Lately I’ve been a little stumped creatively, and as usual, that has done so much for my organization.

Organizing is a huge stress reliever to me. Whenever I need a little space to let my brain solve a problem, I find myself organizing my bookshelf. Or creating a new filing system on my computer. Or putting together a clipboard system.

Or, like today, sorting through my inbox.

I try to keep my inbox pretty meticulously organized. I am a Gmail Ninja. I have folders for personal items, correspondence with friends, clients, projects, billing,  you name it. I automatically filter some emails (like Groupon or ThinkGeek) to a folder so they skip my inbox and keep me from spending too much.

Here’s my system.

1. if it is not actionable, all new emails are filed.
2. If an email requires action, I leave it in my inbox to remind me later.
3. If my sorted inbox ever hits more than 20, I have to sit down and winnow this list down!

The problem with this system is that with multiple projects and clients at any given time, my inbox is very rarely empty. There’s always more to do! That’s why this afternoon’s work was so satisfying. Except in order to post the picture above, I sent myself an email of it from my phone, and actually made my inbox not empty.

And now I have no excuses to avoid my creative block. Here we go.