistant Professor of Critical Theory and Cultural Studies at the University of Nottingham
