At a previous job, when I was working on a complete rewrite of a critical backend financial data system for a hedge fund, I had a massive tower of empty mountain dew cans on my desk. It nearly reached the ceiling and was probably around 30 cans at the base. I had to stand on my deal to add new cans. It stood as a monument to all of the sugar and caffeine I consumed on the project (I was planning on taking it down post release).

Sadly, CEO was bringing some investors around and was mortified, and I was ordered to take it down. I didn't receive any backlash beyond bring told to take it down. Also, sadly no photos exist as it was against company policy. It Took something around 2.5 50 gallon garbage bags to dispose of.

Today, my desk is spotless. Just a notepad and pen on it when I go home at night.

Here you go:

https://workstation.is/station/4s1IHxshFb4BrTxTHjeG

Actually I don’t think that’s the case! I find keeping my workspace relatively beautiful and clean (in my eyes - I’m sure it’s still a little bit messy by some standards) makes me feel better and more productive - and I think there’s science somewhere as well that says that messy work places adds to stress (I think the last place I saw it mentioned was in the book Deep Work, but it’s been known for ages).

Not everyone lives like slobs ;)

I have a directory full of photos of every desk "setup" I've had since 2002. They all look very tidy, like in these photos. Nothing like the project-strewn desk I'm sitting in front of now. I realized this is because the only time I ever take a picture of my desk is right after I have set it up.