30招讓你每天比別人多活半小時(shí)
We’re all way too busy. We live and work in an age with infinite online and offline demands on our time and attention. And the end result is that we’re left little free time for us to just breath and be.
我們都太忙了。我們活在一個(gè)對(duì)人的時(shí)間和注意力有著無限需求的時(shí)代，無論我們的狀態(tài)是在線或是掛線。其結(jié)果則是我們幾乎沒有一點(diǎn)時(shí)間留給自己，哪怕就在那兒呆著。
If you’re anything like me, you wish there were few more minutes in every day. Well the good news is there are always minutes to be saved and various ways to save them. Save enough of them every day, and you’ll have a few extra hours at the end of the week. In this article I discuss 30 of my favorite ways to save 30 minutes a day.
如果你有那么一點(diǎn)像我，你會(huì)盼望每天能多出那么幾分鐘來。好消息就是，總有各種各樣的方法讓時(shí)間被節(jié)省出來。每天省那么一點(diǎn)時(shí)間，你就能在周末感受幾小時(shí)的富裕時(shí)光。下文中我將與你探討我最喜歡的30種每天省出半小時(shí)的方法。
Sometimes our days are so crammed with things to do that an extra 30 minutes at the end of the day represents the difference between sanity and insanity. I use each of the tips below to save time and remain sane on a daily basis.
有的時(shí)候我們的生活里擠滿了太多要做的事情，好像我們也只能透過每天多出來的這半小時(shí)看看自己是不是已經(jīng)完全陷入抓狂狀態(tài)。而我通常則會(huì)選用以下這些節(jié)時(shí)小貼士在勞碌一日之際讓自己保持理智與清醒。
Perhaps the very best question that you can memorize and repeat, over and over, is, “what is the most valuable use of my time right now?”
- Brian Tracy
也許你能一遍一遍地記起并復(fù)述出來的最棒的問題，就是“怎樣最高效地處理我現(xiàn)在的時(shí)間？” ——布萊恩·特雷西
Group similar tasks back-to-back. – Switching gears between different types of tasks can be tough. It takes most people several minutes to get into a productive mental groove geared toward a speficic type of task. Therefore, it makes sense to group similar tasks in an effort to minimize the number of rough patches, and thus wasted time, between task orders.
類似的工作要乘勝追擊。在不同工作間頻繁換工具總是不太好辦。大多數(shù)人要花幾分鐘的時(shí)間適應(yīng)一個(gè)具體的新工作——讓自己的大腦習(xí)慣新的工具并使之高效運(yùn)作。因此，把類似的工作集中處理是說得通的，以此來減少難處并減少給工作排序的時(shí)間消耗。
Use productive shortcuts. – People who claim that there are no productive shortcuts in life have been brainwashed. There are productive shortcuts for almost everything you do. Finding and using them can save you a few minutes here and there on a daily basis. If you use a computer, learn the keyboard shortcuts for the programs you use most often. If you can permanently delegate one of your regular tasks to someone else, do it. Is there a route to work with less traffic? Where can you hit two birds with one stone?
抄最有價(jià)值的捷徑。那些宣稱生活中的捷徑?jīng)]有任何價(jià)值的人一定是被洗腦了！差不多一切事情都有高效的捷徑。在一天的基礎(chǔ)上能夠找到并使用這樣的捷徑可以不時(shí)地省幾分鐘。如果你用電腦，學(xué)會(huì)用鍵盤快捷操縱你最常用的程序。如果你能永久地委派一項(xiàng)你的常規(guī)任務(wù)給別人，那就這樣做吧。有沒有少點(diǎn)流量的工作路線？怎么才能一石二鳥？呵呵。
Eliminate all distractions for a set time. – Distractions are everywhere. They arrive via email, cell phone, coworker inquiry, etc. I’ve found that cutting out all distractions for a set time is one of the most effective ways to get things done in less time. You can’t remain in hiding forever, but you can be nearly four times as productive while you are.
