Virtually every time management system teaches that you must prioritize your projects to make sure you’re working on what’s truly important instead of getting caught up in minor things.  However, few systems explain precisely how to do this.  How do you decide which task is really the most important at any given time?  Is it the one that’s most urgent, the one that will earn you the most money, the one that will produce the greatest long-term happiness, the one that will please your boss the most? If you don’t use an intelligent method of prioritization, you’ll lack consistency and bounce from one task to another with no rhyme or reason.

In this article I’ll share with you a simple and effective prioritization method adapted from the military.

From a pure military (i.e. non-political) standpoint, the goal of any engagement is to achieve victory by inflicting the greatest damage on your enemy with the least amount of resources.  Wouldn’t you say this is the essence of personal time management as well?  You want to make the greatest amount of progress towards your goals with the least amount of effort.

Objective

For prioritization to have any meaning, it’s imperative that you have a clear objective.  For the military your overall objective may be to achieve a decisive victory.  Your personal objective may be a set of goals, your mission statement or purpose, or even a state of being.  The role of prioritization then is to help you achieve this result with as little effort as possible.

Resources

The second consideration is the resources you have available.  Military resources include troops, guns, tanks, bombs, planes, fuel, supplies, etc.  Your personal resources include time, money, your social network, your physical energy, and so on.  Time is generally your scarcest resources because it cannot be replenished.

Prioritization

Now in order to prioritize intelligently, we need a method that tells us how to evaluate projects in terms of their overall importance.  Which projects will help us achieve our objectives most efficiently?

CARVER

A key component of military strategy is selecting the most important targets to attack.  But how do you know which targets are the most important?  Centuries of warfare have provided us with a reasonably intelligent answer.

CARVER is an acronym for a military method of target selection.  CARVER stands for Criticality, Accessibility, Return (or Recuperability), Vulnerability, Effect, and Recognizability.  I’ll explain what these are in a moment.

For every potential target, we assign a value of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) for each CARVER factor, thereby creating a CARVER matrix.  Then by summing the six CARVER values, we can calculate a total score for each target, and those scores represent the targets’ relative prioritization.  The higher the CARVER score, the more “important” a target becomes.

Now lets explore the six CARVER factors, and consider how we can apply them to personal projects.

Criticality.  How critical is the target with respect to the main objective?  Will it move you significantly closer to your goal, or is it a relatively puny and insignificant item?  A low criticality project might be cleaning out your garage.  It would be nice to do, but it’s probably not going to make that much difference in your life.

Accessibility.  Can you actually reach the target, or is it so well defended that attacking it directly is impossible?  Do you have the means to tackle this project immediately, or does it have prerequisites?  Starting a new business might not be very accessible if you work long hours and are living paycheck to paycheck, but asking for a promotion may be very accessible.

Return.  In military operations the term Recuperability is used here, referring to how quickly the enemy can recover from the destruction of the target.  There’s little point in attacking a target that can be rebuilt or replaced with minimal effort.  For personal effectiveness we’ll use Return instead.  How great is the expected return on your commitment of resources?  Developing a new passive income stream may yield a significant return, while watching the news may yield virtually none.

Vulnerability.  How vulnerable is the target?  What amount of resources will be required to take it out?  How vulnerable are the projects you’re considering?  A one-day project will score a high vulnerability rating, while a six-month project will score much lower.  Similarly, an inexpensive project is more vulnerable than an expensive one.

Effect.  If you successfully destroy the target, how widespread will the impact be?  If you successfully complete your project, what effect will it have on your life as well as the lives of others?  Writing a best-selling book may have a significant effect, while completing your tax return will have very little effect.

Recognizability.  Can we see the target well enough to attack it, or is it highly camouflaged or mobile?  Is your project crystal clear or totally fuzzy?  How easy is it to recognize the steps necessary to complete the project?  Have you completed this type of project before, or will you have to figure out the steps as you go along?  Clear goals with clear steps will score higher on recognizability than foggy goals with unclear steps.

Now let’s see how we can create a CARVER matrix to prioritize certain projects.  The 1-5 rankings for each factor are simply for the sake of example, so your own rankings may vary.  Keep in mind that these rankings are all relative to your primary objective, mission, or purpose.

The numbers tell the story.  According to our CARVER matrix, the most important project to tackle next is to start a blog.  While it’s among the least critical items and won’t necessarily produce a great return for the time invested, it’s relatively easy and straightforward to do.  Next comes writing a book, which is a more critical long-term project (at least for our arbitrary person making these evaluations), but it will also require a lot more effort to achieve.  The worst project is making new friends, its main drawbacks being that it’s too fuzzy and ill-defined, so it might be wise to replace that one with a more specific project.

