There are few places we spend more time than our beds, our cars, and our desks.
Your desk is such a small bit of real estate, but it’s when decked out with the best organizational tools and a personal touch, it can become a favorite place to be.
What comes to mind when you think of cool desk accessories?
For me, I think of organization first – keeping all of my ‘things’ in check because frankly, I keep way too much at my desk. There’s always a chance I might need one of those 14 pens! And if you’re like me, throwing away mail, papers, and receipts is pretty low on the to-do list, so those stray papers tend to pile up.
Cool desk accessories can also be decor, functional utilities, and upgraded tools. Designing your desk to a specific style, like modern or rustic, or following a calming color scheme can bring a sense of focus even during your most chaotic work moments.
When choosing desk accessories, keep in mind how you want your space to feel and what you’re typically doing when you’re at your desk. If you’re ready for an upgrade, here are our top 25 cool desk accessories that will elevate your work-life experience.
1. Wooden Laptop Stand
Wherever you work, if you’re a laptop user, elevating your computer to a more ergonomic position will completely change your comfort level. While laptops are great for on-the-go usage, using them flat on a desk requires you to use your wrists and neck in less-than-comfortable positions. A stand like this one will help you be more comfortable and add a modern flair to your workspace.
2. Weekly Calendar Desk Pad
Nothing keeps you focused like seeing your whole week in front of you, right on your desk. Utilizing a digital calendar is often non-negotiable, but keeping a paper layout of your schedule gives you the flexibility to make changes or answer calendar-related questions without opening yet another program on your computer.
Try leveling up your visual schedule with washi tape, adhesive tabs, or small sticky notes so you can move commitments and tentative meetings easily.
3. You Are a Badass Daily Calendar
Set yourself up for motivation and confidence every morning with an inspirational desktop calendar. The You Are A Badass daily calendar delivers a bit of straight-talk, positive-thinking wisdom you can circle back to when your day starts to get out of hand. After the day is done, consider repurposing the quote by pasting it into your journal, pinning it to a pegboard in your office, or sharing it with a loved one who might enjoy a little boost.
4. Desk Organizer
Got a home office? Need to wrangle it into some kind of state of organization? You're not alone. Make sure everything that enters your desk space has a home with a desk organizer. It’s so easy for the many things you need at your desk to get out of hand. Piles of paper, pens, and products are stressful to look at and impossible to use. Make sure you have a system to help make it easier to keep everything straight.
5. Magnetic Chalkboard
If you have a bit of wall space above your desk, this chic magnetic chalkboard acts as a message board and a note-keeper, with its own set of magnets included. Save important messages, tickets to tonight’s show, and instant photos taken on your last vacation next to a space for erasable communication across the board.
6. Small Egg Vase
Bring a little color to your desk with a small bud vase. The vase itself may be white, but pick a few wildflowers or buds on your way to work and instantly brighten your space. If you like to keep a bouquet of flowers at home, save 3-5 and cut the stems short so they fit in your vase for a burst of color.
7. Desktop Hourglass
Even though we all have timers built into our smartphones, nothing can replace the visual pressure of time slipping away. This 15-minute timer can help you manage your time more effectively and beautifully. Try keeping yourself focused for 15 minutes at a time, and when the timer runs out, assess how productive you actually were.
For activities like email, social media, and mindless phone gaming, set this 5-minute timer and call it quits when the sand runs out.
8. Lantern Candle
For your home office, this beautiful vessel allows you to keep a candle on your desk without risk of it falling over. Scent your desk with your favorite aroma and, if possible, consider turning the lights down around your desk in the evening to work in the glow of the flame.
9. Grateful Jar
A simple alternative to keeping a gratitude journal: the Grateful Jar. Write your daily line items of gratitude on small strips of paper and deposit them in this sweet clear jar. When you need a pick-me-up or a gentle reminder of all your blessings, pop the top and pull a few slips out for review. Feel free to duplicate, stuff, and empty to renew the jar when it becomes overfull with gratitude.
10. Desktop Air Purifier
Depending on the size and orientation of your office, your desk may become a stuffy, dusty place. Did you know that air purifiers can actually improve productivity and focus? Not only does this desktop tool quietly circulate air around your workspace, it clears the air of dust particles, animal dander, and other unhealthy contaminants floating around.
11. Daily Task Pad
The perfect companion to your desktop calendar is the daily task pad: it’s your day at a glance, line-by-line, and it is oh-so satisfying to complete.
My favorite way to use this pad:
- At the end of the day, circle any items still remaining and either add them to tomorrow’s list or schedule them to a later date in your calendar.
- Add any line items you know will be on your list before the end of your day. Check your calendar, email, and personal notes before closing out for the day.
- First thing in the morning, before you finalize your list, do a timed (3 or 5 minute) brain dump into your journal. Clear your head of all jumbled thoughts. Any to-do items for that day, add them to your Daily Task Pad. Any others that could be schedule for the future, add them to your calendar or planner to stay ahead of upcoming commitments.
12. Multi-Device Charging Kit
Cluttering your desk with a mess of wires and devices taking up space can mess with your concentration. Group your devices neatly (while keeping them all charged!) with this multi-device charging kit. Each of your charging cords threads through various carved ports in the kit and each of your devices can stack cleanly in individual slots.
