Lately with all the busy-ness of my life, I haven't had a chance to tackle any of my winter project lists. The other day I thought I need to get on it and so I set the timer for 15 minutes and knocked off one item on the list.

I know that I have talked about timers before but they really are helpful. It gives you permission for a specific time to do whatever you need to get done. And it gives you permission to stop what you are doing and to move on to something else.

In January's issue of Real Simple, they had an article of things to do if you have 5 minutes, or an hour or one weekend. The idea is that you have a go-to place of things that can be accomplished when you find you have a little extra time. You are able to work towards a goal yet not have to a large chunk of time in order to complete it.

I keep lists on my desk of things that take approximately fifteen minutes or less. Whenever I get a little block of time, I try and check off one of those items.

For example:

straighten out a couple of dresser drawers
sew on a button from my mending pile
organize a pantry shelf
sort out linen closet
sort out hall closet
weed a garden bed
return a phone call
send out an email
get out tools for larger project

What about you? Do you have a never ending "to- do" list? Do you ever wonder when and if you will get around to it? Have you ever used a timer to accomplish a smaller list? Can you break down your long "to-do" list into fifteen or thirty minute projects? Will you give yourself permission to work on a project for that amount of time and when the timer dings, you put it aside?

If you have never used a timer before I would challenge you to try it. It's about time.