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What is this week's blog about?
In this week’s blog, we look at a time management technique called chunking.
This is a great way to keep focussed and avoid burnout when revising for your RICS APC final assessment interview, or to keep yourself on track when you are writing up your RICS APC final assessment submission.
What is chunking?
Chunking is a time management technique, which we think is great to apply when revising for your RICS APC final assessment interview.
It avoids you having to multitask and provides a singular focus for small blocks of time. This helps to keep you fresh, avoid interruptions and make your revision time as effective as possible.
How do I apply chunking to my revision?
We recommend looking at your weekly schedule and splitting it into; time for work, APC revision, family, friends, life tasks/chores and play/exercise (plus anything else that is important to you, such as if you play football for a team or you attend a language class).
We will focus specifically on chunking your revision time, although you can of course apply the technique to any aspect of your life, such as work. You may find that you revise better at a certain time of day, so bear this in mind when you are mapping out your availability.
Split your available revision time into 30 minute chunks. In each of these, the aim is to:
Use 25 minutes to revise the specific topic or competency
Take a 5 minute break
Repeat up to four times
Then take a 15 minute break
In your breaks, make a coffee, chat to a family member or friend, listen to music, take a quick walk, stretch, have a snack or give your dog or cat some love. Anything that takes your mind away from revising!
However, avoid social media or screen-related activities that will distract you too much or not give your mind and body a much needed break.
You might need to adjust your number of repetitions based on the time you have available. You could, for example, use chunking for two revision windows; one before work and one after work.
You could also use different ‘chunks’, i.e., swap 25 minutes for 40 minutes, with 10 minute breaks. Find out what works best for you – this might differ depending on the topics or competencies you are covering, or even based on what mood you are in.
We recommend making a list of all of your competencies and ranking them from 1-10, with 1 being least confident and 10 being most confident. You can then base your chunks on this list, starting from the lower ranked competencies to ensure you have more time to cover them. You will also need to ensure you include your case study, CPD record and overall familiarity with your summary of experience examples within this.
What are the benefits of the chunking technique?
By chunking your time, you are focussing on breaking down large, often insurmountable, tasks, into smaller far more achievable ones. You are also giving yourself the time and space you need to focus on a specific task and achieve it within a given timescale. By avoiding overwhelming yourself, you can reduce your overall stress and anxiety – both of which might be higher than usual due to the pressure of the APC process.
Overwhelm can lead to procrastination and ‘paralysis’, i.e., doing nothing at all, in the face of too much to do. Achieving small wins throughout your day builds your confidence and enables you to feel like you are continually progressing. Having momentum in your revision is brilliant and it will keep you going at an optimal rate, particularly as your interview date draws closer.
In summary, those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Make a plan and stick to it – and make it a plan that is realistic, achievable and motivational. Good luck!
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Stay tuned for our next blog post to help build a better you.
N.b. Nothing in this article constitutes legal, professional or financial advice.