13. Blue Light-Blocking Computer Glasses
Even though this isn’t exactly a “desk accessory,” it’s a necessary desk-activity accessory. If you’re reading this, you’re most likely staring at one screen or another — and if you’re like most of us, you’re staring at that screen almost all day long.
Blocking the harmful blue light emitted by electronic displays will save you a lot of headaches, literally. Working day and night can impact your sleeping patterns, hormones, and give you eye strain that lasts long after you’ve turned your screens off.
A pair of blue light blocking glasses can reduce dry eyes, headaches, eye-strain, insomnia, and much more if worn while operating any of your screens, including:
- Laptop or computer monitor
- Smartphones
- eReader
- Tablet
- Smart watches
- Televisions
- Projectors
- POS system screens
14. Desktop Clock
Bring a little classic flair to your desk with this analog clock. Check the time anytime without having to open your phone and risk slipping into a scroll session. Plus, with the brass accent and ivory colored clock face, this clock serves as a lovely decor anchor point for the rest of your desk style.
15. The Executive Notebook
Dress your desk for the job you want. Your ideas deserve a home as brilliant as they are -- and this notebook is as good as it gets. Made from high quality materials, this book is elegant and sophisticated, and sure to make you feel like your best self when you see it on your desk.
16. Productivity Notepad Suite
Want to optimize your efforts? Get a bundle of expert-designed notepads, each created to help you tackle a common roadblock to productivity during your workday. Lightweight to use and beautiful to look at, these notepads look great on your desk -- and make you look great when you achieve amazing results!
17. Sleek Pen Cup
For the pen enthusiasts among us (both of my hands are raised), having a pen cup is a must-have desk accessory. This Japanese-designed pen cup will hold a selection of your favorites, from the Le Pen to the Caran d’Ache and a handful of Blackwing 602s if pencils are your style.
18. Expandable File Holder
Piles of paperwork are the worst. They’re unsightly, and even worse, they make it a thousand times harder to find what you’re looking for when you need it.
Invest in an inexpensive pack of file folders and keep your papers neatly organized in this sleek, expandable file holder. Not sure how best to organize your ever-expanding collection of (seemingly) important papers? Consider these tips:
Paperwork typically falls into three distinct categories:
- Requires action. Something to sign, a task to complete, requires a return of more attached documents. If the paper requires action before its job is complete, add a sticky note with the necessary actions to take and the date those actions are due to that paper and sort it as such. Consider adding the to-dos to your Daily Task Pad or calendar.
- Requires filing. Copies of signed documents, receipts (that don’t need to be scanned, because that ‘requires action’), and records should be filed in a safer place than a pile on your desk. If you’ve yet to develop an off-site (off-desk) filing system for important papers, create a system that works for you and sort these papers accordingly.
- Ready for disposal. I get it, disposing of papers, important or not, can be difficult. What if I need it? If you think you might, find a way to file it accordingly in your filing system. If you think you can probably let it go but aren’t ready to shred it yet, you can file it in your “for disposal” folder and mark it with a sticky note for a later date where you’ll dispose of everything in the file.
With this three-compartment file holder, you can use this system to clean up the paper situation on your desk and get a handle on paper organization for good.
19. A great pair of scissors
The standard orange-handled scissors are great, but they don't necessarily inspire. Grab a stylish alternative that’s been tested by the Ink+Volt team for quality and longevity. Not only does it get the job done, it’ll look great on your desktop alongside your suite of stylish desk accessories.
20. Private Memo Notepad
Want to write a quick note to a coworker or family member, for their eyes only? Share a sincere thank you or update on a project with this handy, friendly note set -- each sheet is designed to easily fold over and contain the note, so it will only be seen by its intended recipient when they open it up.
21. Wooden Photo Ledge
Another gorgeous option for those with a bit of wall space near their desk – the Artifact Uprising wooden photo ledge. At Artifact Uprising, you can transform your Instagram photos or any photos from your archives into gorgeous archival prints and then load them onto your photo ledge.
Choose your paper, size, and printing medium and have quality prints delivered to your home. With the wooden photo ledge, you can display simple prints in an elegant way.
22. Air Plant Terrarium
For the plant lover with a less-than-green thumb, this air plant terrarium will breathe some life into your desk without requiring you to remember to water! Air plants survive almost entirely on the moisture they absorb from the air. If you feel so inclined, occasionally spritz it with water.
23. Potted Plant Greenhouse
For the plant lover a little more inclined to growing their own plants, this potted plant greenhouse from IKEA is the perfect house for up to three potted plants to live right on your desk. By watering your plants regularly and keeping the greenhouse primarily closed, the humidity inside the greenhouse will help keep the plants moist and help you stay focused at your desk.
24. Reusable Water Bottle
Staying hydrated during the workday can be a challenge. Rather than relying on bottled water or yet another coffee, keep a reusable water bottle at your desk and set an alarm on your phone to remind you to refill it a certain number of times per day. And this water bottle comes with a bonus -- it actually cleans itself, so you don't have to feel guilty about leaving it on your desk day after day.
25. Elegant Desk Lamp
Overhead lighting at your desk can cast annoying shadows over your work, especially when working on paper or on an open part of your desk. Increase your visibility with a desk lamp – it’s been proven that implementing task lighting reduces strain on your eyes, prolonging the strength of your vision, and improves concentration on the project at hand.
