Organized or Messy Desk - Which is Better?

To start with this blog post, I would like to invite everyone to join an ongoing contest for bloggers sponsored by Office1000.com where the prize to be given away is an MDV3BA computer vacuum worth $272.50 or US$125 cash.  To participate, one needs to write a blog post answering the question "Organized or Messy Desk - Which is Better?"  To see the full contest details, go to the Office1000.com contest announcement page.

Now, to share my answer to this debatable question, I'd say that an organized desk is better.  For me, when things are organized on my work desk, I'm able to think clearly and really focus on what I am doing.  That counts a lot toward my productivity and efficiency.

Are you familiar with Detective Adrian Monk in the TV series Monk?  I really laugh at how particular and "perfectly organized" he is, but I can somehow identify to him.  If I feel that my work place is messy or when something is not in its proper place or it does not belong, I get distracted and try to fix things.  Well, Mr. Monk is sometimes hilariously off to an extreme compared to myself.

An organized desk also contributes to an efficient use of time.  Imagine if you have stacks of paper scattered all over and you just want to find that one particular memo.  It would take time to sort through all those papers.  Unless of course you have a super reliable memory that you can picture exactly where the specific item you need is.

An organized desk also helps in situations where you would have to leave work and somebody needs to pitch in to do your work.  You can easily give the instructions where to find things, and the person who took your job temporarily will indeed find it where you said so.  You will spare him the stress and headache of trying to figure out what you are talking about when things are in its proper place and order.

By saying these things, I do not mean that you cannot do any work in spite of a messy desk.  If yours is the type of personality where you are more productive when working on a cluttered desk, by all means do it.  I just find working on a clean desk yields more productive and efficient results.

What do you think?  Are you for an organized desk or messy desk?