9 things you should never keep at your desk
- Your desk should be organized in a way that maximizes productivity and your ability to perform tasks efficiently at work.
- A cluttered, messy desk can negatively impact your ability to perform your job.
- Here are nine things you should never keep at your desk.
Organization comes naturally to some, but for others, it's just not in their nature. Maybe you're too busy to clean up, or perhaps organized chaos works well for you.
Regardless, a messy desk can negatively impact productivity and your ability to perform tasks efficiently at work, according to a study published in The Harvard Business Review.
Additionally, some of the items you keep on your desk may not be appropriate for the workplace, such as political items or documents with sensitive information.
Whether your place of work is cubicle, corner office, or open layout, here are nine things you should never keep at your desk:
SEE ALSO: 6 things you should always keep at your desk
1. Lunch
You may think it's wise to eat lunch at your desk, when in fact, it could actually hurt your productivity.
In a 2015 NPR article, Professor Kimberly Elsbach of the University of California, Davis Graduate School of Management noted, "We know that creativity and innovation happen when people change their environment, and especially when they expose themselves to a nature-like environment, to a natural environment."
"So staying inside, in the same location, is really detrimental to creative thinking. It's also detrimental to doing that rumination that's needed for ideas to percolate and gestate and allow a person to arrive at an 'aha' moment," Elsbach said.
2. Dirty coffee mugs
Unwashed coffee mugs lying around can add clutter your workspace.
"It's best to take a minute and leave your coffee mug in the kitchen immediately after usage," Valli Vishnubhotla, digital PR manager at AW Media, told Business Insider.
3. Political items
"Although everyone is entitled to their beliefs and opinions, your work colleagues may take umbrage to your political viewpoint," business coach and entrepreneur Eugene Gamble told Business Insider.
This can lead to unnecessary work tension and conflict. Gamble suggested keeping your political views separate from the workplace.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider