Here at ProfHacker, we’ve earlier held discussions on What’s in your bag? and What’s in your lunch bag?. Today let’s talk about what essentials you keep in your desk (if you have one!), whether it be at home or work. Most of us keep the usual office supplies, but it can also be helpful to keep a few personal items on hand. Just as it is advisable to keep a stash of emergency items at your home, keeping a few necessities in your desk can save you precious time. Here is a list of a few items I have on hand in my on-campus desk, beyond the usual paper files:
Standard office supplies:
- Stapler/staples
- Paper clips
- Binder clips
- Official stationery
- Business cards
- Scissors
- Tape (with dispenser)
Personal items:
- Mints
- Over-the-counter pain medicines
- Antacids
- Deodorant
- Contact lens solution
- Cough drops
- Facial tissue
- Band-aids
- Antihistamines
- Dried fruit and nuts
- Tea bags
- Hair comb/brush
- Lip balm
- Candy
What do you keep in your desk?
[Photo by Heather Whitney and used with permission.]
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33 Responses to What’s in your desk?
maryshore - May 20, 2010 at 6:28 pm
I love my label maker. I work with the “Getting Things Done” (David Allen) system of organization and task management. Making my own labels helps me get reference items filed quickly. After years of re-copying important articles because I lost track of the last copy I had, I now have one file specifically for articles/essays I’ve photocopied (filed by author’s name). Another file is for any paper (non-email) information related to advisees. A third is for everything else.
mparklandau - May 20, 2010 at 6:28 pm
At the Desk, you never know when you’ll need……Umbrella (old, broken is still useful)Personal kit – small mirror, travel sewing kit,bandages, make-up to cheer you up!Tissues/paper towelsShopping bag, to bring stuff homeChange of clothes (inner/outer) – unexpected evening event or something tears/gets stained;Simple note cards: Thank you, Congratulations, Get Well, and Birthday – for unexpected celebrations/announcementsBe prepared!
behaha - May 20, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Hand sanitizer, for grading.Socks.
caterina_sforza - May 20, 2010 at 6:46 pm
A bottle of medicinal hard liquor, preferably Jameson’s.
misstrudy - May 20, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Computer with two screens. One pen holder full of gel pens, one full of yellow highlighters, and one with perfectly sharpened pencils.Clips in all sizes.Small stapler.Headphones w/microphone (for Skype).Paper pads.Ipod.Hand lotion.Lip gloss.Socks.
peril - May 20, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Sticky notesextra penshard drives & usb keys (can’t have too much storage)hmmreally everything I use on a daily basis is in my laptop bag… MBP, wires/connecters/etc, extra storage, card reader, so on
texasmusic - May 20, 2010 at 11:24 pm
I’m such a boy scout. I have EVERYTHING in my desk! Brush, deoderant, mirror, tweezers, nail clippers, lotion, snacks, extra eyeglasses, cleaner for extra eyeglasses, paper towels, kleenex; a set of plates, bowls, and utensils for days when I have to stay in at lunch. I don’t carry a lot of cash, so I make sure I have it available so I don’t have to buy it.Oh yeah…and whatever office supplies I might need. Stickies, note pads, stapler, 3 kinds of tape (yeah 3), markers, pens, pencils, highlighters, etc. You should see how many different types of labels and colored paper I have in there. But they’re all left over from another life – I haven’t had to make labels in over five years and I hardly print anything else at all. Trying to keep it green…
dr_aj - May 21, 2010 at 12:00 am
ToothbrushToothpasteShoesAndes candies :)
klblk - May 21, 2010 at 5:20 am
Our former dean favoured modernist design, so instead of *in* my desk there is *on* my desk, as there is not a drawer or cabinet in the office.On my desk, the range of items mentioned above, stacks of paper and books from current projects, plus about 100 Easter chicks, antique treen (mostly leadworking tools), an iPod dock stereo, and, until recently a circular saw. The current dean blanched on his only visit when he saw what lives in my “naughty corner” by the window, about 20 linear feet of papers in various stacks.
resnickf - May 21, 2010 at 6:40 am
Hmmm…maybe I’ve discovered the problem; most everything listed above is ON my desk. Those essentials IN the desk not otherwise mentioned above include a razor and small bottle of Goof-Off (both essential for office maintenance), tape measure, keys to rooms and places I never hope to visit, tape measure, screwdriver, hemostat (best tool there is for solving copy machine paper jams), glue stick, electrical tape, white-out (liquid and tape), small scissors, and golf tees for this afternoon, which reminds me it’s time to go back to work.
geneseo - May 21, 2010 at 7:12 am
I have everything everyone has mentioned (except for the hemostat; gotta get me one of them!) and then more:Screwdriver and pliers because it takes longer for maintenance people to show up than for me to fix it. Hammer. String. X-acto knife because having a utility knife scares people. Shoes. Postcards. Camera. Scanner and printer. Another printer. Lots of band-aids. Tissues for crying students. Bubble wrap and envelopes. Music box for distraction. And whatever else is hidden under this visible layer that I just described. Probably some jewelry in there, certainly scissors and maybe some wind-up toys. Oh, and a couple of snow globes. I need distraction, can you tell?
lizgibbons - May 21, 2010 at 7:31 am
All of the above plus: It’s what I have BELOW my desk that I value in the winter in the Poconos: “Toasty Toes” foot warmer.
nampman - May 21, 2010 at 7:56 am
Flashlight- for power outages.
