Organize the Desk, and the Mind Follows Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times Alexa von Tobel says that if her work environment is messy, she can't think clearly. ALEXA VON TOBEL, 29, founder and C.E.O. of LearnVest.com in Manhattan. LearnVest is a personal finance Web site. HER CHAIR I had a big, black ergonomic chair that rolled. But I really didn't like rolling and I don't really sit down that often. So, I wanted a chair that was really comfortable for the short period of time that I am in it, and that didn't roll. I have a gigantic pillow on the chair. I find it really comfortable. It's also pretty. FAVORITE PEN The Uni-ball Vision Elite. It is the best pen. It writes so smoothly. I also love ultra-fine-point Sharpies, permanent markers, because I like to write in color. Those are my two must-haves. NEATNIK I am so organized that it's dysfunctional. Everything has a place. I am a very visual person, so my environment is important to me. If my environment is messy, I can't think clearly. I don't like clutter. A clean desk is a clean mind for me. OFFICE LOCATION I am in the front of the office, directly when you get off the elevator. I can see everyone in the office and everyone can see me. It's a big rectangle and I am in the front of the rectangle, in a corner. I can tell if things are slow. I can sense it in 12 seconds. I like offices where the leaders are in the middle, right there. No desktop. I am always running around. I need to throw the computer under my arm. Everything has to be mobile. ALWAYS ON HER DESK There will always be a plant of some kind. Flowers make me irrationally happy. ATTENTION-GETTER There's a bell on my desk. It's a silver bell that's actually from my wedding. A bunch of people on my team have them. We ring bells when things are working, when things go well, when we close deals. I think that energy is pretty core. Not on purpose. I just woke up. I did about 90 minutes of e-mails from home. I did some exercise. I got into the office at 8:15 and it's all been go, go, go. I'll be here until 8:30 p.m. OLD TECHNOLOGY I always have Moleskine notebooks on my desk. I am a big journaler. Every day I write down where I went, who I spoke to and what it was all about. Richard Branson told me to do that. I have the feeling that 20 years from now these notebooks will be the most important thing I have. Interview conducted by Edward Lewine. Comments have been edited and condensed.