{five minute friday} Why You Need a Five Minute To Do List

Around this time I always start thinking about my goals for the upcoming new year. I'm not really one for specific New Years Resolutions, but I do like to sit down and think about what I'd like to accomplish and how I can be more productive. The conclusion I always come to... I need more hours in the day! Who can relate?! Today I've got a tip that can help us all find a little extra time in our days, and I want to thank Pilot Corporation of America for sponsoring this post.

My goal as a blogger has always been to provide inspiration to help others create an organized and pretty, happy home. But, over the years, I've heard many people say that  blogs often end up having the opposite effect, instead making readers feel like their homes aren't good enough and that they will never have enough time to make them "perfect." It was that feedback that drove me to launch my "Five Minute Friday" feature, where a few times each month I share a quick and easy organizing, decorating, DIY, or cleaning project that can be accomplished in a few short minutes - while you're on hold waiting for customer service, waiting for water to boil, or while dinner cooks in the oven.

It's amazing how much we can accomplish in a short amount of time, but only if we use those spare minutes wisely. I often find myself standing in the kitchen trying to think of a good use of my free five minutes, and by the time I realize that I could be purging all of my expired coupons, the oven timer is buzzing and I'm on to the next phase of dinner prep.

So here's the plan I've come up with for an organized start to the new year... I'm starting a Five Minute To Do List! 

Things you probably already know about me: I am a compulsive list maker. I love to satisfaction of checking off a completed task {I'll even add a task to my list just to cross it off}. I color code just about everything, and I love any project that I can complete in just five minutes! So why didn't I think of this Five Minute To Do List sooner?!

I picked up a cute little notebook, and on the first page I created a color-coding guide - teal for five minute tasks I can complete anywhere, pink for quick decorating tweaks, green for small organizing projects, etc.

I've always had a love affair with office supplies, but I've struggled to find colored pens that live up to my expectations. Many don't write smoothly or with bold enough color, or the ones that do bleed through the paper. So let me just tell you how excited I am to have discovered the Pilot G2 gel ink pens! These pens are specially formulated using pigments instead of dyes, which is a fancy way of saying that they write with smooth, vibrant colors - just like I've always wanted! They are the ultimate pen for the everyday overachiever {guilty as charged}.

Once I had outlined my color-coding, I began brainstorming my five minute to do lists. Since I most often find myself with extra minutes when I'm in the kitchen, I started there. In five minutes I could straighten up my junk drawer, I could purge any expired food or old left overs from the fridge, or I could sort and recycle the mail. I'll keep adding to this list over time, and many of these task are ones that will need to be repeated over and over, but having them written down will definitely help me focus and use my time wisely!

I often find myself in a really long line at the grocery store or in the waiting room at the doctor's office thinking of the things I need to get done when I get home. But the truth is that I could be accomplishing a lot in those otherwise wasted minutes if I had a plan. So I've also started creating a list of quick five minute tasks that can be accomplished anywhere, anytime. 

Smart phones have made it so much easier to be productive on the go, but often times my default is to pull out my phone and check Facebook. To help me think of more productive ways to use my time, I'm jotting suggestions down on my five minute list - RSVP to events, purge photos from my phone, send a quick email to catch up with a friend. 

Another goal that I always try to recommit to at the start of each new year is to be healthier. So I have also made a note on my Five Minute To Do List to remind myself that anytime I have five minutes to spare, I could be using that time to sneak in a little exercise.

It's so easy to get overwhelmed and feel like there's never enough time, but if we could find simple ways to be productive in those little five minute blocks, it would be like finding an extra hour every day!

So I challenge you to start a five minute list to help you achieve your goals in 2017! Of course, you'll need some pretty, colored Pilot G2 gel ink pens to get you started right! Go to PilotPen.us and use code G2SWAY at checkout to receive 20% off ALL G2 products (G2 Fashion, G2, G2 Metallics, G2 Mosaics, G2 BCA, G2 Pro, G2 Limited), valid through 12/31/16.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pilot Corporation of America. I love a company that supports the everyday overachiever! Connect with Pilot online at Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.