It’s unbelievable that despite the hours you spend in the office, you’re still overwhelmed by tasks that never seem to end! With urgent responsibilities waiting for you on all sides, it’s easy to get lost in the sea of to-do lists where a typical workday just doesn’t feel like enough.

But what if the issue isn’t how much you work, but how you work? What gets done first comes down to approach, not just effort.

The internet is full of flashy productivity hacks, but a few classics stand the test of time. In this article, we’re exploring Time Chunking, Work Chunking, and the Pomodoro Technique, as well as how these can help you build a workflow that feels less like swimming against the current and more like actually getting things done.

Time Chunking: What Is It?

Time chunking (also called time blocking) is a time-management technique in which you divide your day into blocks of time, each reserved for a specific task or activity. It helps you manage your day more intentionally by deciding what you’ll focus on each hour.

The point of time chunking is that it prepares your brain to focus on uninterrupted work for a period you set.

Let’s say you’re preparing to launch a new continuing education webinar for members, and you’ve set aside a five-hour block to start it. Time chunking here means breaking that block into smaller, focused segments. You get to decide how long each block is and what task you assign to it!

You can chop up your time into, say, five one-hour chunks. Here’s what that can look like:

• Hour 1: Review member feedback to choose a relevant topic
• Hour 2: Define the goal and key takeaways for the session
• Hour 3: Draft a basic agenda and content outline
• Hour 4: Create a basic storyboard of your slides
• Hour 5: Begin fleshing out your outline to create a script

Notice how approaching your task this way creates a clear path for your brain to follow. This makes it easier for you to accomplish each time block while eliminating the overwhelming pressure of deciding which task to tackle next.

Time chunking doesn’t just come in handy for when you need to power through a hectic workday. As Waggoner (2025) further explains, “Time blocking relies on not just blocking off time to study or work, but proactively blocking off recurring time in advance of a due date and intentionally stating what you will be working on during that time block.”

In other words, while time chunking helps you organize the hours of a single productive day, it shines even more when you plan your time blocks over an extended period.

This strategy works best for large-scale, long-term projects that require repeated tasks. It allows you to establish a clear timeline for completing your goal (potentially even ahead of time!).

Time chunking provides the structure and clarity needed to move your tasks forward with consistency and confidence, no matter how big they are. By outlining your priorities in advance, you create a workflow that supports steady progress and ensures your work actually gets done.

Work Chunking: The Same Strategy From a Different Lens

Work chunking follows the same principle as time chunking, but shifts the attention to the workload rather than duration. Time chunking and working chunking are actually two sides of the same coin: when time is chunked, work is chunked, too!

Work chunking is breaking a large task into smaller ones to make it more manageable. In Agile, this is called deconstruction. 

Let’s go back to our earlier example. Notice how we took one big task like “launching a new webinar” and broke it down into actionable goals, divided by hours? Here, time chunking lets you manage your time by being intentional about when and for how long you work. Work chunking, on the other hand, helps you break one big task into small, specific, and actionable goals.

The Pomodoro Technique: Time Chunking’s Cooler Cousin

You’ve probably come across the Pomodoro Technique if you’ve spent any time in the productivity space. It was created by developer and entrepreneur Francesco Cirillo in the early 1900s, when he used to track his focused work time by 25-minute intervals. The word Pomodoro (the Italian word for tomato) was attributed to the fact that Cirillo would use a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to conduct these quick productivity sessions (Tan, 2025).

Now popular among students and workers, the Pomodoro Technique shines for those who struggle to focus for long periods. After all, concentrating on a task for hours on end can be daunting—especially for the easily distracted.

You don’t have to power through marathon work sessions, either; short 25-minute sessions offer just enough time to keep your attention engaged. Pair this with a 5-minute break at the end of each session, and you’ve got the perfect setup for productivity to flow (even when you don’t feel like working!).

The Pomodoro Technique, while originally designed in a 25-minute work/5-minute break schedule, can be tailored to your time-management needs. Play around with the time that works best for you. If a 25-minute work session is too short, feel free to extend it to 45 minutes or even an hour, then allow yourself longer breaks in between.​

During your pauses, reward yourself for completing a session. You get to decide how to use your rest period: take a coffee break, spend time with your pet, or do something else you enjoy. The world is your oyster, as long as you stay productive!

