The cable on your desk is not in charge.
Why charging cables always fall behind the desk, and the twelve-centimetre band where the fix has to work.
Every desk has one cable that lives on the floor. It is usually the one you need, and it is always the one that fell.
Where cables fall
We marked a desk edge and measured. Cables do not wander. They slide off within twelve centimetres of the edge, in the direction of the nearest gap. The problem has a very small geography.
Why tidying does not work
Winding a cable up is a one-time fix to a recurring problem. The moment you use it again, the free end goes wherever gravity puts it. Storage solves a different problem than access.
The fix that works
Hold the cable at a fixed point near the edge, and it can no longer travel. That is it. A clip, a weight, a notch cut in the desk — anything that defines the position. The clever-looking solutions mostly fail because they hold the cable somewhere you do not need it.
A note on adhesive
Adhesive pads are the default because they are cheap to make. On wood they leave residue and they fail at the first temperature change. Weight alone is usually enough.