Thisis,ofcourse,notanall-inclusivelist,butit’sagoodstarttoreclaimingsometimeback.Theseweresomeofmybiggesttime-wasters:
当然我没法给出一个囊括所有可能的列表,但这个列表会是一个好开始,保证帮你争取不少时间。下面这些都是我本人浪费时间的常见行为:
1.Television–juststopit.Besidestheoccasionalnews,amovieeveryonceinawhile,somedocumentaries,Ifoundittobeahugetime-waster.
电视——直接忽略。我发现,除了偶尔看看新闻、电影和纪录片,电视对我来说纯粹是浪费。
2.Internet/web–It’sreallybecomethenewtelevision,andassuch,anequivalentwasteoftime.Askyourselfthis,“DoIreallyneedtoseeanothercatvideo?”
互联网/网络——这些其实也都是变相“电视”,纯粹浪费时间罢了。何不问问自己:“我就非得再看一个喵星人视频吗?”
3.Email–ThiswasamoredifficultoneformesincerespondingtoemailsmademebelievethatIwasbeingmoreproductive.However,respondingtoemailsalldaywasactuallymakingmelessproductivebytakingmyfocusoffthingsthatIreallyneededtogetdone.Inowlimitmytimeandfrequencyofrespondingtoemails.
邮件——这个还真难下手。毕竟,我一直认为回复邮件可以提高效率。但事实却是,每天回复邮件反倒转移我的注意力,大大降低了效率。现在我已经限制了自己回复邮件的时间和频率。
SevenWaystoCreateMoreTimeInYourDay
每天创造更多时间的七大方法
1.GetUpEarlier
早起
Getupfifteenminutesearlier.Ifyou'relikemostfolk,yourmorningprobablyfeelsrushed:youdragyourselfoutofbedatthelastpossibleminute,grabahastyshower,maybegetsomebreakfastifyou'relucky,sortoutthekids/cat/partneranddashofftowork.
提前15分钟起床。你要是像大部分人那样起床,早上可能会觉得有点赶:在最后一刻挣扎着起来,赶紧冲个澡,来得及的话就吃两口早餐,安顿好小孩/猫咪/爱人后冲出门上班。
Gettingupjustabitearliercangiveyousomebreathingspace.Perhapsit'llgiveyoutimetoactuallysitdownandenjoyyourbreakfastforonce.Maybeyoucanusethatfifteenminutesadaytoreadthroughthatbookorstackofjournalsthatyoukeepmeaningtogetto.
稍微早点起床就不至于那么匆忙。或许至少可以真正坐下来吃顿早餐。你也可以利用每天早起的15分钟看看书或者整理一下记事本。
2.CreateaPlan
制定计划
Atthestartofyourworkday,beforeyouevencheckyouremails,makeaplan.Jotdownthethreemostimportanttasksyouwanttoaccomplishthatday.Putabigstarnexttothemostimportant.Now,beforeyougetintothebusyworkofemailsandphotocopyingandtidyingyourdesk,startonthatimportanttaskandseeitthroughtotheend.
在你刚开始工作时,趁着还没查看邮件,赶紧定个计划吧。写下当天必须完成的三个最重要的任务,最重要的那个打上标记。然后趁着还没开始检查邮件、影印资料或整理办公桌等工作内容前,赶紧着手那个最重要的任务并保证完成它。
Surprisinglyfewpeopletakethetimetoplantheirworkday,andendupspinningtheirwheelsonanumberoflow-prioritytaskswithoutreallyaccomplishinganythingbig.
奇怪的是,很少有人能有计划地工作,一天下来后还是周旋在几个效率甚低的任务上,最后其实什么实事都没做成。
3.BatchTasksTogether
分批处理任务
Whenyou'regoingthroughtheworkday,trytokeepsimilartaskstogether.Whenyouswitchfromonethingtoanother,yourbraintakesafewminutestocatchupandsettlein:constantlyjumpingbetweenansweringemailsandwritingareportandtidyingupyourdeskjustmeansyou'lllosetrackofwhereyou'dgotto.Youmightfeellikeyou'reworkingsuper-efficiently(becauseyourmindisbuzzingallovertheplace),butyou'llactuallybewastingalotoftime.
