A Simple Strategy to Reduce Overwhelm

I wanted to share or reshare (depending on how long you’ve been hanging out with me) a simple strategy I use to get my work done without feeling overwhelmed or having the desire to procrastinate because it all seems too hard or big.

I call it “Chunking It Down”, and I’ve used this method myself in my previous corporate career and now in my business, and I’ve also taught it to my kids when they were at school and university.

It’s simple and easy to learn, but as always, the real work is in the application.

It involves taking whatever result that you want to achieve and breaking it down into smaller chunk-size pieces that you can schedule in your calendar.  In the context of my kids' school assignments, it might look like this:

• Finish preliminary research.
• Create assignment outline including thesis.
• Draft abstract and introductory paragraphs.
• Draft method and analysis paragraphs.
• Summarise results.
• Draft findings, including the conclusion.
• Review and finalise the draft (including referencing).

By breaking a large assignment down into smaller, more manageable chunks, we make it so much easier for our brains to manage our deliverables.  Instead of having a 5000-word assignment due in 2 weeks which may feel daunting, you now have seven smaller pieces that you can schedule over the next 14 days, fitting it in around all your other deliverables!

If you haven’t done this before, then give it a go and see how it can take away some of your stress.

So, if this is easy, why don’t we do it?  Because it takes a little bit of work and time.  For us to come up with the plan, we are going to have to sit down and think about how we can break it down into smaller chunks, and that’s a problem because sometimes our brains don’t like to work.  They come up with all the reasons why we can’t do it or why it won’t work.

These obstacles may sound like we don’t have the time, I’m not sure where to start, or it’s better just to get started and work it out as we go.  But when we don’t chunk it down, we often stay stuck feeling overwhelmed because we don’t know how we’re going to get it all done.

I think of chunking it down as one of my secret powers.  I’ve experienced the benefit of using this strategy so much in my life, so it’s become a no-brainer for me.  I would love for it to become a similar tool that you use to help free yourself from unnecessary stress and overwhelm.

It’s also one of the steps I talk about in my free How-To Guide: 5 Powerful Ways to Get Control of Your Calendar, so if you don’t have your copy get on my email list now.

If you need help with time management so you can stop overworking without sacrificing your success, book your free Time Design session with me by clicking on the clock!