What does where you work say about you?

Is your desk an oasis of calm, ordered chaos or somewhere in between?

I once had a lodger who took over my kitchen table to work. It started as a few bits of paper, then became a pile of papers and then, eventually, there was so much paper I had to move it all aside to find a place from which to eat. There wasn’t a desk in his room, and being that he was of a similar age to my own, I thought using my kitchen table as a co-work space could be fun and possibly inspiring.

It turned out to be neither especially as, at random points during the day, he would ask if he could pick my brain which would ultimately turn into a much longer conversation than I had anticipated.

Working at my kitchen table, as it turned out, was not the ideal location from which to work - being too close to my fridge, an easy distraction and also not allowing me to separate work from pleasure. Work always won in that particular battle.

Now I’m lucky in that I have a studio in my back garden, which has provided me with a space in which I work out, rehearse for my gigs and also conduct meetings, strategise and, more generally, get on with all the various activities that are necessary to juggle multiple income streams.

When it comes to my work space, I have a set up which combines a kneeling chair with an eye level monitor and a standing desk on which sits my laptop, from where I take my meetings. I like the ability to switch between sitting and standing during the day, especially as it relates to my mobility or lack thereof if I find myself sitting for too long!

I still use a notebook, which is a frayed Filofax cover containing a removable lined notebook, that I can swap out when it becomes too full. I’m a person who enjoys the process of ticking off tasks on a physical piece of paper and my notebook is full of completed (and not completed) tick boxes.

Stuff that I may need to refer to in the immediate future sits in a pile on the side of my desk and less important papers are filed in a shelf that sits above my desk. I suspect it looks like organised chaos to anyone other than myself, but I am very, very aware of where everything is located should I need to find it!

I do believe that where we work says a lot about us.

Environmental psychologist Lily Bernheimer took a look at four desks for an article for Business Insider, which revealed clear personality types:

The organised, clutter free desk. If your desk is free of stacks of paper, has plenty of sticky notes, a pen and paper, all in a clearly defined area with minimal clutter, than it’s Lily says, “Besides being hard working, reliable, focused, and achievement-oriented conscientious people like to make plans and follow routines."

Is your desk a colourful mess of chaos? This, Lily says, this is the desk of an extrovert. “Extroverts are excitement seekers and get easily bored without stimulation so they like to surround themselves with bright lights, materials, knick knacks related to their many activities, and warm, saturated colors like red.”

Have you built a wall around yourself with lots of books and other objects piled high, so that you can’t see what lies behind it? “A greater need for personal space is linked to introversion and higher rates of anxiety,” says Lily. “But introverts shouldn't get a bad rap: They are often highly creative and productive types who need their own fortress to flourish."

Finally, if like mine, your desk is controlled chaos, in other words, objects are strategically arranged but with a notebook handy and nearby, and a moderate level of personalisation, Lily says, “From these signs I would guess that the desk belongs to someone who is extroverted and conscientious. A controlled amount of clutter is actually more inviting than either a sparse space or an overstuffed one, and invitingness is a key sign of extroversion.”

I’d love to see your desk space and hear whether you believe that any of the above ways of working resonate with you - or do you confound expectation? Send us a picture and a few words about what your desk says about you.

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