You may have heard of the idea of chunking. If not, the idea is simple. Let’s say you want to create a website for your business, but you don’t know where to start. All you see is this giant pile content, programming, and designing before you, so instead of getting to work you decide to watch an episode of your favorite TV show.
The day goes by and you accomplish nothing. The week goes by and still nothing.
Now your motivation is dwindling. That website that would have helped so many people is becoming an after thought.
You blew up your motivation into tiny pieces because you didn’t create a strategy that felt achievable.
Download the Chunk Your Way to Success PDF
Tiny Chunks
Because my ADD likes to kick in when the work gets difficult, I use my egg timer to keep me focused. I set the timer to work for 25 minutes and then I take a short break when the timer goes off. I lean back and relax for 1 minute. I literally do nothing but daydream or focus on my breath for 60 seconds.
Using the egg timer keeps me focused for short bursts. I feel like I can enjoy any type of work for 25 minutes. You too can set aside 25 minutes for your most important task in order to reach your goals.
Reward Your Chunking Successes
After using this tiny chunking method for a few hours, it’s time to get up and move. Your body and mind need a break from the intense focus that you have just applied.
- Take a short 15 minute walk
- Listen to a few of your favorite songs
- Make a cup of coffee/tea
Daily Happiness Chunks
I like to try to improve my happiness by 1% every single day. I find one way to improve my business every single day by building my skill set, practicing a better stress relief technique, or connecting with people who motivate me.
Every day can be a chance for you to work on your happiness. By the end of 1 year, you can have 365 days of foundation on which to build a business of your dreams.
Some of the ways you can build your foundation:
1. Email someone you admire (refuse to give in to fear).
2. Share a story with the world via Facebook, Youtube, blog, or email (connect with others).
3. Apply stress relief techniques (connect with your inner joy).
4. Take time to be crazy creative (make a list of impossible things to accomplish that would fulfill a big dream)
5. Increase levity level (I like to take time to laugh at my mistakes, forgiving myself for every misstep).
How can you apply the 1% method to your business?
What can you work on today, tomorrow and the next day?
Let’s start slowly. It’s all about chunking baby.
What can you work on today to improve your business?
Try to set a goal every morning: One super small thing to help your business. Don’t get caught up in trying to overhaul your business in one week. Pick one small thing you can do for one tiny chunk of each day. Then review your progress at the end of the month. You’ll be impressed by your results.
Download the Chunk Your Way to Success PDF
Check out the first post in this series:
* Are you on Twitter? Then join over 3,400 people who get my stress relief tips, happiness ideas, and thought provoking quotes. @workhappynow
* Creating hype around things you create isn't easy in this information overload society. A great way to separate yourself is to create webinars. Chris Garrett wrote a cool post about using webinars to separate yourself from the crowd.
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Karl that approach sounds so smart and yeah, I can attest to feeling great too when I chunk up the day. It is amazing what a minute of pure breathing or conscious reflection (not obsessive, Ego thinking) can do.
What I love most about this approach is the feeling of feeling balanced at the end of the day. Some work, some fresh air, some fun, etc...
Hi Evita, Chunking is not new, but a lot of people don't know how to do it the right way. We need to understand what gets us moving how how to make a project feel like it's easy even when it's not. By creating a balance between tackling a task, enjoying it and knowing when to take a break is vital to accomplishing great work.
Hi Karl,
These are great strategies for making molehills out of mountain-sized projects! It can feel really overwhelming trying to figure out how to tackle a big project, if we don't chunk the work. I think we sometimes freak ourselves out with the ridiculous belief that once we start the project, we have to sit at our desk until it's done: a misinterpretation of the guideline to "Finish what you start." If we go into a large, complex project with that kind of mind set, it's not surprising we feel overwhelmed and lose all motivation before we get started.
I'm glad you reminded your readers to balance the chunks of work with doing something fun or relaxing. Adequate breaks and variety in our day make a huge difference to our overall productivity, creativity and contentment.
I absolutely love this particular blog post. It reminds me of the time I started article marketing for my online business. The strange thing is that whenever I plan ahead to write a few articles, I never do it on my timeline. Instead I will waste a great deal of time fumbling around, and then out of nowhere I will sit and finish it in one shot.
Hi Sue, I've sat down at my computer ready to do a marathon of work and all I do is procrastinate. I like what you said about, "Finishing what you start." We get so caught up in getting to the finish line that our quality of work suffers. By keeping a emotionally balanced we can do better work and enjoy more of it too.
Hi EPT, You just need to plant the seed and let your motivation slowly build. Great technique.