Chunky Monkey is my favorite Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor. Bananas. Chocolate. Nuts. What’s not to love about that? I could sit down and eat an entire pint in one sitting and end up with a bellyache. Instead, I choose to enjoy it in smaller portions and savor the flavor.

Looking at tasks is no different. Your plan can seem daunting at first if you look at it as one large piece. If it appears too big for you to get your arms around, then reduce it to smaller pieces, more manageable “chunks” that you can handle easily.

When you set aside just 10 to 15 minutes a day and take smaller portions of a larger task, before you know it, the task will be done, and you will be ready to move on to something else. Or set aside uninterrupted longer periods of time to focus on just one part of that larger project.

When I began writing my first book, Everything I Do Positions Me: The Simple Path to Professional Success, it felt like a huge project, and it was. I didn’t know where to start, and my thinking was scattered. A colleague of mine, Meg, recommended that I consider every section as its own project, with its own deadline and of course a celebration when it was complete. It helped me to break that huge task into bite-size portions.

To help you “chunk it,” ask yourself these questions:

What one part of this large task could I focus on today?

How much time can I devote to it?

What can I complete today that will bring me closer to my ultimate goal?

When you break down a larger project into smaller tasks, you will complete it faster and easier without the worry or the bellyache!