Chunking

Learning by Chunking

When was the last time you learned something new? It doesn’t matter how simple or complex it was. It just has to be something that was new for you at the time of learning.

Do you remember how you felt? It all seemed complex at the beginning, but after you learned the fundamentals, it all started to seem simpler and simpler.

Can you think of something you’d like to learn? How do you feel about it? Does it seem hard at this point?

My aim here is that you shift your perception of ‘hard’ by the end of this article.

Regardless of what you want to learn, if it is new, you are probably either looking at it in too much detail or not enough detail. I know it sounds contradictory, but it isn’t.

The key here is to find your balance.

Chunking: complexity made simple

This is not only applicable to learning; that is an example. It applies to everything that might seem hard or complex initially. As Dr. John Grinder, co-creator of NLP once said:

“Anything complex can be made simple”.

Breaking a task into manageable pieces is what this is all about. Chunking is simply separating elements of a task into groups.

Here is a thought experiment: Memorise the following number:

0425298176

How did you find doing it that way? Now try this:

0425 298 176

Does that make it simpler for you to remember? It certainly helped me.

Make your life easier by separating tasks in simpler, more manageable chunks. Believe me, you can do this with anything you want to learn or do.

Now let’s say you want to make a million dollars in the next five years. How do you go about it? At first glance, it sounds pretty daunting.

Let us break it down:

Goal: $1,000,000 in 5 years

Which means $200,000 a year

Which means $16,666 a month

Which means $550 a day (roughly)

It does not seem so ‘hard’ to make a million dollars now, does it?

Do you get how this works now? Exceptionally effective people do, and that is how they get results.

Now think of a goal you want to achieve or something you want to learn and start breaking it down. Separate the elements into manageable tasks and give yourself enough time.

Now it’s your turn! take your next step towards Exceptional Effectiveness. Pay attention to what really is important for you and whether you are congruent with the way you behave and what you say you value.

Remember, this is practical advice, not just another theory, so do go out and try it, and let me know how you went.

Edited by Jules Collingwood, NLP Trainer at INSPIRITIVE.

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