At the End of the Day, Clear Your Desk

To create a visual impression of sophistication that's conducive towards organization, keep a clear desk. That's how Audi enforces its image. Calvin Klein too.

If you interface with people, it's in your interest and the interest of your business to be neat. Because like it or not, "if things look like they're in disarray, people will make the assumption that you're in disarray as well" says Standolyn Robertson, the president of the National Association of Professional Organizers.

A clean desk can also boost productivity as you are less likely to be distracted--this also lends itself to your digital workspace but that's another article for another time.

And if that's not reason enough, how about to avoid information theft? According to an article in Fortune: "studies estimate that the average desk jockey now piles about 36 hours of work on his workspace at any one time, amplifying the threat of loose documents."

Of course there are people, researchers even, that dispute the benefits of a spotless workplace but try it for a day and see what it feels like to walk into your office with a clear desk.

Audi makes it mandatory but should it be? Not quite. But when it's something you want to do, it's quite intriguing.

Further Reading
"Creating a Minimalist Workspace." Unclutterer. 12 March 2008.

Sources
"Audi's Clean Desk Fetish." Fortune. 8 October 2008.

"Ugly Productivity: 5 Steps to a Distraction-free Workspace." Zen Habits. 25 October 2007.