Why Time Chunking, Work Chunking, and the Pomodoro Technique Work

Just as eating in small spoonfuls makes food easier to digest, your brain processes information better when it’s broken into smaller pieces. When tasks are divided into little segments, they become less overwhelming and far more approachable! Both time chunking and work chunking rely on this fundamental principle.

Imagine you have a single, sprawling project that demands your attention all at once. The thought of it can easily trigger stress or decision paralysis. Smaller chunks, on the other hand, give your brain a defined entry point: one clear, doable step to complete before moving on to the next.

Each piece becomes an intentional moment of focus. Instead of wrestling with an entire project at once, you’re tackling it through a sequence of manageable wins. Over time, these steps compound, creating steady momentum and reducing the sense of overwhelm that often accompanies long-term or high-stakes tasks. Before you know it, you’ve reached the end of your to-do list!

​Multitasking: The Enemy of Time Chunking

Contrary to time chunking, where you dedicate a time block to a single task, multitasking involves handling several tasks simultaneously (as much as your attention and energy allow!). The goal of multitasking is to accomplish as much work as possible with as little time as you can afford.

As it turns out, multitasking (also known as thrashing in Agile, wherein you quickly move from one task to another without having time to adjust) does more harm than good. According to Nevin (2024), “The brain cannot effectively do different complex cognitive tasks at the exact same time. Instead, evidence overwhelmingly shows that when our brains ‘task-switch,’ we gain errors and lose time.” His reports even showed that multitasking reduces productivity by about 40%, taking about 15 minutes to reorient yourself after a distraction—yikes!

Based on these conclusions, it’s no wonder we’ve now gradually moved away from chaotic, all-over-the-place multitasking to focused, single-task strategies like time chunking. These strategies are not only more straightforward but are also far more effective, helping you confidently check off your task list one step at a time.

5 Ways to Implement Time Chunking Into Your Daily Operations

The results are clear: time chunking just works. Your team must define how long each chunk is and how it fits into the workday. This can vary, so it’s essential to communicate goals as they fit into your strategy.

To boost efficiency and keep your team productive, here are five ways to implement time chunking into your daily operations:

1. Create Organizational Focus Blocks

Establish shared quiet hours in the workplace where teams can work uninterrupted in chunks. During these windows, set a rule to minimize meetings, calls, and non-urgent messages. This helps entire departments focus simultaneously, reducing interruptions and creating a rhythm of deep focus throughout the day.

2. Practice a Task Deconstruction Process

Encourage your team to break down their responsibilities into smaller, manageable components before the day begins. For example, instead of writing a single to-do list like “Prepare continuing education course launch”, the task gets broken down:

1. Draft outline
2. Write and review script
3. Record voiceover
4. Create slides
5. Sync slides to voiceover
6. Upload video to Learning Management System (LMS)

Smaller chunks make it easier to get started, as well as allow you to track progress and maintain momentum across longer projects.

3. Track Chunk Usage

Have teams track the number of blocks a task or project requires. Over time, this generates valuable data to support future estimation and planning. If writing a course description consistently takes four chunks, for example, your team can forecast timelines more accurately and allocate resources more effectively.

4. Use Your Tools

Encourage the use of calendar blocking or project management tools to structure time chunks. These visual schedules help your team commit to their work blocks, avoid overbooking, and stay aligned with your organization’s expectations.

5. Experiment with Different Chunking Patterns

Each of your team members has a different rhythm of focus throughout the day. Encourage them to experiment with various chunk lengths and time windows to see what suits their work style best. Some tasks benefit from shorter, high-energy blocks, while others require longer, uninterrupted stretches of concentration.

Testing different combinations helps teams identify when they work most effectively and which chunking patterns support their workflow.

Conclusion

At the end of the (work) day, real productivity is about giving your mind the structure that it needs to focus, rather than trying to do everything at once. The goal is to get work done, not just keep yourself busy!

As you tackle increasingly complex and urgent projects, these chunking strategies become more than just productivity tools; they serve as the foundation for healthier, more consistent habits that help the entire office stay focused and energized.

