There are tons of articles on the internet which boasts about how a clean desk can increase productivity. As a developer I never gave any serious thoughts about organising my workplace. As a matter of fact I like to keep my desk unorganised and messy. Surprised? Well, here’s what I think.
Different opinions
When I look around me, I find people putting great efforts to keep their desk organised and clean. Minimal objects on surface, all accessories in proper place or maybe within one hand distance. I have even read articles where some people go long distances to completely renovate their entire study room, just to create their optimum work-space. All of these so that they can concentrate and focus entirely on their task.
When I get to my desk I just sit and start working. I don’t care what’s lying around, it doesn’t bother me. I don’t need a clean desk to start my work, I just need my laptop.
Ok. But still Why unorganised?
Now, you may say I can clean my desk sometimes, right ?
Well, for starters ever since I have started working with a desk, I have kept it cluttered and since then it has become more of a habit. Even if I or my girlfriend manages to clean it, I end up putting stuff around my machine and make it messy again. Somehow, whenever I see empty spots on my desk I want to fill it immediately.
Another reason being, as a developer we tend to figure out our programming codes by staring into blankness. I have a habit of staring and fiddling with stuff kept around.
Clean desk != productivity
No matter what others preach, at the end of the day it really comes down to every individual’s interests. There’s no strict rule that you will only be productive if your desk is organised and clean. I spend much less time on cleaning and get straight to work. This has been working well since last 6 years or so.
I am also not used to working with extra monitors, just one laptop works for me. My macbook air works super fine no matter where I work. As I said I just need a laptop to start my coding.
Are you a developer or writer? How do you keep your desk?
This article was originally published on my Medium
Top comments (12)
"If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?"
My desk currently has a bunch of crap on it that's not mine, which annoys me, as I normally keep my desk very clean and tidy. But I'll be honest I like stretching my arms out on the desk instead of using my arm rest.
Totally. Keep your desk as you wish to.
My desk is quite messy. Every now and again I make an effort to tidy things up, but I rarely make much of a dent. It's possible that this is due to the fact that I've spent the last 15 years working from home fulltime, so I have all sorts of non-work things near me. Or it could just be that I'm happy with the layers and put my tidiness effort into other areas like our kitchen :-)
Yea, we sometimes get used to everything around us, as they are. Why waste energy on it.
I've found I'm pretty OCD when it comes to my desk.
There's probably more I haven't noticed, but that is what I have noticed haha.
PS. I have three small desks at home and can only use 1.5 of them due to all the random stuff on them. I might be OCD with my desk at work, but at home I'm just straight up lazy 😂
Hey brad,
Interesting!! Why don't you share a pic of your desk setup?
I Do have some random crap on the left-side (crackers) but other than that I'd consider my desk "organized" haha
I like to keep mine clean and minimal, but I think the best way to organize a desk whatever works best. :)
I'm a pack-rat so my desk is messy - but I know where my things are on my desk.
No matter how cluttered the desk is, we always find our way to the stuff kept on it.
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