But did you know that “tidy desk, tidy mind” might actually have some truth to it? According to researchers at Princeton , “Multiple stimuli present in the the visual field at the same time compete for neural representation by mutually suppressing their evoked activity throughout visual cortex, providing a neural correlate for the limited processing capacity of the visual system.” In short, mess and clutter – too many things in your eye-line, basically – could compromise your attention.