So, the next time your to-do list looks too long, try chunking your time and breaking the work ahead into smaller pieces. You might be surprised by how much lighter everything feels—when Monday comes, your shoulders won’t be drooping first thing in the morning!

REFERENCES

Beaton, C. (2017, January 29). The Millennial Workforce: How multitasking is changing our brains. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinebeaton/2017/01/27/the-millennial-workforce-how-multitasking-is-changing-our-brains/

Elon Musk’s “Time Blocking” Method: How to Manage Time Effectively Even If Your Schedule Is Hectic. – Mayo Oshin. (2018, May 1). Mayo Oshin. https://www.mayooshin.com/time-blocking-elon-musk-manage-time

Here’s how you can optimize your productivity with time blocking techniques as an entrepreneur. (2024, June 22). https://www.linkedin.com/advice/1/heres-how-you-can-optimize-your-productivity-time-fuv0c

Nevin, A. (2024). Brainomics of Single-Tasking. In The BrainHealth Project. Brainomics Bulletin. Retrieved November 26, 2025, from https://centerforbrainhealth.org/article/single-tasking

Scroggs, L. (n.d.). The pomodoro technique — why it works & how to do it. Todoist. https://www.todoist.com/productivity-methods/pomodoro-technique

Tan, F. (2025). Stay on schedule with the Pomodoro technique. Doodle.com; Doodle. https://doodle.com/en/stay-on-schedule-with-the-pomodoro-technique/

The Pomodoro technique for time management. (2019, October 7). Colorado State University Global. Retrieved November 26, 2025, from https://csuglobal.edu/blog/pomodoro-technique-time-management

Waggoner, E. (2025, February 14). Struggling with time management? Try Time blocking! University of Colorado Denver. Retrieved November 24, 2025, from https://www.ucdenver.edu/student/stories/library/lynx-tales/struggling-with-time-management-try-time-blocking

George, S. (2025). Time blocking for cognitive control: Reclaiming mental space in the era of meeting overload. Partners Universal International Innovation Journal, 03(03). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392978188_Time_Blocking_for_Cognitive_Control_Reclaiming_Mental_Space_in_the_Era_of_Meeting_Overload

The post 3 Time-Saving Strategies for Busy Association Leaders appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

It’s what most members look for and what most associations look to provide. How career development support is delivered and how effective these offerings are, however, can vary considerably between associations. 

Largely, the more effective your association is at helping to develop its members’ careers, the more value you can offer them. 

To give you an idea of different ways that your association can add to its membership, we’ve highlighted some of the best career development options available. By integrating these different components, your members will do better in their careers, find more value in professional development, and value their membership (and your association) more than ever before!

1. Offer Career Services Assistance

Many members look to their association to provide them with career development advice and expertise. By providing basic career assistance, such as offering resume building workshops, access to job boards, and interview tips, you can provide an invaluable service for your members. 

You don’t have to settle, however; try taking your association offerings beyond this to really provide members with resources they can’t get elsewhere!

Use your position as a knowledge center in the industry and offer your members insight on the job market. 

Answer questions like the following:

• What type of credentials are required? 
• What do employers seek from applicants? 

The more information you give members, the more they’ll be able to excel!

Next, you can consider offering your members varying levels of access to career services support. For example, you may offer heightened access to your job boards for a fee, giving paying members direct access to job openings or sending them job opportunities that might suit their qualifications. 

2. Chart a New Path 

When a new member joins, it’s important for the association to learn what makes them tick professionally. Uncover what ideal career development looks like to them by asking them where they see themselves in one year, five years, and ten years. With this information, you put your association in the optimal position to help them reach their goals!

One of the most effective ways to go about this is through continuing education. 

Via your LMS, lay out a continuing education roadmap customized to help every member reach their goals. When one requisite course is completed, for example, the next requirement opens up–giving members an easy-to-follow, actionable plan.

In addition to career advancement, your association can help facilitate entire career changes with continuing education. 

First, understand the different career pathways that are available to members in different stages of the industry, and consider what it would take for them to pursue each direction. Your association can then provide members with the training and skills necessary to switch professional directions. 

3. Incorporate Trends and New Developments

When providing career training and information for your members, you will want to focus on the core concepts of your industry, of course–but many members look for cutting-edge elements that could give them even more of a competitive advantage. 

