I would go so far as to say that your desk or table is as cluttered as your mind is. This is not to say that the physical clutter is the sole cause of your mental clutter, but that you treat clutter equally in all of your internal/external spaces. At the same time, when you do de-clutter your physical space, your thoughts will expand to fill the extra area in the room. The largest houses are valuable when they have large backyards because they open up the minds of the people living inside of them.
Your Table Is To Be Empty
Leo Babauta from Zen Habits will certainly agree to this, as your table should be set up to be as simple and clean as possible, to assist in your free-flowing thoughts. If it is not set up in this fashion, your mind is constantly looking at the things that are on the table and out of place, and is wondering when they will be dealt with. Taking action takes a short amount of time, but it saves time multiple times over during the day.
A Clean Space Brings About New Thoughts
When your area isn’t a mess, your mind can then focus on other items that will surprise you, like thoughts you wouldn’t have had before when your mind was somewhat caged up. Some of your highest potential creativity is held back behind small bits of clutter around you, or small tasks you have not completed. Once they are completed, your thoughts are triggered onto the next step.
You Know Exactly What You Need To Clear Out
When you were reading these things, your mind instantly jumped to some items on your table, or in your to-do list, that you need to do before you will start thinking of new plans. These are the ones to tackle, and if they aren’t tackled, you will be in a dormant stage. The signals you regularly get are the ones you need to respond to.