17 Aug Chunking Makes a Difference

Know what it’s like to be facing a huge task and the very magnitude of it causes you to procrastinate? Either you don’t know where to start or you are feeling too overwhelmed and brain cluttered to concentrate.

That makes you a member of a very large club. Many of us can get overwhelmed by the enormity of a task. It is hard to see where to start. We might look at it and see a huge ball of string with no tail sticking out to aid in the unraveling. Do what’s a person to do?

We know that answer to the question: How do you eat an elephant?  Answer: One bit at a time.

We hear this and we all laugh but don’t implement it as oten as perhaps we could. My clients often tell me that they tend to just jump in and struggle trying to find that elusive starting point. And they say that the closer the deadline, the more anxious they become to get started. No time to do the heads up prep work.

The stress level usually builds as the timer ticks on. Sometimes the anxiety turns to panic and with that comes difficulty focuing, staying on task and even sleeping or eating. Instead of stress de-escalating as the work comes together, it elevates as the deadline looms.

These 3 steps can make the difference in how stressed you are when the task is completed.

Take a Bird’s Eye View of the Task

What do you see? What is the overall objective and result when finished? Stephen Covey says to start with the end in mind. Knowing why you are doing this work can cause your appoach to be more creative and align with your work style. This planning can take as much as a day but will save you time in the long run. Don’t rush to get started. Stay calm to plan it all out.

Chunk the Task into Manageable Bites

Yes, the elephant adage is not just a fun thing; it is a critical tool to use in addressing the bigger tasks. We usually know way more than we actually implement. This is one of those often forgotten lessons that fail to make it to the production site.

How can you piece this into smaller bites to accomplish one at a time? With that comes the sense of accomplishment of actually getting somewhere. This goes a long way to balancing the amount of stress involved. Instead of it building, it will stay level or in best case scenario, decrease.

Break Down the Deadlines to Match Bites

Once the overall task is divided, then divide the deadline date into the appropriate timelines to match the bites. You allot a certain amoount of time to accomplish each and work to meet that deadline. For the time being, forget about the final deadline. If you meet each of these, you can’t help but meet the final one.  Don’t forget to add the final review time when the task is completed. You’ll want time to go over your work rather than just rush to push it out without another glance.

I guess a final word could be added here…okay, maybe two!  Don’t forget to breathe. Don’t forget to balance your work with leisurely time with family and friends, or maybe even some self-care alone time. Defeat the stress before it defeats you.

Coypright 2019 Merri Macartney. Merri works with organizations that want to merge laughter and learning to boost morale, reduce stress and enhance the wellbeing of their staff.

Email: Merri@merrimacartney.com

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