I disagree somewhat. These are my reasons:
- Personalizing your space to be comfortable is different than clutter. You can get wall art, bring in small home mirrors, get a funky rug -- something to make your space more like a room and less like a sterile office.
- Wall art can often be inspiring. This may not matter to you if you're in the finance or business field, but if you're a designer or artist, having art around will definitely get some ideas brewing.
- Having fun desk decorations often make it feel more peaceful. I have a small lucky porcelain pig on my desk, as well as my Twitter handle on a tile, with a stand. These things make it feel more like my desk, rather than someone else's desk that I am borrowing.
- Having dual monitors. I work with dual monitors at home, and let me tell you! It makes a world of difference. Even though it may add to the "clutter" on your desk, you won't regret having the extra real estate on your screen.
- Wireless keyboard and mouse. This is another one of those personal preference things because the sight of wires drives me crazy. It definitely hampers my productivity.
On the other side of things, sometimes not having personalized things, can increase your productivity. As I said before, I disagree, but that doesn't mean I can't see their reasoning:
- Having no personal reminders of your life can often times open the mind to a new direction.
- No distractions, wondering what the people in your life are doing while you're stuck at work.
- Having wall art can often impeded original design skills and clutter the brain.
- Feeling like you're at home, will actually make you as productive as you are at home (if you're able to be productive at home, that is).
So what's your take? Do you personal your work space? Or do you keep it sterile like a hospital?
Whichever your preference, please just don't make it look like a frat house.