To accomplish this, your association should integrate the latest in industry news and developments into its training content. Keep your content updated and current, and don’t be afraid to take risks when thinking about training types and formats!

Consider incorporating training courses that feature new technologies or help students gain new niche (but relevant!) skills that may help them in their careers. Contemporary professionals often seek out peer reviews and video-based training, so please your target audience by meeting their demands. Beyond giving members a boost, this can give them something that’s unique and unavailable elsewhere, in turn giving your association an advantage over the competition!

4. Create Relationships with Members 

While there is still a place for traditional networking opportunities, many contemporary members place great value on personal relationships with their association. 

Building a personal relationship with each member may seem like quite the challenge for larger organizations, but it can be accomplished by offering personalized communications, robust training, meaningful social media interactions, and greater access:

• To personalize your communications, segment your members into groups, demographics, and career types; this allows you to send targeted emails and promotions to like-minded groups. 
• To bolster training, try to offer smaller workshops or courses that enable learners to engage with their peers and their instructors. 
• To engage more on social media, associations can post helpful resources and use polls to gather feedback.
• To make your association more accessible to its audience, ensure that your association is available on a variety of channels (social media, website contact forms, forums, etc) and keep traditional lines of communication open as well. 

By taking advantage of all the tools the online space has to offer, your association will be able to foster better relationships with its members.

5. Provide Networking Opportunities

Networking is one of the key benefits of joining an association for many members. To improve the impact of these opportunities, try varying the types of networking you make available. 

Consider, for example, hosting different networking events throughout the year, like workshops and events. This can better connect members with like-minded professionals to give them the best chance of expanding their professional networks.

Associations can also give their members a more permanent networking opportunity by establishing an online community and/or forum. 

Many learning management systems (LMS) allow associations to set up an online social learning platform, which provides members with a place to connect, communicate, and learn from each other. Furthermore, with a digital badging system in place, members can show off their training and credentials and connect to (and with) other professionals and employers!

6. Establish a Mentoring Program

A strong mentorship program gives members a little bit of everything. It can help build networks, offer support, and provide motivation for members who are new or inexperienced in an industry. 

To get the most from the program, it’s important for the association to set a structure to it. Give it a timeline and follow up with each participant from time to time. Offer suggestions as to how mentors can help, and check in to see how each communication has gone.

Associations can get creative with their mentorships by offering different settings and experiences for the mentors and mentees to meet up. For example, you may want to have mentorship meet-ups at events or have the pairs attend a workshop together. You can also recommend that partners take a course or certification together, giving a little variety to the mentor-mentee relationship. 

By mixing up settings, associations can bring their mentorship pairs closer and allow participants to give and to get something new from each experience. 

You may also like: Keeping Members on Your Association’s Website

Conclusion

As an association, you have the opportunity to provide your members with a range of career development services, from career counseling to networking to mentoring opportunities and more–and, by integrating and customizing these services to the needs of your members, you’ll be able to help them reach greater heights than ever before. 

Your association has the ability to help members get where they want to go; with the right services and resources in place, you can ensure that you’re accomplishing exactly that!

References

The post How Associations Help Members Reach New Heights in Their Careers appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.

If your association is strong and healthy today, it not only has a better chance of surviving a recession, it may even thrive during one!

In general, the less an organization suffers a downturn, the further beyond their competition they reach post-recovery. Your association needs to be prepared for the worst, but planning for a recession is a daunting task. You can’t simply stop developing or taking risks, after all! 

Thankfully, there are some solid precautions you can take now to protect your association for if (and, unfortunately, when) the worst does happen.

1. Keep on Keeping On

In the case of a recession, it may be tempting to eliminate or pause various aspects of the business to instead focus on preservation, but associations should try to maintain as much of their regular operations as possible. 

For example, continue marketing at the same or similar level as you would pre-recession. You may want to track the ROI of your marketing efforts at different intervals, such as every month or quarter, to ensure that you’re getting the best bang for your buck. 

Your association can, however, make some changes to better accommodate members in trying times. Consider offering extended payment plans or allowing for installment payments. This flexibility can go a long way for members when finances are tough. Show your members kindness and understanding, and they’ll reward you with loyalty in kind.

