What Do You Keep On Your Office Desk Apart From Work?

so how do you read the contents of a person's desk?

On my desk, I have a collection of hand made pottery, wood carving and hand blown glass that hold my pencils, colored sharpees, paperclips and business cards. I've also mixed in one of those things you blow at new year's eve, and pens that also squirt water or shoot nerf arrows. (

On the boring side there is a box of tissue (7th generation) a picture of me and my sweetie and another of my foster daughter and I.

My desk is cluttered at times and at other times clear - it really depends on whether I need the space and clear mind.

Now that I have exposed myself, I'll have to check in to see what that says about me.

Let's see. Along with assorted legal pads, pens, eyeglass cleaner, ruler, my journal and other assorted junk, I have one of those little rubber balls attached to a thin wood paddle, a set of three juggling balls, and a little rubber Gumby creature whose arms and legs are bendable. And a photo of me at 8 wearing my Annie Oakley costume (writing my memoir and trying to channel my inner child).

I worked with a woman in a high-level position once who had a gleaming, dust-free desk with pens all lined up, a paper holder that held absolutely nothing and a very expensive looking teacup and saucer. The funny thing about it is when I met with her, it seemed like all the good, creative ideas just got sucked out of me. I couldn't work, couldn't think in that sterile environment. I don't necessarily think that a cluttered desk is the sign of a creative person but it sure works for me!

I keep EVERYTHING but the kitchen sink on my desk! You know I'm creative and being "neat" has never been an attribute of mine.

Right now, I've got a stack of papers that I have to go through..ugh...,a jar of pennies?, a basket full of "thank you" cards I have to write, various business cards (I really should get some kind of holder for those!), a bottle of lotion, water, keys (I don't really know what they go to), tape, gum (in package), napkins, various pens (somewhere in the mess?), an ignition part to a Ford truck, and a calculator. It just looks really cluttered because it's a small desk, right? LOL Okay..so you know what my desk looks like. What does that say about me?

Okay..I've got to clean this now..thanks!

Well, sometimes I take the laptop and sit on one end of my couch with my dog on the other. I guess she's my "desk accessory." The cat sits next to me on the other side, always ready to help write some copy.

Judy, do you juggle too? Sweet!

My unique desktop contents include a large plant which sits behind my monitor, photos of my daughter, my daybook, my sketchbook and drawing pencils, and a much-prized mug warmer. I also have a small TV. Underneath my desk you'll usually find my dogs.

During the day papers do pile up and I try to unclutter and file things away at the end of the week. So far so good. I work messy, but like things organized when I begin.

If I worked in an office I'm sure things would be different. The dogs, for instance, would not be part of the scene, and I would have more personal items and toys around me.

i'm not so sure an empty desk equals an empty mind... my desk is almost always clean and organized... i am super anal about my work area and cannot stand loose papers or random items cluttering up my thinking space! Liz, you know me well, my mind is most definitely not empty... It may be filled with a bunch of b.s. and smart remarks, but it is not empty!

Oh, Erin, I agree that an empty desk does not equal an empty mind! The women I spoke of was very, very bright, had all kinds of good ideas and was a deep thinker. It was me who had to have the mess to feel at home! But if I kept my desk cleaner, maybe I'd actually be able to find things once in a while :)

I collect vinyl advertising figures - I have over 200 in my collection now. I rotate them throughout my home studio for a little variety. Right now I have a gaggle of "Big Boys" on my desk. I've created a photo archive of about half of my collection so far - you can see it at:

http://www.tinyurl.com/yqtpt9

So, to create balance with my imaginary online friends, I have a great assortment of real plastic friends around me while I work.

Well, Elizabeth, this mug-warmer was a gift. This increases its value to me.

Coffee is one of my simple pleasures: it's sort of comfort food for me. The mug-warmer keeps it palatable all the way to the bottom of the mug. That's very important because I don't like cold coffee. :-)

I think a persons desk speaks volumes of who they are. I could not think in a sterile environment, nor work in one. My desk has a stack of various client files, a silver hand hammered pen holder, a geeky fish aquarium I got in my stocking this year from Geeks.com-a jar of hand lotion-my Seahawks note cube-a good smelly candle ,a robot clock, a blinged out stapler/calculator and mouse pad. Oh-and can;t forget the can of coca cola. Its always there!!! Happy working to all those cluttered but interesting desk tops!!

Well Elizabeth, BESIDE my desk is a brand-new box of colored file folders and a brand-new box of colored Pendaflex holders for those file folders--just like you said was good to have ... and any day now that other box of papers on the floor beside them is going to get appropriately distributed into them.

And ON my desk--well, which one of my four desks exactly? Cr#p. I'm really going to have to consolidate. Or perhaps segregate so that there's one area for one kind of task and another area for an unlike kind of task--and I stop trying to use all these surfaces as "desks".

Across these surfaces, there are spools of thread, Xacto knives, batteries, photos from my (recent) wedding, photos of my (recent) vacation, and cards with keystroke shortcuts for Word, Excel, Firefox. An acorn, a helicopter seed from my maple tree, a basalt pebble, and a staple remover. And a large sea-worn clam shell full of big-ass paper clips.