規(guī)定時(shí)間內(nèi)消除一切雜念。雜念無處不在。電郵、電話、同事的詢問等等都會(huì)導(dǎo)致分心。我發(fā)現(xiàn)在規(guī)定時(shí)間內(nèi)清除一切分心的可能性是短時(shí)內(nèi)完成事情的最有效方法之一。你不可能永遠(yuǎn)躲避生活的干擾，但一旦你這樣做一會(huì)，你的效率會(huì)多倍提升。
Narrow the number of ventures you’re involved in.– Productivity is not usually my challenge, narrowing the number of ventures to be productive in is. Even when you have the knowledge and ability to access super-productive states, you get to a point where being simultaneously super-productive on too many fronts at once causes all activities to slow down, stand still and sometimes even slide backwards.
減少牽扯到你的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。生產(chǎn)效率通常不是我面臨的挑戰(zhàn)，減少出現(xiàn)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的傾向才是。盡管你有著知識(shí)和能力達(dá)到超高效率的水準(zhǔn)，你總會(huì)遇見一些特殊情況，在這些時(shí)候想要一下子同時(shí)高效兼顧每個(gè)任務(wù)前線往往只會(huì)導(dǎo)致進(jìn)程阻滯。這時(shí)需要你穩(wěn)住，有時(shí)甚至要以退為進(jìn)。
Plan ahead and start early. – 10 minutes of dedicated time planning each evening will save you from 30 minutes of ad-hoc preparation each morning. Likewise, starting your morning on purpose 30 minutes early will likely inject at least 60 additional productive minutes into your day. Think about it.
早比晚好。每晚花10分鐘時(shí)間專注的做個(gè)計(jì)劃就能省了轉(zhuǎn)天早上30分鐘的臨時(shí)抱佛腳。同樣，早上有目的地早開工30分鐘有可能給你的一天注入雙倍而多產(chǎn)的時(shí)間。
Organize your space.– How much time do you think the average person wastefully spends searching for items they’ve misplaced? Keeping both your living and working spaces organized will undoubtedly save you 30 minutes daily.
空間布局要有條理。你知道平均人們要費(fèi)多少時(shí)間找他們錯(cuò)放的東西？始終保持你生活和工作的地方有條理無疑可以每天多省出30分鐘來。
Productively use waiting time. – Waiting time does not have to be wasted time. When you are waiting at the doctor’s office, the post office, or on hold for the next available representative, what simple tasks could you complete while you wait? How about sorting through your snail mail, writing those thank you notes you’ve been putting off, reading the book you keep meaning to read, reviewing and editing your to-do lists, etc.
有效利用等候的時(shí)間。 等候的時(shí)間未必就要干瞪眼。當(dāng)你在候診，郵局排隊(duì)，或者恭候下一個(gè)有時(shí)間的議員代表，這點(diǎn)功夫你能干點(diǎn)什么輕而易舉的活兒呢？ 你可以把你的郵件梳理一番，把原定推遲的感謝回復(fù)提前完成；或者讀一讀你一直打算看的書；重新整合一下你的日程表什么的也可以啊。
Handle two minute tasks immediately.– “The 2 Minute Rule” is single greatest tip I picked up from David Allen’s book, “Getting Things Done.” If you roughly estimate that a task is going to take you less than two minutes to accomplish, do it right now. It’s a waste of time and energy to keep small tasks like this on your to-do list on in the back of your mind.
迅速搞定小事。“兩分鐘定律”是我從大衛(wèi)艾倫的書《把事做好》里學(xué)來的簡單有效的技巧。若是你估摸著有件事你可以花不到兩分鐘就搞定，那就現(xiàn)在解決它。放著這種小事不做讓它們停留在你的印象里是浪費(fèi)時(shí)間和精力的。
Ask more questions. – The trial and error process can be a huge waste of time. Often people view asking questions and relying on others as a weakness, but they are sadly mistaken. Asking questions will bring you closer to the people around you and likely save you a huge chunk of time. Win-win.
遇事多問。嘗試和錯(cuò)誤惡性循環(huán)的過程是很浪費(fèi)時(shí)間的。一般來講人們把問問題，靠別人視為無能，但其實(shí)這是一種可悲的誤解。多問問題會(huì)拉近你和身邊人的距離，還有可能省下你一大部分時(shí)間，這是一箭雙雕。
Buy in bulk and cook in bulk. – Buying stuff and cooking food are two of the most common unplanned consumptions of time. Most people buy replacements in small amounts only when they need them and think about food only when they’re hungry. The problem is these issues will often arise at inopportune times. The most efficient way I’ve found to counteract this is by doing bulk loads of both. I know I’ll always need gas in my vehicle. So instead of putting in $25 here and $25 there, I top off my tank every time I’m at the station regardless of the sticker shock. Likewise, I know I’m going to be hungry at lunch time every day this week. So on Sundays I’ll grill up five extra chicken breasts and make a chicken wrap or sandwich for every day of the week.