2. Invest in Your Future

One of the best ways to protect your association against a recession is to invest–both in financial opportunities and people. 

First and foremost, don’t wait for an economic downturn to search for capital or investment opportunities. It’s also best to pursue additional capital, even when you don’t really need it. While you’ll probably want to avoid making any risky investments during an actual recession, associations can still explore their options. Look into any areas that thrive during recessions, as well as into those that typically bounce back quickly afterward. 

Similarly, look into investing in various relationships and partnerships. Make arrangements with suppliers, venues, and sponsors. It’s not a bad idea to discuss the possibility of a recession with these organizations and learn what plans they have in place. It’s also smart to seek out alternative options on the off-chance that your needs change!

3. Keep Your Members Satisfied

If you wait for a recession to hit before you start making your members happy, it’s probably far too late! While many members will still renew their memberships during a recession, they’ll only keep it up if the value you offer is clear and robust. 

Ensure that your future events are scheduled well ahead of time and promoted thoroughly. Additionally, you must ensure that your association’s continuing education (CE) offerings are high-quality, up-to-date, and, at the very least, comparable with your competition. 

If your association decides to add something extra to your membership to give members bonus incentive to renew during a recession, even better! Some incentive options may include dues-forgiveness programs or discounts on courses or event registrations. 

Your association can even turn the pain of a recession into a plus: offer your members courses that teach recession survival skills–your organization isn’t the only one hit by the downturn, so let your members know you have their backs. You may even consider shaping an entire conference around this theme, and/or provide workshops and presentations that teach your members how to thrive in difficult times.

Remember: you’re all in this together!

4. Keep Your Staff Happy

Your staff makes your association tick. To keep it running smoothly during even the hardest of times, you need to focus on their happiness and well-being. 

Ensure that you provide your staff with training that allows them to upgrade their skills and further develop their careers. You’ll also want to ensure that you’ve hired sensibly leading up to this point. Having excess staff may sound like a good idea during the good times, but it can lead to layoffs during the hard times. 

Keep morale up by maintaining your staff and making the most of the situation! 

You may also like: 3 Ways to Increase Non-dues Revenue for Your Association’s Online Continuing Education Program

5. Cut Costs Without Cutting Corners

In an economic downturn, cost-cutting is one of the first things that any and all organizations pursue. However, this should only be employed strategically. After all, you want your association to continue operating in a similar manner. 

Cut costs in a way that positively impacts your business in all climates. For example, perhaps it’s time to assess your operations and look for inefficiencies. Perhaps you should try consolidating your technology, or evaluate any continuing education you may have outsourced. Be sure to look into the Return on Investment when it comes to software, programs, and partnerships.

Additionally, you can consider training staff to handle a larger or more diverse workload without putting in more time. If you can find ways to improve productivity, either through personnel or your operations, you’ll be better protected overall–and less vulnerable to any major changes or shake-ups!

6. Prepare for Recovery

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about a downturn is that there will, at some point, be a return to normal–or even an upturn! 

To brace yourself for the post-recovery world, ensure that your training reflects the new environment and any industry changes. You may want to consider how certain courses or content has changed because of the recession. What’s different now? What should you make sure your CE focuses on?

Think about what your members will be looking for most when the economy rebounds, and prepare to offer it to them as soon as the upswing strikes. Just as they’ll appreciate recession resources during a downturn, they’ll value helpful “how to adjust” material during an upturn.

You may also like: 5 Powerful Growth Strategies to Boost Non-Dues Revenue for Your Association in 2022 and Beyond

Conclusion

When it comes down to it, the key to surviving a recession is to be prepared and plan ahead. 

Start by ensuring that you’re keeping staff and members happy, and that you’re investing wisely in your future. 

Make sure to reduce costs (without sacrificing quality!) and that you maintain your association’s course. Your members come to you for quality resources, and recession or not, that’s what they should receive.

Finally, strategize about what to do when the economy begins to recover; a plan that holds no hope is a plan that’s doomed to fail, after all.

By following these steps, your association will be well-prepared for a recession–and be able to come out even stronger on the other side!

References

The post How to Recession-Proof Your Association appeared first on Online Learning Solutions | Association Management System | Vocalmeet.