Ross shares his experience with an executive who experienced difficulties at his workplace, especially lack of focus, a drop in efficiency and output. Visiting the office of that client made it apparent quite quickly that the cluttered environment had a direct impact on the client's ability to focus and have clarity.

Of course, there are those who insist that they do know where that particular document is on their desk that you’re asking for or that having a disorganized workplace is a sign of flexibility.

We underestimate how significant clutter is a source of stress in our lives, at work or home. It can cause anxiety, procrastination, frustration, agitation amongst many other feelings.

A cluttered workplace offers too many stimuli for the mind. Having to search your way through staples of documents to find what you are looking for may cause anxiety to raise, and it may lead to that stressful impression that there is a never-ending amount of work to tackle.

Other disadvantages of living or working in a cluttered space are the distraction from focusing on what is essential, no space for creativity to arise from within, and a rise in stress hormone-cluttered

Clutter isn't only a challenge when it comes to a physical space being unorganized; it can equally create trouble in the mind.

Trying to keep one's schedule in mind, a never-ending to-do list in the head, being continuously notified by incoming emails and text messages, our brain is facing an enormous overload of information every single day. Brain pollution diminishes our ability to discern which information is relevant and which one isn't, keeping our brain and ourselves under constant stress.

Multi-tasking is becoming the modus operandi in our time; unfortunately, focusing on several unrelated strands of thought at the same time reduces the ability to focus and prioritize.

What could help?

Switch off notifications; there is usually no need to be notified whenever someone posts on FB, you get a WhatsApp or your opponent makes a move in one of your online games.

Keep your focus on one task at a time; research has shown despite our best efforts our mind works best when we focus on one task only.

Clean up your desk before you head off home. It helps to start the next day with an empty desk, not necessarily with an empty mind.

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”

Laurence J. Peter, Canadian, scholar of education