Even though we’re just using simple addition instead of a more complex weighting of these factors, CARVER does a fairly decent job of spitting out an intelligent prioritization of projects.  It’s really good at depicting which projects are worth the effort and which aren’t.  It also shows when you should tackle a piece of low-hanging fruit vs. initiating a really big project.

I used CARVER often when running my computer games business.  For example, my CARVER matrix suggested it would be wise to release an add-on for my top selling product instead of creating a whole new game from scratch.  Although the add-on wasn’t going to sell as well as a new game, it was a fairly straightforward two-week project that produced solid results.

Feel free to adapt the basic concept of CARVER to your specific needs.  You can assign extra weight to certain factors as well as introduce additional factors like enjoyment or financial payoff.  Just be careful not to get carried away.  The point of CARVER is to select a reasonably intelligent project and then get into action.  Don’t lose yourself in hours of analysis paralysis.

For group decisions you can even have each team member create their own CARVER matrix and then average the results.  You’ll quickly discover whether the team leader and team members are on the same page.

By using a simple system like CARVER, you’ll know which projects are important enough to deserve your attention and which are, relatively speaking, a waste of your time and energy.  You’ll benefit from greater consistency in decision-making and better results for your efforts.

主题： 1.誤會； 2.釘子； 3.且慢下手； 4.寬大

1.誤會

早年在美國阿拉斯加地方，有一對年輕人結婚，婚後生育，

他的太太因難產而死，遺下一孩子。

他忙生活，又忙於看家，因沒有人幫忙看孩子，就訓練一隻狗，

那狗聰明聽話，能照顧小孩，咬著奶瓶餵奶給孩子喝，撫養孩子。

有一天，主人出門去了，叫牠照顧孩子。

他到了別的鄉村，因遇大雪，當日不能回來。

第二天才趕回家，狗立即聞聲出來迎接主人。他把房門開一看，到處是血，

抬頭一望，床上也是血，孩子不見了，狗在身邊，滿口也是血，

主人發現這種情形，以為狗性發作，把孩子吃掉了，

大怒之下，拿起刀來向著狗頭一劈，把狗殺死了。

之後，忽然聽到孩子的聲音，又見他從 床下爬了出來，

於是抱起孩子；雖然身上有血，但並未受傷。

他很奇怪，不知究竟是怎麼一回事，再看看狗身，

腿上的肉沒有了，旁邊有一隻狼，口裡還咬著狗的肉；

狗救了小主人，卻被主人誤殺了，這真是天下最令人驚奇的誤會。

註：誤會的事，是人往往在不瞭解、無理智、無耐心、缺少思考、

未能多方體諒對方，反省自己，感情極為衝動的情況之下所發生。

誤會一開始，即一直只想到對方的千錯萬錯；因此，會使誤會越陷越深，

弄到不可收拾的地步，人對無知的動物小狗發生誤會，

尚且會有如此可怕嚴重的後果，這樣人與人之間的誤會，則其後果更是難以想像。

2.釘子

有一個男孩有著很壞的脾氣，於是他的父親就給了他一袋釘子；

並且告訴他，每當他發脾氣的時候 就釘一根釘子在後院的圍籬上。

第一天，這個男孩釘下了 37根釘子。慢慢地每天釘下的數量減少了。

他發現控制自己的脾氣要比釘下那些釘子來得容易些。

終於有一天這個男孩再也不會失去耐性亂發脾氣，他告訴他的父親這件事，

父親告訴他，現在開始每當他能控制自己的脾氣的時候，就拔出一根釘子。

一天天地過去了，最後男孩告訴他的父親，他終於把所有釘子都拔出來了。

父親握著他的手來到後院說：你做得很好，我的好孩子。

但是看看那些圍籬上的洞，這些圍籬將永遠不能回復成從前。

你生氣的時候說的話將像這些釘子一樣留下疤痕。

如果你拿刀子捅別人一刀，不管你說了多少次對不起，那個傷口將永遠存在。

話語的傷痛就像真實的傷痛一樣令人無法承受。

註：人與人之間常常因為一些彼此無法釋懷的堅持，而造成永遠的傷害。

如果我們都能從自己做起，開始寬容地看待他人，

相信你（妳）一定能收到許多意想不到的結果....幫別人開啟一扇窗，
也就是讓自己看到更完整的天空 ....