My desk is a bit more cluttered than I'd like it to be right now, but I have:

• a SunBox desk lamp (for helping me through the Winter Blues - thank goodness I don't need it anymore. yay sun!); • Cell phone holder that looks like hands hugging something; • paper pencil holder from India with my Ladies Who Launch pin on it; • red stapler; • happy wooden Buddha, Geode oil burner with Cardamom/bergamot oil, color-changing egg lamp; • various stones, including large pieces of Sodalite and Labradorite, and smaller pieces of gypsum, raw lapis, blue tiger's eye, rose quartz and jesuviate; • a deck of Cheryl Richardson's self-care cards, as well as a deck of Success Cards from Deepak Chopra; • a standing file with the files that I'm actually working on this week; • the world's most awesome headscratcher.

It's a bit cluttered, but oddly enough I'm very productive here. The main thing is organizing the standing-file and losing some of the stuff I don't need.

Jeff - Those are so cool! Where on earth do you find them? I have a wooden octagon box with a lid that I created in fellow Biznikian Adrienne Fritze's Guerilla Exhibitor. I am supposed to put notes in it with my "Wins" - but I haven't used it lately. Good topic, now I will use it. I also have a foam/stress-ball figurine of Kartman of South Park, a photo of me and my other half, my sister and her husband - and that's it. I would LOVE to get a Edma Mode figurine (from Pixar's "The Incredibles") I need more toys.

There is so much on my desk that I would have to write a book about it's contents. I would be easier to tell what's not on it.

Hmm. On my desk right now (and some of this is work related.)

• Pile of biz cards from seminar I spoke at in LA a few weeks ago.

• Student loan statements to be paid.

• half a box of girl scout cookies.

• Stapler

• Pile of printups from a job I finished last week.

• iPhone

• Stapler

• Pile of papers for job I'm working on now.

• Love.

I think that does it.

Man, my desk is boring. On the upside, my computer desktop has a pretty picture of a giant cartoon bear.

Lets see what's on my desk that's not work: stereo remote, Halls, allergy medicine and toilet paper. What's on my desk that is work: many paper statements from clients and service providers countless business cards and little pieces of paper with contact info on them two computers, a modem, calculator and a pen. I do clean my desk every other month weather it needs it or not. Art T.

What's on my desk? Hmm...

The standards - laptop, phone, cell phone (for work), cell phone (personal) (yes, it's getting excessive!), stapler, pen holder w/ many-colored pens, keys, a hole puncher, and my folders and papers for work!

Outside of that - a Subway sandwich for lunch, chocolate covered raisins for when I need a snack, thank you notes, hand lotion, and a set of wooden coasters.

I just moved into my office space and got furniture, so I'm trying to bring things in slowly, rather than clutter it all up!

Okay, so I have a somewhat related question - what do you like to see when you come into someone's office as a client or potential client? I am trying to balance my "stuff" reflecting my personality and interests and also creating a warm, inviting environment.

My view of the waterfront & ferry landing in Edmonds doesn't hurt! :)

On my desk? Lots of work binders and files, a stand up file holder that is jammed with way too many files- many of which could be put away but havent been... 2 antique chinese bowls that are used for paperclips etc, a custom glass box celebrating a client's recent achievement, 3 empty starbucks cups, a diet coke, a water bottle, tape, stapler, hole punch, pencil holder, desk lamp, phone, office supplies (phone, cell charger etc) and a series of CD's from a client that are supposed to be being reviewed at this moment but instead I am staring at my messy desk and feeling anxious about how fun I am... ANd being glad I have a big big desk to hold all this stuff.

On my (rather small) desk...a little plastic, bright green hand depicting "I Love You" in sign language (would fit right in with Jeff's little advertising friends); a Picasso mug with pens, pencils and scissors; a long metal container with stapler, calculator, battery-operated pencil sharpener (minus the batteries!), scrap paper and the all important list of passwords for every online account I have (this, I would grab if my place caught on fire!) and a big tub of homemade moisturizer....oh and one thing Elizabeth said we should never have - a stack of papers (bad Nancy, bad Nancy) that should have been filed into the appropriate folders months ago. :( In very close proximity to my desk for ongoing inspiration...a tiny, doll-sized pair of red Chuck Taylor high top sneakers which represent my biz, as that's what my baby kangaroo mascot wears! :)

Jeff, where did you find all those great advertising figures?? I'm guessing Ebay! They would fit right in in my kitschy kitchen which is decorated with old advertising memorabilia (metal signs and the like) and my lunchbox collection of mini lunchboxes depicting advertsing and cartoons of our childhood. Wow, so many of your little vinyl friends brought back memories...Bob's Big Boy, The Scrubbing Bubble, Tony the Tiger, Cap'n Crunch, the Staypuff Marshmallow Man and now the Mr. Bubble theme song is stuck in my head...Havin' a good time while we're gettin' nice and "perrty"...it's as much fun as it is at getting dirty! Mr. Bubble-ditty, Bubble-ditty, Bubble... ;0)

Nancy www.hoptosignaroo.com

Desk pad, phone, post-it holder... and lots of space.

Oh man...wish I had more space. I love lots of clean flat space, thus my continually moving to the dining room table to work. My desk space/area includes: Wood carvings from Africa that I brought back myself. A wood stick from a piece of land my grandpa used to own in Idaho. My sorority mug from college. A sand dollar. Some cards from people that I particularly like. A small marble carving of a bear that my dad made years ago. A plaster piece with my hand print in it from when I was 4 years old. Right now there are also some music CD's and a set of CD's from Robert Kiyosaki.