工作时可以将相似的任务并在一起处理。当你从一个任务换到另一个任务时,大脑会花几分钟进行调整:同时既要回复邮件、撰写报告,又要整理办公桌,到头来你可能会手足无措。虽然这样你可能觉得自己效率超级高(因为大脑一刻没停),但其实并没有优化利用时间。
Ifyouneedtoansweranumberofemails,dothemallatonce.Thesamegoesforphonecalls,filing,photocopyingandothersimilartasks.
如果要回复的邮件很多,那就一起处理掉。电话、整理文案、影印等同样如此。
4.BlockOutChunksofTime
腾出大段时间
Doyouhavesomebigprojectthatyou'dlovetogetroundto?Maybeit'swritinganovel,startingabusiness,trainingforamarathon...whateveryourparticularventureorgoal,younevergetaroundtomakingprogress.
你是否有个大计划总想花时间去做?比如写小说、创业、或马拉松训练,不管个人想法或目标是什么,你就是还没时间去落实吧?
Thebestwaytotacklebigprojectslikethisistoforcethemintoyourschedule.Sparetimedoesn'tjustappearfromnowhere–youneedtomakeaconsciousefforttocreateit.Blockoutaweekendafternoon,forinstance:tellfamilyandfriendsyouhaveanotherengagementthatday.Thenstormonaheadwiththatproject.Trustme,you'llfeelgreatforhavingmadeastart.
对付这种大计划的办法就是强行做出安排。时间就像海绵里的水,你得用心去挤才行。比如,你可以腾出一个周末下午的时间,告诉亲友自己另有安排,然后开始拿出行动吧。相信我,一旦开始你就会感到妙不可言。
5.Don'tMultitask
不要一心多用
Althoughmultitaskingfeelsefficient–becauseitfeelsbusy–itactuallylosesyoutime.Bystickingtodoingonethingatatime,you'llbemuchmorefocusedandabletoproduceyourbestwork:there'snothingefficientaboutrushingajobwhichyouthenenduphavingtoredo.
虽然同时处理多个任务会使你感到很有效率(因为一直在忙),但其实很耗时间。坚持一次只做一件事,你会更专注更有效率:与其匆忙“鬼画符”后又返工,还不如先专心做好一件事呢。
6.StayFocused
保持专注
Whenyouareworkingonatask,makeaconsciousefforttoremainfocused.Sure,you'llhaveintrusivethoughtslikemaybeIshouldcheckmyemailorthisdeskcouldreallydowithtidying.Justrecognizethatthosethoughtsareimpulseswhichyoudon'tneedtogiveinto.Ifyouthinkofsomethingwhileyou'reworkingonyourtasklikeIreallymustphoneJoe,thenjustmakeanoteonabitofpaperorinyourdiarysoyoudon'tforget–andgetonwiththetaskathand.
工作时一定要努力保持专注。当然,你可能会时不时想到“该查看邮件了”或“办公桌真该整理一下了”,但请记住:这些都只是一时想法,不要陷进去。如果你工作时想到别的事情,比如“我真得打电话给乔了”,那就在纸上或记事本上写下来以免忘记,然后继续手头的工作。
You'llaccomplishmuchmorebyworkinginadeliberatelyfocusedwaythanifyouletyourselfjumparoundfromtasktotaskasthingscometomind.
刻意保持专注比思想散漫时的工作效率要高得多。
7.FinishWorkOnTime
按时完成工作
Finally,oneofthebestwaystomakemoretimeinyourlifeistofinishyourworkontime!Ifyouworkforanemployer,makeanefforttoleavetheofficeontime–atleastacoupleofdayseachweek.(Iknowthisisdifficultifyourworkplacehasalong-hoursculture).
最后,在生活中创造更多时间的办法就是——按时完成工作!如果你是上班族,就确保能按时下班——至少每周能有那么几天。(当然,如果你的公司有加班的习惯,这么做也不那么容易。
Ifyouworkforyourself,youneedtobeevenmoreself-disciplined,asyourworkislikelytobeveryeasilyaccessiblewhenyou'reathome!Somegoodwaystocreateaboundaryattheendofthedayaretokeepyourworkseparatefromtheroomsinyourhousewhereyourelax.Youcouldalsoschedulesomethingsocialintheevening(perhapsmeetingfriendsforadrink)sothatyoucan'tgetcaughtupin"justonemoreemail".
如果你是为自己工作,那就得更加自律了,因为这样你在家也很方便办公!区分一天工作结束的办法就是,将办公的地方与休息的地方分开来。你也可以在晚上安排一些交际活动(比如跟朋友喝一杯),这样你就不会为“又来了一封邮件”犯难了。