Prioritizing with the CARVER system
One of the things which is talked about in the book is that you can remain in indecision if you aren't able to prioritize your tasks, and that indecision can be a cause of unhappiness. However, no specific prioritization system was suggested, just that it was important to realize that most people can only accurately judge ratios from 1-5 without having further indecision. So here is a brief overview of a system named CARVER that judges effectively based on a 1-5 system and helps to prioritize.
First off, for prioritization to have any meaning, you need to have a clear overall objective, and the tasks are designed to fullfill that objective. The objective can be a personal mission statement, a set of goals, a way of feeling, or anything else you choose.
You also have to have a clear idea of what resources you have available. (time, money, social contacts, energy level)
The following page talks about a system that the military uses for target prioritization, called CARVER.
CARVER means:
C - Criticality (How important is it? If it does not get done, will things Collapse?)
A - Accessibility (Is it easy to get to the point where you can actually begin work on this task?)
R - Return (Once completed, will it yield benefits for a long time, or will the work need to be done over again shortly?)
V - Vulnerability (Is it easy to do in terms of how many resources you will need to devote to the task?)
E - Effect (Will it have a widespread positive effect, or will it only affect a small area of focus?)
R - Recognizability (Is it easy to recognize everything needed to complete the task? Are the steps clear?)
For each task, these qualities are rated on a 1-5 Scale as:
1 = low
2 = moderately low
3 = moderate
4 = moderately high
5 = high
Then the values are added up across the column. An excel spreadsheet will add up the values automatically:
First off, for prioritization to have any meaning, you need to have a clear overall objective, and the tasks are designed to fullfill that objective. The objective can be a personal mission statement, a set of goals, a way of feeling, or anything else you choose.
You also have to have a clear idea of what resources you have available. (time, money, social contacts, energy level)
The following page talks about a system that the military uses for target prioritization, called CARVER.
CARVER means:
C - Criticality (How important is it? If it does not get done, will things Collapse?)
A - Accessibility (Is it easy to get to the point where you can actually begin work on this task?)
R - Return (Once completed, will it yield benefits for a long time, or will the work need to be done over again shortly?)
V - Vulnerability (Is it easy to do in terms of how many resources you will need to devote to the task?)
E - Effect (Will it have a widespread positive effect, or will it only affect a small area of focus?)
R - Recognizability (Is it easy to recognize everything needed to complete the task? Are the steps clear?)
For each task, these qualities are rated on a 1-5 Scale as:
1 = low
2 = moderately low
3 = moderate
4 = moderately high
5 = high
Then the values are added up across the column. An excel spreadsheet will add up the values automatically:
And then you just start on the highest priority item, and work on that for a while.
You will probably need to set some time limit for how long to work on each task every day, otherwise you might get one task which monopolizes all your time if there are long ones. Putting aside 20 minutes to 2.5 hours on the highest priority item before going to the next highest priority seems to work well for getting everything done.
Finally, trust in your prioritization. If you aren't doing the items on your priority list since something else seems like a better idea, add that item to your list of tasks and calculate the score for it. If it doesn't seem to fit in approximately where you think it should, then perhaps you haven't picked an overall life objective that you really want to have. If your life objective is dull or without joy, and does not lead to happiness then you are obviously going to rebel against your own decisions.
You will probably need to set some time limit for how long to work on each task every day, otherwise you might get one task which monopolizes all your time if there are long ones. Putting aside 20 minutes to 2.5 hours on the highest priority item before going to the next highest priority seems to work well for getting everything done.
Finally, trust in your prioritization. If you aren't doing the items on your priority list since something else seems like a better idea, add that item to your list of tasks and calculate the score for it. If it doesn't seem to fit in approximately where you think it should, then perhaps you haven't picked an overall life objective that you really want to have. If your life objective is dull or without joy, and does not lead to happiness then you are obviously going to rebel against your own decisions.