Visual clutter is anything in your visual field not relevant to your current task. Papers scattered on a desk. Multiple objects on shelves. Open browser tabs. Icons on a desktop. Each item demands minimal processing. Your brain must identify each object, determine whether it’s relevant, and inhibit attention from shifting to it. This processing happens automatically below conscious awareness. You don’t feel yourself processing clutter. But the processing consumes cognitive resources continuously throughout a work session, reducing capacity available for actual work. The effect is measurable and substantial. Studies show people working in organized clutter-free environments perform 20 to 30%...