There are two kinds of people in the world, people who keep their desks clean & people who keeps their desk messy. And there’s also the debate on which is better. Messy desk keepers argue there’s no point in keeping your desk clean & thinks a clean desk is actually a sign of not doing enough work. The clean desk keepers suggests having a clean and organized desk helps one become more productive & some even goes to say a cluttered desk indicates a cluttered mind of the owner. In this post, we have accumulated some quotes for and against clean desk from famous people.
Quotes Supporting Clean Desk
“Tidy desk, tidy mind”
“Then there’s the joy of getting your desk clean, and knowing that all your letters are answered, and you can see the wood on it again.” – Lady Bird Johnson
“An organized desk. An organized mind. A neat desk. A neat mind! The world’s greatest thinker!” – Bill Watterson
“A messy desk reflects a cluttered and confused mind.” – Obert Skye
“Organize your desk before you organize your life.” – Astrid Alauda
“I am most particular about my desk. Everything must be in its place, and everything must face the other way around—pencils sharpened, that sort of thing.” — Alexander Woollcott
“Everybody should have a tidy desk — a tidy mind draws a circle around the things that matter, and when you draw a clear circle, it forces everything inside of it.” – Yoky Matsuoka
“A cluttered desk always indicates a cluttered mind.” – Lin Yutang
“It’s the little things that count when organizing your desk. For example, use paper clips rather than push pins to hang papers on cork boards.” – Jena Pincott
“A cluttered desk suggests you lack the ability to prioritize. How does your desk look when you’re on deadline?” – Andy Rooney
“Do you know what I find? A tidy workspace encourages a tidy mind.” – Anne Wilson Schaef
Quotes Supporting Cluttered/Messy Desk
“A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer.” – Mark Twain
“Don’t clean your desk. You might find something in the morning that you can’t see tonight.” – Bruce Mau
“It’s pointless to have a nice clean desk, because it means you’re not doing anything.” – Michio Kaku
“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign? – Albert Einstein
“If your company has a clean-desk policy, the company is nuts and you’re nuts to stay there” – Tom Peters
“In many offices, a clean desk policy means that there is a back-log of work somewhere else.” – Milton Berle
“A clean desk is the sign of a sick mind.” – Oscar Levant
“Pride in having a nice, messy desk filled with lots of official forms you’ve been too lazy to file neatly away.” – Milton Berle
“I love to be among those who are getting things done, rather than spending time organizing or identifying problems. My desk may be messy, but it’s neat in its purpose.” – Lee Iacocca
“I love my messy office. I’m never going to be one of those guys who has his tidy little In-box and his tidy little Out-box and the papers neatly stacked in there, color coded. One color for this, one color for that. So I have a very messy desk!” – Gary Trudeau
“The older I get, the less important it becomes to have a clean desk. The more enjoyable it is to spend time at it because you know what you’re going to do next.” – Colin Powell
“A neat desk reflects a cluttered computer desktop.” – Unknown Source
“If your desk is always clear of clutter, you’re not thinking big enough.” – Robert H. Schuller Jr.
“I like my desk to look like a real writer works at it.” – Charles Bukowski
“A cluttered desk is a clear sign of a brilliant mind.” – Albert Einstein
“An organized desk is an indication of a sick mind. – Tony Snow
“A person who wants to lead a thoughtful life cannot afford to accumulate possessions or clutter their desk with papers they will never read.” – Joan Didion
“A cluttered desk is a clear signpost of a cluttered mind.” – Mason Cooley
At the end of the day, it really depends upon the kind of person you are & what kind of profession you have. For some, a clean desk helps them to prioritize things & get things done. For others, there are too much going on at the same time in their line of work so there are a lot of things really important that needs to be on the desk. In any case, one can be a lazy person & have a cluttered desk & someone else could be a very busy person and yet have a clean desk. At the end of the day it is just the matter of preference & the way you organize your desk might not be a very useful indicator to determine your personality.
