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Tidy desk, tidy mind?
Yesterday I caught myself watching perhaps the seventh video about the ideal work desk.
I’m sure you’ve watched these people setting up their desk just so. Bamboo desk, leather writing pad, and a series of expensive natural wood organization tools, such as a penholder, headphone rest, phone charger, writing pad holder, etc. Super neat, color-coordinated and ultra-minimalist. Expensive too.
Apparently, this is the way all our desks should be: Organized. Only what you need. No distractions.
Tidy desk, tidy mind?
I enviously compared their high-end desk setups to my pile of stuff. My large, motorized sit/stand desk is littered with stacks of papers, a mess of pens, paper clips, post-its, leads, and many things. I think I’d give a woman’s handbag a run for its money. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a tidy desk my entire life. Papers only get sorted and filed when they threaten to topple and spill all over the floor.
It’s a mess, but everything I need is on that desk — somewhere. I just need to go spelunking for things. How do these super-organized people manage without all this stuff?
After suffering a few lectures about how productivity and creativity is linked to a tidy, minimalist desk, I cried B.S. And that’s when I came across pictures of famous people’s desks.