What Is Chunking, and How Can It Improve Memory?

Chunking is a powerful memory technique that involves grouping related information into “chunks” that you can recall rather than relying on individual pieces of information. When taking on personal and professional endeavors, recalling important information more easily can help you focus on expanding your knowledge and skills. 

Using chunking can significantly increase short-term memory capacity, reduce stress, aid focus, and boost productivity. Read on to discover why chunking is important and how to use this memory aid.

What is chunking? 

Chunking is a method of memory retention that helps you remember large volumes of information by “chunking” them into groups. This is widely thought of as a technique to bypass the limits of working memory, as chunking helps you recall more information than if you tried to remember each piece individually. Consider the following example.

You would like to quickly memorize this string of numbers:

5 7 8 4 9 3 2 5

On its own, this might seem difficult. However, with chunking, you could arrange them into the following meaningful groups:

234 55 789 

Now, you have three chunks to remember rather than eight individual numbers. You can use this technique for words, concepts, letters, numbers, and more.

Why does chunking work?

Chunking works by helping your brain reduce the information load your working memory must retrieve. When you remember information in chunks, your memory essentially contains a compacted version of the material. This way, it's easier for your working memory to remember what the chunk included. This helps to organize and store more information in your memory.

When assessing the amount of information a person can remember at one time, George Miller (one of the most influential cognitive psychologists of his time) found that the average person could store five to nine pieces of information in their short-term memory. A “chunk” is a unit of information. Using chunking, people can often remember five to nine groups of related information rather than five to nine individual pieces.

What can you use chunking for? 

You can chunk items together to remember any group of related information. This could include things such as these: 

• Words

• Chess positions

• Bank account numbers 

• Names

• Locations

• Music theory

• Important dates

• Long strings of numbers 

The key is picking pieces of information you can easily group or associate. When doing this, feel free to get creative. You can use techniques like creating an acronym from the first letter of each word, or you could invent a funny phrase that connects the concepts. Any way you can develop associations between concepts, words, or pictures can help increase the information you can store through chunking.

How to use chunking 

You’ll find several methods to chunk information in your memory. If you have never used chunking, consider starting with smaller volumes of closely related information. Over time, you can expand these methods to remember more complex topics. To use chunking, try out some of the techniques below.

Capture the moment, idea, or concept. 

The first step is organizing the information you want to remember. Consider writing down everything you want to remember, collecting all images, or laying out the appropriate information on your computer. This can help you look for patterns that may unfold and create a basis for categorizing your information.

Look for connections and associations. 

Next, you will intentionally look for connections and patterns among the information. Consider the types of connections that make the most sense to you—consider looking for items that start with the same letter, use the same colors, or sound similar. If you are memorizing concepts, look for repeated themes or other patterns. When you begin to practice recalling the information, you may realize that specific chunks or associations stick better than others. Feel free to revise your categorization to find what works best.

Practice and recall. 

Practice is critical to remembering the information. After you have created your chunks, consider writing them down on flashcards or using another quiz-like format. This can help you recall the information actively with limited reminders. 

To take advantage of other memory techniques, consider spaced retrieval practice to maximize retention. In spaced retrieval, you will space your learning over several sessions. This gives the brain time to forget and makes it harder to recall the information during your next session, thereby strengthening long-term memory. As you learn, continue this practice to help you retain the previously learned information.

After practicing your flashcards or self-quiz, try writing down the chunks of information or recalling them without prompting. This helps encode the information into your memory and prepares you to recall it when needed.

Examples of chunking in action 

You likely see chunking in your daily life more often than you realize. One common example of chunking is phone numbers. Instead of trying to remember a 10-digit number, many people remember phone numbers in groups of three and four digits. People associate phone numbers so strongly with their chunks that they might not recognize their phone number if presented in a different format, such as in groups of two, four, and three numbers. 

Another example of how you can use chunking is through common acronyms. At some point in elementary school, you probably heard the acronym “ROYGBIV.” This stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, and it helps children remember the colors of the rainbow. You often use chunking techniques subconsciously when learning new information, but consciously employing chunking can help you increase your memory capacity more quickly.

Benefits of chunking 

Chunking information has several benefits for memory storage and recall. Below are a few ways you might benefit from chunking daily. 

Reduce stress. 

Using chunking may help reduce stress in your personal and professional life. Instead of trying to remember large volumes of seemingly unrelated information, you can downsize your to-do list and feel less overwhelmed. This may improve productivity and focus when working on your professional responsibilities.

Learn processes and sequences more quickly. 

Chunking has been shown to help people recall information more efficiently, decreasing the time needed to learn new processes and sequences. This can make it easier to expand your knowledge and skills and take on new and exciting tasks.

Remember tasks and lists. 

Chunking can help you avoid forgetting tasks and responsibilities. Throughout your daily operations, you can recall chunks of relevant information to ensure you are on track and focusing on the important tasks.

Aid focus. 

Using chunking to organize and store information on different topics can help you focus on tasks without feeling overwhelmed. You can complete individual tasks more quickly and efficiently without digging for the needed information. 

Improve memory. 

Chunking is a memory technique at heart. By nature, this method can significantly improve your working memory and maximize the capacity of your short-term recall. Using chunking in your everyday life has the potential to help you expand your capabilities with minimal stress.

Next steps 

Chunking is a proven way to group information to make it easier to remember. With various methods available, you can find a technique that makes sense to you and the information you wish to recall. Using chunking, you may be able to learn faster, improve your productivity, and reduce the stress that often comes with managing multiple responsibilities.

To learn more about memory and maximizing your recall, consider taking courses on Coursera taught by top experts. Get started with Learning How to Learn: Powerful Mental Tools to Help You Master Tough Subjects from Deep Teaching Solutions, which includes exciting modules with courses such as What is a Chunk?