3.且慢下手

大多數的同仁都很興奮，因為單位裡調來一位新主管，據說是個能人，專門被派來

整頓業務；可是日一天天過去，新主管卻毫無作為，每天彬彬有禮進辦公室，

便躲在裡面難得出門，那些本來緊張得要死的壞份子，現在反而更猖獗了。

「他那裡是個能人嘛！根本是個老好人，比以前的主管更容易唬！」

四個月過去，就在真正努力為新主管感到失望時，

新主管卻發威了－－壞份子一律開革，能人則獲得晉昇。

下手之快，斷事之準，與四月表現保守的他，簡直像是全然換個人。

年終聚餐時，新主管在酒過三巡之後致詞：

「相信大家對我新到任期間的表現，和後來的大刀闊斧，一定感到不解，

現在聽我說個故事，各位就明白了：「我有位朋友，買 了棟帶著大院的房子，

他一搬進去，就將那院子全面整頓，雜草樹一律清除，改種自己新買的花卉，

某日原先的屋主往訪，進門大吃一驚的問：『那最名貴的牡丹哪裡去了？』

我這位朋友才發現，他竟然把牡丹當草給剷了。

後來他又買了一棟房子，雖然院子更是雜亂，他卻是按兵不動，

果然冬天以為是雜樹的植物，春天裡開了繁花；

春天以為是野草的，夏天裡成了錦蔟；半年都沒有動靜的小樹，秋天居然紅了葉。

直到暮秋，它才真正認清哪些是無用的植物，

而大力剷除，並使所有珍貴的草木得以保存。」說到這兒，主管舉起杯來：

「讓我敬在座的每一位，因為如果這辦公室是個花園，你們就都是其間的珍木，

珍木不可能一年到頭開花結果，只有經過長期的觀察才認得出啊！

4.寬大

這是一個甫自越戰歸來的士兵的故事。

他從舊金山打電話給他的父母，告訴他們：「爸媽，我回來了，可是我有個不情之請。我想帶一個朋友同我一起回家。」「當然好啊！」他們回答「我們會很高興見到的。」不過兒子又繼續下去「可是有件事我想先告訴你們，他在越戰裡受了重傷，少了一條胳臂和一隻腳，他現在走投無路，我想請他回來和我們一起生活。」

「兒子，我很遺撼，不過或許我們可以幫他找個安身之處。」

父親又接著說「兒子，你不知道自己在說些什麼。

像他這樣殘障的人會對我們的生活造成很大的負擔。

我們還有自己的生活要過，不能就讓他這樣破壞了。

我建議你先回家然後忘了他，他會找到自己的一片天空的。」

就在此時卻l掛上了電話，他的父母再也沒有他的消息了。

幾天後，這對父母接到了來自舊金山警局的電話，

告訴他們親愛的兒子已經墜樓身亡了。警方相信這只是單純的自殺案件。

於是他們傷心欲絕地飛往舊金山，並在警方帶領之下到停屍間去辨認 兒子的遺體。

那的確是他們的兒子沒錯，但驚訝的是兒子居然，只有一條胳臂和一條腿。

故事中的父母就和我們大多數人一樣。
要去喜愛面貌姣好或談吐風趣的人很容易，

但是要喜歡那些造成我們不便和不快的人卻太難了。

我們總是寧願和那些不如我們健康，美麗或聰明的人保持距離。

然而感謝上帝，有些人卻不會對我們如此殘酷。

他們會無怨無悔地愛我們，不論我們多麼糟總是願意接納我們。

今晚在你入睡之前，向上帝禱告請祂賜給你力量去接納他人，

不論他們是怎麼樣的人；請祂幫助我們了解那些不同於我們的人。

每個人的心裡都藏著一種神奇的東西稱為「友情」，

你不知道它究竟是如何發生何時發生，但你卻知道它總會帶給我們特殊的禮物。

你也會了解友情是上帝給我們最珍貴的贈與！

朋友就像是稀奇的寶物。他們帶來歡笑，激勵我們成功。

他們傾聽我們內心的話，與我們分享每一句讚美。

他們的心房永遠為我們而敞開。現在就告訴你的朋友你有多在乎他們。

把這篇文章轉寄給所有你認為是朋友的人。

如果這篇文章又回來了，你將知道你擁有了一輩子的朋友。

試想：朋友，您一路看下來之後；一定有很深的感觸吧。

那麼，在對別人有所決定與判斷之前，首先，請想想這是否是一個「誤會」，

然後，請考慮您是否一定要釘下這個「釘子」，

如果可以的話，請「且慢下手」。

因為，當您對別人「寬大」之時，即是對您自己寬大。

很有意義..我把它送給大家.....與你們分享 .....因為.....你們是我的朋友！