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.