大批買，大批干。買東西和做飯是兩樣最常見的并無需計(jì)劃的時(shí)間消費(fèi)。多數(shù)人只會(huì)在需要時(shí)買少量的接替物，或者干脆餓了的時(shí)候才想起來吃的。問題是這些意外情況經(jīng)常在不合適的時(shí)間發(fā)生。我知道的最有效的消除這個(gè)困擾的辦法就是大批買大批干。比方說我知道我的車總是需要油的，所以每次在加油站我都會(huì)給我的車加滿油，不管這消費(fèi)有多么驚人，我絕不會(huì)一次又一次25塊地加。同樣，我知道每天中午飯時(shí)間我都會(huì)餓，所以周日時(shí)我會(huì)多烤五個(gè)雞胸出來，做成雞肉卷或三明治給工作日準(zhǔn)備著。
Pick-up the phone.– We’ve become so accustomed to communicating digitally, sending emails, IMs and texts, etc. that we sometimes forget that we can get the same tasks accomplished in a fraction of the time with one or two quick phone calls.
拾起電話?，F(xiàn)在我們是如此習(xí)慣于數(shù)碼通訊：收發(fā)郵件、即時(shí)通訊、短信等等。我們有時(shí)忽略了其實(shí)一兩個(gè)快捷的電話就可以在小段時(shí)間內(nèi)迅速解決問題。
Don’t mindlessly browse online ad infinitum.
不要不加顧慮地沒限制地瀏覽線上廣告。網(wǎng)頁瀏覽真是一個(gè)消耗時(shí)間的巨大黑洞。你可能都不會(huì)意識(shí)到你已經(jīng)花了幾個(gè)小時(shí)瀏覽網(wǎng)絡(luò)卻收獲甚微。
Standardize common tasks. – If you find yourself performing the same set of tasks on a regular basis then it makes sense to establish an efficient, standardized way of accomplishing them. Are certain tasks easier to perform in the morning? Are there additional resources that can be utilized only at a certain time? It’s up to you to find an efficient pattern, standardize it and follow it.
把例行公事標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化。如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)自己常常在一個(gè)規(guī)律的基礎(chǔ)上進(jìn)行同一系列的工作，那么你就該考慮創(chuàng)建一套高效的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化的解決方式。是不是某些事早上干起來更容易？有沒有其它一些資源只能在某一時(shí)段利用？找到一個(gè)高效的模式，將其標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化并將工作按其執(zhí)行，這是你的任務(wù)。
Make better usage of commute times. – Listen to audio books, make calls, do some proactive time planning, etc. I use Evernote on my iPhone and capture tons of ideas and thoughts when I’m commuting and traveling on business.
用好路上的時(shí)間。聽錄音，打電話，做有前瞻性的時(shí)間計(jì)劃等等。當(dāng)我奔波在辦公的路上，我會(huì)利用手機(jī)上的筆記管理功能獲取成千上萬個(gè)新主意。
Write things down. – Nobody’s memory is perfect. If you don’t take notes and setup to-do lists for yourself you will end up wasting minutes of time trying to remember things that would have taken you seconds to write down.
好腦子不如爛筆頭。誰也沒有完美的記憶力。不適時(shí)做記錄就直接敲定計(jì)劃的結(jié)果，就是本來用幾秒可以記下來的東西，你還要花幾分鐘去回憶它到底是什么。
Consolidate all daily errands into one trip. – Consolidate all of your errands into one trip instead of driving back and forth several times from home to the store to home to the bank to home, etc.統(tǒng)一分叉，不走回頭路。 你應(yīng)該學(xué)會(huì)把所有差事都統(tǒng)一到一條路線上。而不是開著車來來回回從家到便利店，返家后又去銀行，最后回家等等。
Stop overanalyzing things.– There comes a time when you have to stop evaluating something and just bite the bullet and do it. Contemplating taking action isn’t taking action. It gets nothing accomplished.
