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Chunking along…

Written on: February 13th, 2009 in Learning Journeys

Kathy here ~ Honoré's last post certainly resonated with me…but I have not been nearly so positive about it. In fact, I think I have been a little grumpy about "no time" to work on even small goals I have set for myself. Since the same 24 hour time period exists whether I feel good or bad about where I am with obligations and desires, I recognized the need to pull out the time manangement tips and techniques that Honoré and I use in our library training session of the same name. And, there it was. Good, old chunking.

In time management,the idea is to block out nuggets of time before someone/something else fills your schedule. You maintain at least some control of what/where you are in your daily life! Plus, the chunking process turns large tasks or projects into more manageable bite-sized pieces.  As a memory tool, chunking focuses on grouping information together in a way that allows one to quickly pull it foward. My newest revelation? These two perspectives can work in concert to illustrate my learning/reading path for me!

The experiment is underway…I'll report my progress next week. One final note, chunking is one answer to the tall tale of multitasking. If you want to learn more on that  topic, I recommend The Myth of Multitasking: How "Doing It All" Gets Nothing Done by Dave Crenshaw.

Bird by Bird

Written on: February 3rd, 2009 in Learning Journeys

Honoré here: It is  February 3, already the second month of the year ~ 34 days have gone by…imagine! I don't know about you but I, as a member of a league of zillions of people, have made v-e-r-y little, if any progress, on my 2009 goals (smile). But why should I fret and declare myself a loser, I still have 331 days and everyday is a new day – another smile. I have been thinking and imagining and gathering and ruminating and contemplating and reading and researching and wishing and  basically procrastinating! One of my goals is really not all that complicated and certainly not at all "no fun." The goal is simply to "play at art everyday." One wonders how difficult can that be? Simply a matter of letting the inner child out, sez she.

All of the above brought me to revisit one of my favorite books/authors:  Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. In my readings over the past 3-4 years, I kept bumping into Anne via other authors' words – she is/was a source of inspiration to them and so, I decided, I'd "meet her, too." And glad that I did. What a great conversation one can/does have with Anne. She's a keeper! This passage that I share from Bird by Bird  tells it all:

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was
trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table, close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder ,and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”p.18.

And having shared the above, guess I'd better get goin' on my own birds. Have you got any "birds" hanging 'roun?

Cheers~