What’s on Your Desk Matters

I recently added something new to my office: an Obi Toppin basketball card.

For those unfamiliar with Dayton basketball, Toppin is one of the best players ever to wear a University of Dayton uniform. His 2019-20 season was remarkable, and he became the consensus national player of the year while leading a Dayton team that finished 29–2 and rose to No. 3 in the country.

So, as a Dayton professor and basketball fan, an Obi Toppin card makes perfect sense in my office.

But after putting it on display, I started thinking about something bigger: What we put in the spaces where we work and study matters.

Look around your office, desk, or study space.

Chances are, at least a few of the things you see aren't there because they're particularly useful. They're there because they mean something to you.

Maybe it's a photograph of your family. A souvenir from a favorite trip. Something from your undergraduate school. A diploma. A favorite book. A handwritten note someone gave you years ago. Or, apparently, a basketball card (and lots of LEGO sets).

Those objects tell a story. They remind us where we've been, the people and places that matter to us, things we've accomplished, and things we simply enjoy.

That's part of why I like having the Obi card in my office. It connects the University of Dayton, one of my favorite players, memories of watching him with my son, and my longtime hobby of collecting cards. It's more than a piece of cardboard. It's a small reminder of a university I love, time with my son, and the joy basketball has brought us.

And sometimes those little reminders are valuable precisely because they have nothing to do with the work sitting in front of us.

This is especially worth remembering as a student.

There is no shortage of advice about creating the "perfect" study environment. Find the right desk. Eliminate distractions. Organize everything. Buy the right supplies. Create the aesthetically perfect setup.

Some of that advice can be helpful. But your goal shouldn't be to create a study space that looks like someone else's.

Instead, create a space that feels like yours. Your study space might be a desk in an apartment, a corner of your bedroom, a library carrel, or a kitchen table. Wherever it is, think about what you see when you sit down to work.

Put something there that makes you smile. Something that reminds you of an accomplishment. Something connected to your family or your hometown. Something that reminds you why you came to law school. Something that represents where you hope to be a few years from now.

It doesn't have to be profound. In fact, it probably shouldn't be.

It just has to mean something to you.

For me, that's an Obi Toppin basketball card.

So, what's on your desk?