Conquering Decisions With the Factorization Method

QUESTION

Joey, how do you overcome the curse of knowledge?

My day job is in operations, but I want to start a side project focused on fatherhood and fitness. If it eventually becomes self-sustaining and brings in enough revenue to cover hosting and email fees, that's enough for me.

However, I've had repeated trouble launching and sustaining the side project because I know all the stuff I "should" do. I should have ABC landing pages, I should have an email list, I should have a presence on XYZ social platform, I should include video, I should have a blog. And so the list goes on and on.

How do you begin and keep going when you know there's so much you "should" be doing?

—KC

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ANSWER

KC, great question—the gulf between what we know we should do and what we have time for is often so wide that it prevents us from even starting. I’m well acquainted with the feeling.

I’ve had to face this reality recently while launching my book; there are many more strategies to a successful book launch than I was able to employ. And I continue to butt up against it with my personal website; I’d like to eventually have articles, videos, and more on my site.

But everything must be done one step at a time.

To help me decide what order to do things in, I came up with a simple decision-making process. I’m not sure if anyone else has created something like this before (I imagine so), but I call it the Decision Factorization Method.

Essentially, the Decision Factorization Method takes the options you’re weighing and, using weighted aspects, pragmatically tells you what’s most important, or in this case the order of what you should be doing. It works for all sorts of decisions.

Here’s how the Decision Factorization Method works:

Goals: List the goals (or tasks) you’d like to evaluate.

1. Aspects: List ~3 aspects that apply to the things you’re weighing.

2. Variables: For each aspect, break it down into ~3 variables, each with a number value. The most preferable variable has a value of 3, the least preferable has a value of 1, etc.

3. Review: Evaluate your tasks/goals across the 3 aspects.

4. Results: Multiply the results. The highest number is your go-to.

Let’s apply this to your business to bring the above abstraction down to earth. For each of your goals, we'll rank them with Ease, Effectiveness, and Evergreen (how long the content stays relevant). Here's the separate qualities for each:

• Ease: Simple, Moderate, Difficult

• Effectiveness: Fantastic, Solid, Okay

• Evergreen: Forever, Long Tail, Short

Once you review your goals agains your variables, then you just multiply across and chase the goals with the highest numbers.

Here's an example of what the Decision Factorization Method looks like when it's applied to KC's business goals:

The Decision Factorization Method in practice. Categorize and rate your goals with weighted qualities, then multiply across to get the best value for your efforts. Can be adjusted to fit any project/endeavor.

I know that's a lot to swallow, but hopefully it's all clear. Feel free to respond to this email if you have questions (that goes for anyone reading). 

Here’s a very simple Google Spreadsheet that you can duplicate and play with for your own purposes.

—Joey Cofone

Creator of Baronfig
Author of The Laws of Creativity