The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.
“Chunk” time management allows you to stop looking at the big picture and becoming overwhelmed, and instead allows you to focus on breaking the whole into more manageable and less daunting chunks. By tackling bite-sized pieces of a larger task, writes Cheryl Clausen in her article “Chunk, Block & Tackle,” you’ll be able to make a dent in your workload, and gain some satisfaction that accompanies accomplishment.
No matter how big the goal, project or task, it can be chunked. Chunking is based on two premises:
- Blocking off small, medium and large chunks of time, and
- Assigning tasks to these timeslots accordingly.
Three Steps to Time Management Chunking
Step 1: Prioritize
Start by prioritizing your tasks and responsibilities, and determining which ones are most important. This is a critical first step toward effective time management and chunking. When considering how to assign priorities, you must evaluate existing deadlines attached to tasks, as well as the stature of the person who assigned it to you.
Step 2: Create Short and Long Term Plans
Planning ahead saves time, and can lower your stress levels. To prioritize successfully it is important to outline short and long term plans. By delineating these plans on a calendar or organizer, you are able to assign deadlines for tasks.
Your short term plan might take you into the next week or perhaps month. This is where you include meetings, that week’s deadlines, etc. A long term plan can include the next quarter into the next year, and may include annual deadlines like year-end reviews, strategic brainstorming, etc. When taking on a project, spend a few minutes working out how long you will need to complete each task. Break the task down into manageable segments and assign yourself deadlines for each. Add these to your calendar so that they are incorporated into either your short or long term plans.
Clausen advises to allow “buffer” time for extra workload, which is essential when you are juggling multiple projects or multitasking.
Step 3: Slot your Time
The key to chunking is to identify where you have small, medium and large chunks of time to get work done in between times when you are not on conference calls, in meetings, etc. A small chunk of time, for instance, might be a mere 15 minutes to a half hour; a medium chunk anywhere from 1-2 hours, and a large chunk, albeit rare, might be more than two.
Begin Chunking
While long time slots are necessary, medium and short time slots can be used just as effectively. The trick is to know your to-do list and determine ahead of time which items will be assigned to the short, medium and long term slots when these times come into your day.
Short Time Slots
One hour or less is useful for:
- Clearing junk mail from your e-mail box
- Reviewing meeting notes
- Completing any light reading
- Previewing longer readings
- Jotting down notes
- IM communications
- Checking voicemail
- Replying to short e-mails and voicemails
Medium Time Slots
One to two hours are useful for those tasks that are hard to start and stop, but that perhaps are not super time or “brain” intensive:
- Writing a proposal
- More detailed note-reviewing or writing
- Replying to longer e-mails and voicemails
Long Time Slots
More than three hours can be set aside for:
- Working on a labor intensive assignment that requires high levels of concentration
- Completing an extensive amount of reading
- Research for assignments
- Revising for exams
A Dose of Realism
Your best chance for successful chunking is to be aware of how much time you have and to manage it effectively. This means being realistic about your time and what you can do with it. When planning your calendar and slotting your times, you must realistically assess the demands on your time. This includes meetings, the amount of interruptions you get with phone calls, IMs, etc. while you’re working.
For instance, under the best of circumstances you can clear out 20 e-mails from your inbox in 20 minutes. But if it is more realistic that your phone will constantly ring and at least one person will pop in with a question during those 20 minutes, then plan for clearing out just half of your e-mails. Over committing is a surefire way to get back into the cycle of feeling overwhelmed and unorganized.
Handling Over-Commitment
The reality is that are only 24 hours in a day. Period. Time doesn't change – what can change is what is done with the time you have. Whether you use a paper calendar, a PDA or a time tracking project management software system, the first step to physically managing your time is to know where it's going.
If you suspect you might have taken on too much, you will need to go through the process of reassessing your other commitments, re-prioritizing, and then identifying areas for compromise. It is acceptable to seek input from others when tackling this process.
Anyone can chunk their way to achieving any size project or goal. Confident chunkers know a well-used 15 minutes is more effective than a wasted hour – it’s simply a matter of figuring out how best to use the time by tackling the task assigned to that chunk with gusto.
The best part of chunking? It turns big projects into small bites, transforming overwhelmed inaction into controlled action, and is a key to successful time management and productivity.
Awaiting for valuable comments..........
