Want to be taken seriously at work, to project yourself to the higher-ups as a professional who’s worthy of promotion? Your desk tells an entire story about you. It can project professionalism, tell management how seriously you take your job, or if you are really just content to have a job with no real ambition to climb the career ladder. That is how much of an impact your desk can have.
Clutter is a no-no because it’s just distracting. Personalisation though, that’s subjective. Some staff are more than happy to personalise every inch of desk space with everything from customised mouse mats, coffee mugs of their favourite football team, and even supposedly funny memes, even if not everyone gets the joke.
How much is too much though? Desk presentation has been studied and it was discovered that only one in five desk items should be personal. Any more is considered too much by management.
That one in five stat tells us that the 80/20 rule applies to your desk presentation too; 20% personal, 80% professional.
How to Apply the Pareto Principle to Your Desk Presentation
1. Use a small black or silver frame for tasteful photos only
Black and silver are colours that are universally considered professional in appearance. Neither looks like bling unless you put a luminous pink picture mount in the frame. Mounts for office frames should always be a neutral colour.
Tasteful photos can be personal or professional, and all tasteful means is that it’s not a bikini-clad photo taken on a beach in Benidorm.
Good choices for personalised desktop picture frames are either family shots or a wedding photo. Professional photos could be a framed print of an award ceremony or similar business event where you are dressed in business attire.
As a rule of thumb, aim to have one photo for every five items on your desk, however, more than two personal photos can be portrayed as too much. Then again, more than 10 items on your desk will probably make it look cluttered anyway.
2. Frame an anchor word for your goals
If there is one thing that will be a conversation starter with anyone glancing at your desk is having one word appearing randomly sitting proudly in a standout frame.
Anchor words are used as a goal-setting technique. When you see the word, it reminds you of your goal. That could be a monthly goal, quarterly or annual goal. Example words could be: persist, adventure, journey, health, integrity, appreciate, or become. The purpose is to remind you of your goal when you see it. It will be strange to everyone else to see it but it will make sense to you, and it’s an ice-breaker to anyone entering your office.
This can be both personal and professional, depending on how you set your goals. As an example, if your word was grounded, it could remind you to take time out and meditate when you are feeling stressed out.
3. Have neutral items on display
Your desk is your space and probably where you will spend the bulk of your day. For that reason, you want some things that lift your mood too. Small desk plants do that, as can a snow globe, and paperweights.
When it comes around to decorating your office space, the walls are ideal for A4 frames suitable for certifications, credentials, and media pieces. The desk is the place to personalise using one or two 6" x 8" photo frames for 7” x 5” photos with a neutral picture mount. A good balance of photos on an office desk is one personal print for every four work-related items on your desk, up to a maximum of two prints.