davidriese - May 21, 2010 at 8:18 am
In addition to the typical things, I have a corkscrew, lint brush, batteries (D, AA, AAA, 9V, button), laser pointers, voltmeter, cheap digital camera, digital picture frame (w/slide show of favorites), ANSI-certified hard hat (I am a tough grader), Prilosec (and Pepcid and Zantac – ditto), army surplus ammunition box (w/various computer cables, adapters, and power supplies), Burt’s Bees hand salve, telephone pole insulators (paperweights), lava rocks from Hawai’i, 10 coffee cups, quart Ball jar with change for the candy machine, autographed football and basketball, picture of myself with Drew Brees (and autographed by Brees), and CD box sets by Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, Simon & Garfunkel, & Billy Joel.
torsneycb - May 21, 2010 at 8:29 am
A souvenir boomerang. A dreidle, complete with chocolate gelt. Rolling plastic eyeballs (the better to demonstrate Emerson’s transparent eyeball metaphor). A vintage 60s troll doll. Stress balls in various shapes. Tissue paper gift wrap and ribbon. A tool box, complete with hammer, pliers, screwdrivers, picture hangers, nails, etc.
crankycat - May 21, 2010 at 8:34 am
Food prep drawer: Plate, bowl, silverware, tea bags, candy, and at the moment chocolate cookies.Data and damage control drawer: Extra CDs, old zip discs, flash drives, markers, label maker, hairbrush, toothbrush, deodorant, ibuprofen.Desktop holder: various and sundry files, seminar notebook, pens, highlighter, staple puller, paper clips, nail file, nail clipper, keys to the laptop cables, small digital recorder, a couple batteries.
minerslady - May 21, 2010 at 9:01 am
I have a set of sunglasses with built-in mirrors (spy glasses) so you can see behind you. I also have a bouncy ball, scented markers (excellent for brainstorming), and a full-size knight in shining armor (my hero).
judithryan43 - May 21, 2010 at 9:26 am
WD-40 (for when swivel desk chair starts to squeak).
lexalexander - May 21, 2010 at 9:30 am
Plastic eating utensils — my co-workers, bless ‘em, are wont to bring in homemade goodies.USB cables.Penknife.Ostrich-toe letter opener that could double as a real knife on a really bad day.Need: corkscrew, chopper landing pad, artillery emplacements. But next year’s budget’s still going to be tight, so I don’t know if I’ll get to the whole list.
velvis - May 21, 2010 at 10:15 am
mini personal fan – since all of the heat in the building hangs out in my windowless cave…rice paper face blotterslip sticksemergency earring backsshoesFully loaded nerf gun (looking for marshmallow shooter but afraid would eat the ammo)those new command velcro like hangershand lotionpost its, notebooks, pens and paper clips in multiple colors shapes and sizesVarious sweaters that I’ve accidentally forgottenI’m bringing a foot massager, I’m in there for hours on end I should be comfortable.
linneas - May 21, 2010 at 10:36 am
All the usual. Plus change for emergency vending machine runs, lip balm, rescue remedy pastilles, eyeglass cleaning supplies, pen refills (including bottled ink as I am a fountain pen freak), sewing kit, safety pins. And an old favorite: my chalk chuck (which must surely qualify as an antique– or perhaps I’m the antique).
n2n_0131 - May 21, 2010 at 11:40 am
Wow – I am feeling like a minimalist. My brain might explode if I kept all of these things in my desk. I do have name tags and business cards (both my own and a pseudo-leather card holder for others), as well as an empty Bugs Bunny Pez dispenser. Sentimental value for the last!
karenrlow - May 21, 2010 at 11:46 am
Some of the above, plus a Sonic Screwdriver, magic wand, and pepper spray.
ajgottli - May 21, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Crayons and a box of dominoes to keep the children of my grad students happy. I like to make my office a family-friendly space!
22070681 - May 21, 2010 at 12:47 pm
On my desk, I have three Rubik’s cubes (3x3x3, 4x4x4, and 5x5x5), as well as two colorful glass works of art, along with some folders I perpetually have to work through.
matt_l - May 21, 2010 at 1:13 pm
a nerf basketball, a pair of pliers, a houseplant, a yo-yo, an electric kettle, tea, hot chocolate plus a bunch of the stuff other people already mentioned, but not all of it. (Although the bottle of Jamesons for medicinal purposes does sound like a good idea.)
ayalam - May 21, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Lots of the above and: address labels to affix to anything anyone borrows (especially books), Mayan stress balls, picture-hanging gear, hand weights, instant stain remover, gear for preparing mate (tea), and (under the desk)both slippers and water shoes (because places on campus and in our parking lots flood whenever there’s rain)
chrona - May 21, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Maybe I missed it, but am I the only one who still has a collection of print photos? Add to that a bowl of assorted and very beautiful stones, the original “@” paperweight, a music box (medlody unknown), and a 2″ statue of “William” from the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.
marklarson - May 21, 2010 at 3:10 pm
What’s interesting is to clean OUT your desk — at the bottom of one drawer, I found several sheets of carbon paper…
rosmerta - May 21, 2010 at 4:07 pm
marklarson, I once found a shriveled, black banana. Glued on some googly eyes and cotton hair, and he’s quite a handsome fellow.
rosmerta - May 21, 2010 at 4:17 pm
In addition to work-related items, I have:- Personal stationery, greeting cards, prayer cards, stickers, stamps, and address labels- Restaurant menus- Cards detailing library books I intend to read some day (the stack always gets thicker, never thinner)- Plant food for my African violets- Used page-a-day calendar pages (the blank backs make great scrap paper)
wilkenslibrary - May 21, 2010 at 8:03 pm
CHOCOLATE (why would anyone need anything else?)
billso - May 24, 2010 at 1:28 pm
- 2 titanium sporks. – Some USB extension cables. – CLIF bars. – An egg timer to help keep me on task.