We are not meant to multi-task as humans. Sure, you can walk and chew gum at the same time but neither of those activities requires much brain power. Can you talk on the phone and write an email about a totally different topic at the same time? Chances are, if you have attempted this, you have either starting typing what the person on the phone was saying or vice versa.

I was able to obtain my undergrad in marketing in 3 years and MBA in marketing in 11 months. How? Time chunking! A skill I picked up my first year of college thanks to a random conversation I was having with one of my fellow members in our marketing and management business fraternity. I became obsessed with the skill and have been utilizing it ever since.

What is it?

The concept is fairly simple- chunk your time and focus on that one task before switching gears and moving on to something else. If you have a task that you know will take you 35 minutes, writing this blog for example (between content, proofreading, meta data, SEO, categorization, editing blog image, alt image text, etc), I do not sit down to write and then look at my emails 5 minutes later. If I did, I would have to get back into blog writing mode, find out where I left off, remember my next point, and so on.

Tips

Chunking helps accomplish larger tasks without small interruptions. At first, it’s helpful if you leave your phone at a distance so you can’t get distracted by it. I also find that it helps to have instrumental music on to avoid silence and not letting your mind wonder to the next task at hand.

I do recommend using a planner and block off time during your day to focus on your daily tasks. I also love using different colored pens for specific tasks to help my brain stay organized. It also may help to set your timer as well if you know a task will take you 30 minutes. You may find that it takes you 1/2 the time or less when you are focused on one thing and one thing only at a time!

There is also an amazing book on time chunking if you would like to dive into it more!