I believe the technical term for what
@bcowen practices is "vertically integrated workflow."
Due to the rather limited real estate his desk provides him with in the horizontal dimension, he is tempted to pile stuff upon stuff whenever he wants to work on something new.
As a positive side effect of this, he is forced to adopt the concept of LIFO (last in first out), lest he would risk getting buried under a rather painful avalanche of unfinished projects whenever he were to attempt to pull something out of the middle of his pile. This serves as additional motivation to actually finish something for a change.
It's rather nifty, his whole approach!
You and I, we simply think too much in just two dimensions. That's why we have to resort to such rather primitive solutions as cleaning up our work areas before we begin something new.
As much as it pains me to admit this to myself, but it takes a certain innate ability as well as decades of dedication and practice for one to eventually become adept enough in one's ability to think three-dimensionally so as to be able to operate on such an advanced level as
@bcowen does.
I can only gape at him in deep awe and sincere admiration. And I find myself clutching onto a sense of hope that with enough practice I, too, may one day be able to finally step out of his shadow and start piling with such confidence.
Until then, I will always treasure the photo of his desk that I keep pinned to my vision board.
)
My work area for tubes is generally a mess but I use a cheap rack to hold most tools so once again I have a work area. Because of all the woodworking I do I use compressed air to blow sawdust out of my shop on occasion so I cannot have small pieces laying loose around the shop. I help others with audio gear so I make sure I do not scratch cabinets or face plates so yes I might even use a silicone pad or carpet square to protect some gear. It is not like I have pegboard with a drawing around each tool so it is returned to the original spot.
