I feel the opposite way. It’s very hard for me to be productive with a messy desk, a clean desk helps me focus

Same. If there's an empty can from a drink I just finished sitting to my left for instance, it will bother me to eventually the point of being a distraction. Plates/bowls/etc usually aren't at my desk in the first place since I have a disinclination towards eat there but on the occasion I do the first thing I do after finishing is to take the dish downstairs to put in the sink for washing later.

For more general desk junk buildup I have to neaten it up every week or two or it too will become a distraction.

It takes a bit of practice, I'll admit. Start with some basic desk clutter items like a nice cigar that you can rest on a stately ash tray, something that's hard to knock off the desk and takes a while to enjoy. Have a puff between builds, nothing too serious. Once the ash layer builds up it makes things like a ramen bowl less prone to sliding off.

I can't just walk off without mentioning the importance of a tactical housecat capable of pre-cleaning the dishes so as to not attract vermin- the plus side being if said housecat is a subpar dishwasher, they're all too willing to take care of any enterprising houseflies bound for a meal.

Are you Charles Mingus’ ghost?

On this blessed day we are all Charles Mingus' ghost.

As usual, there is a whole spectrum between immaculate and landfill desk.

Both extremes are not very productive. But a person doing actual work might have more than just a completely empty desk. What about a cup of coffee, or a notepad, or a small whiteboard, or a reference manual? Because if everything you might need is on your pc and you don't leverage your immediate three dimensional reality, you're not at peak productivity. A manual on the desk is "better" than a PDF on a second workspace.

I hot desk with my wife at home. We alternate WFH days. I am not a good citizen of desk cleanliness only out of necessity.

Though one things missing from all the fluff about how things look is how things feel. Having a foot rest, or something I can put my feed against is super important to getting things done and not having my body feel like crap at the end of the day.

Exactly. If you have never built a can fortress, we ain't kin.

what a weird take. sure, if you're trying to keep it immaculate ALL the time like how it looks in pictures then it might be going a bit too far. but it doesn't really take a lot to keep a setup clean. don't eat at your table, throw garbage in a bin and every once in a while remove clutter if you feel like it's there.

maintenance > cleanup.

I think it's a matter of cleaning after work, not while they're working. No one can keep workspace clean all the time. Even that, some do, some don't.

I prefer cleaning things up(both digital and physical) at the end of the day, to relieve my mind that I'm "done" with work and move on to other things. I found it's horrible to wake up, sitting at your desk and the first thing you see is all your piles of crap that your postpone the night before.