Chunking Can Prevent COVID-19 Trauma

Even now, when cleaning is so important, I dilly-dally. I have plenty of time as I “shelter in place” and cleaning supplies. But when I think of mopping and scrubbing, I want to sit down. That’s when a concept from psychology called chunking helped me realize the impact this technique has for controlling trauma resulting from events we can neither understand fully nor control as we deal with an unknown and frightening future.  Chunking does not mean throwing things out the door, which I am tempted to do sometimes to minimize clutter (or when my laptop is acting up). In another example, what is easier for you to think about doing … writing a book-length manuscript or writing a chapter? Most people would say 80,000 to 120,000 words is more daunting. Turns out, looking at that number — or anything larger than what the brain can comfortably manage at one time — is overwhelming, just like taking on the entire house as one big job. It is much more enjoyable to pin down ideas on sticky notes as they come to you and tackle one idea at a time for the actual writing. That’s chunking, breaking down complex situations into manageable bits. That’s how I cleaned my house. And, yes, I divided the work into more than one day and decided on a schedule to clean something each day to keep everything in a fresh condition. That’s okay. It’s more workable for me. You may find it easier to use a different technique, and that’s okay, too. These examples are simple, b...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Memory and Perception Self-Help chunking coronavirus COVID-19 Time Management Source Type: blogs