Work Tool: Splitting versus Chunking

Eggs in one basket or diversified portfolio?

When it comes to getting projects done, I vacillate between two strategies, splitting and chunking.

Splitting: Break the project into pieces and schedule them across workdays

Chunking: Keep the project together and work on as much of it within a timeframe as possible

Both have their pros and cons. In the past, my go-to method was splitting. I'd schedule out my week-- as shown in a previous post--and then fill in a slot each day for the various pieces. Lately, however, I've been drawn more and more towards chunking. I'll prioritize my projects, and then work on the highest priority project and get as much done as possible, only stopping when I'd finished or had to wait on other input.

So far, chunking has been a nice change of pace and has allowed me to worry about finishing projects less. I'm sure in the future, I'll find splitting as a welcome change of pace and mix my methods up again.

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