How to choose which option to work on first, once you’ve made your list of things you want to change? There are several ways to accomplish this. I will eventually cover a couple of methods, but I’ll start first with the “bubble sort”, a method that is both logical and simple to use.

(Warning! For those of you who hate all things logical, and love intuitive, non-linear process, the bubble sort may not be for you! But hang in; we’ll get to your way in an upcoming post.)

Here’s how a bubble sort works: take your list of changes and organize it as shown below. Compare the first option in each line to the others.

Option 1 to 2,3,4,5
Option 2 to 3,4,5
Option 3 to 4,5
Option 4 to 5

Circle the option you prefer most in each sort. Remember that you are making the comparison to the first option in each line. Say, for example, these are the results: 2,4,3,5. Now, based on the first round, re-sort these four options.

2 < 4
3 > 4, 5

Since you prefer 4 to 2, and 3 to both 4 & 5, option 3 is thus the most preferred option.

You may then sort again, eliminating the most preferred option each time, until you have arrived at a hierarchy of all five options, from most to least preferred.

Try the bubble sort with paint chips or swatches of fabric to get a feel for what a wonderful tool this is for making comparisons. (If you’ve ever looked a group of paint chips, you know how frustrating it is to choose the color you like best.)

Here’s a good real-world example of using a bubble sort. One of my lawyer friends uses the bubble sort to present evidence in trial, organizing each piece of evidence from most to least compelling. He finds it a very effective tool, because juries tend to focus on the first three or four pieces of evidence presented and after that they begin to lose track.

Once you’ve tried the bubble sort on your list of things you’d like to change in your life, take a look at your most preferred option. You are now ready to find the stepping stones you need to make that change!