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This may be a small issue to many people. But there are those who understand that piles create clutter not just in your physical space, but also in your mind. I find I feel more free and creative when my desk and office is relatively free of piles and clutter -- or they are at least out of sight.

This is where my piling begins. I'm in the middle of a project I know "needs" to get done right away. Then the phone rings, my husband, and business partner, comes home and we have to talk about a job, I remember I didn't get to the tax payment yet and it's due NOW, the dog just barfed on the carpet, or the doorbell rings, and the piling begins . . . When I get back to the project that "needed" to get done right away, the mail, emails, client folders, bills to pay, etc. have all snuck onto my desk somehow into piles . . .

What's a professed piler to do?? Here is my game plan to keep my desk clean enough to allow my creativity to flow more freely. Maybe these five steps will help you too.

1. When mail comes in daily, have a specified box where it will be filed in plain sight, yet neatly stacked until it's time to open and process. Preferably the junk mail will be tossed before it hits my specified box. This box should be dedicated to only mail, so I don't "forget" I have accumulated mail. When it gets stacked on top of other papers, it's too easy to overlook . . .

2. Those email messages that just have to be printed and shared go in a specified "share" location, usually on a corner of our kitchen counter, and then recycled. The email message reminders of meetings and events get logged onto my calendar and then filed in an abeyance file, if I want to keep a hard copy of the email. Messages that I want to keep "just because" that are funny or inspirational go into a special folder. I file many emails in folders I have created in Microsoft Outlook to save physical space.

3. Projects that are in progress get their own special file folder, so I can put them in a desk drawer and return to them when time permits. "But what happens when I forget I have projects in my desk drawer?" you may ask. Here's where Outlook shines. There is a Task Manager built into Outlook that allows you to create reminders and tasks to be done and in progress. You can create color-coded categories to prioritize the tasks and set audible as well as visual reminders, so you can schedule a time to finish the project and create a reminder to tell you when it's time to get started on finishing!

4. Another trick I have used to keep my on track and organized is using a timer. I find it too easy to get distracted when I finally do get back to working on a project; so I set a timer for, say, 30 minutes and make a concerted effort to keep my butt on my seat and working until the timer goes off. You'll be amazed at how much you can accomplish with uninterrupted blocks of time this way.

5. Speaking of blocks, blocking out time to work on specific tasks is helpful as well. For example, I may give myself 30 minutes, twice a day to do email. After those times, I turn off the "you've got mail" notifier so I'm not tempted to check in between times. I also block out time for writing, doing business paperwork, etc.

After many months of trying to improve my piling tendencies, I have discovered my downfall. I work until the very last minute, the very last second, of every day and leave no backend time to do day-end cleanup. So, my next goal is to quit 30 minutes early at the end of the day to give myself time to file some of the piles that have snuck onto my desk.

At the end of the day, however, my real goal is to look back and feel good about what I have gotten done, to cut myself some slack and accept my piler's tendency, while still working on becoming at least a "partial" filer. Who knows over time I might even find my creativity flows just as well when I have piles!