Robyn Pearce: The magic of chunking - How to break the job into bite-size pieces

Chunking the task out - a proven method for beating procrastination and increasing productivity. Photo / Thinkstock

Have you ever looked at a task, shaken your head and walked away feeling overwhelmed? And then you've beaten yourself up for procrastinating? Many times the sense of overwhelm is because you didn't chunk the task out. The good news is - it's easy to fix.

The Three Styles of Chunking

Chunking is a sorting process.

1. Chunk up to identify the bigger elements of a task, looking for the bigger picture.

2. Chunk down by breaking large blocks of information into smaller snippets.

3. Sideways, or lateral chunking - clump like things together.

When Chunking Up Wasn't Done

A salesperson in a large meat processing company was asked to prepare figures of lamb to the Middle East for the GM. The salesman, knowing it was for the big boss, turned a 15-minute job into a four-hour work of art, thinking to impress him. A few days later the GM saw him in the lunchroom.

'Thanks for the figures, Bill, but you didn't need to go to that much trouble. Just a few numbers would have been fine.' If Bill had chunked up by getting the big picture he would have taken fifteen minutes instead of four hours.

Downward Chunking

Write down your top tasks for the day. Then identify the top five, number them 1 through 5, and start at No. 1. Keep focused on the current highest priority, which may include quick-winging interruptions. By chunking overwhelming amounts of work into small bite-sized pieces of achievable activity you easily focus your mind on the priorities that give the best impact.

Lateral Chunking

Sort mail as if you were putting a pack of cards into suits. Make categories such as: data entry; phone calls; internet activities; writing; reading; discussions with a team member. They don't all have equal value, but by separating categories into like with like it's easier to see what needs to be done. It's also easier to stay focused on one task at a time.

A Case Study

A building company had a high level of customer complaints. They appointed a Customer Services Officer, but not much changed. The GM then brought me in to train the whole company in customer service, communication and team building (effective communication is one of the greatest time-savers we can find!). This was the first big chunk up, getting everyone with a common starting point.

The next stage was a 4-hour SWOT analysis, chunking down into the four areas. For the first time all the staff were given a facilitated forum to have their say (instead of moaning over their Friday drinks). Drilling down into each area, and then sideways chunking like concerns and issues with each other, it suddenly became easy for me, the outsider, to get a clear overall picture what was going on.

For the first time the concerns from everyone were chunked together. By doing so a clear pattern emerged. Previously the busy GM had heard each complaint in isolation, and brushed most of them off, as sand flies at a picnic.

Many issues arose and many solutions were aired. The biggest one, however, was a key manager who had taken on too much. This created a bottleneck in Production that translated into unhappy customers, disgruntled supervisors, disenchanted salespeople, and endless problems. The manager's job was halved. Very quickly the customer record dramatically improved. So did the repeat and referral sales and therefore the profitability. The GM's investment was repaid in the next referral sale. The other major outcome was a lift in company morale, because the team felt they'd been listened to, and their opinions valued.

Have fun chunking.

Robyn Pearce (known as the Time Queen) is the MD of GettingAGrip.com, an international time management and productivity training company based in New Zealand. Get your free report 'How To Master Time In Only 90 Seconds' and ongoing time tips at www.gettingagrip.com