不要再多慮啦。總有那么個(gè)時(shí)刻你必須停止反復(fù)琢磨，果斷決定迅速處理。思考著采取行動(dòng)并不是真的行動(dòng)，光是思考什么都完成不了。
Exercise daily.– I know it sounds counter-intuitive. You have to spend time exercising. But, research has shown that exercise boosts cognitive function, creativity, problem solving and productivity. In fact a NASA study showed employees who exercised daily worked at 100% efficiency after seven hours, while those who didn’t saw a 50% drop, meaning it took them twice as long to accomplish the same thing.
天天鍛煉。我知道這可能聽著有反你的直覺。你必須花時(shí)間鍛煉。但研究表明鍛煉有促進(jìn)認(rèn)識(shí)力、創(chuàng)造力、解決問題和勞動(dòng)的能力的功效。事實(shí)上一個(gè)NASA的研究顯示那些天天鍛煉的雇員可以在七小時(shí)的工作后仍然高效地全力以赴，而那些不鍛煉的人的效率則會(huì)有先前一半的衰減。這意味著同樣的事情他們要花雙倍的時(shí)間完成。
Use a timer.– I use a timer to limit the amount of time I spend on daily tasks such as email, retuning calls, cranking through my to-do lists, etc. This keeps me from getting overly distracted from the truly important tasks I must accomplish during the day.
用個(gè)計(jì)時(shí)器。我用計(jì)時(shí)器來限制我每天花在寫郵件、回電話、啟動(dòng)各項(xiàng)日程的時(shí)間。這能使我在處理每天必須完成的重要工作時(shí)不被過度分心。
Do what you don’t want to do first.– If you do the tough tasks first when your mind is fresh, you’ll get them done quicker and be on to the next thing in no time.
先苦后甜。趁著腦子清醒先處理棘手的問題，這樣你會(huì)很快搞定它們，迅速轉(zhuǎn)戰(zhàn)其它事務(wù)。
Harness the power of teamwork.– I heard a story once about some horses that were in a competition to see which could pull the most weight. One horse pulled 3,000 lbs and another one pulled 4,000 lbs. Someone suggested the horses team together to see how much they could pull. Most guesses were in the 7,000 lb to 10,000 lb range but when those two horses worked together, they pulled an amazing 20,000 lbs. That’s the power of teamwork. Good teamwork can get a large project completed in an amazingly short amount of time.
利用團(tuán)隊(duì)的力量。我聽過一個(gè)故事，講的是一群馬在進(jìn)行牽引重物的比賽。一匹馬能拉動(dòng)3000磅，另一匹可以拉動(dòng)4000磅。有人建議把兩匹馬集中到一起看它們能拉動(dòng)多少。許多人猜測(cè)結(jié)果應(yīng)該在7000到10000磅之間但當(dāng)兩匹馬真的這樣做了，它們不可思議地拉動(dòng)了20000磅！這就是團(tuán)隊(duì)的力量。優(yōu)質(zhì)的團(tuán)隊(duì)合作能在及其少量的時(shí)間內(nèi)完成大項(xiàng)目。
Just say NO!– While saying yes can take us down some wonderful roads, there’s also a ton of value in saying “no.” We’re only given a certain amount of hours in our lives; do you really want to give yours away so easily? If you don’t have to time to commit to a new project, complete a favor, or serve on another committee, it’s a good idea to just say “no.”
學(xué)會(huì)拒絕。雖然說“是”可以順利地給我們找臺(tái)階下，但勇于說“不”也存有許多價(jià)值。生命時(shí)長有限，你真的愿意隨意放棄屬于你的時(shí)間么？有些事情如果沒有規(guī)則強(qiáng)迫你必須擠出時(shí)間來做，比如承擔(dān)新項(xiàng)目、幫朋友個(gè)忙或者為另一個(gè)委員會(huì)服務(wù)，對(duì)此，說“不”的確是個(gè)好主意。
Focus your attention on one thing at a time. – Cutting out multitasking (or “multi-slacking” as I call it) leaves you to focus more intently on one task and finish it to completion, rather than having many tasks started and nothing finished.
專時(shí)專用。戒掉一次性多任務(wù)處理的做法會(huì)使你更加一心一意地專注于一件工作并善始善終地完成它，而不是同時(shí)啟動(dòng)多項(xiàng)工作最后一樣也干不完。
Pare down your e-mail inbox. – As a first step, cancel any e-mail newsletter subscriptions that you do not read anymore. If you subscribe to more than one newsletter in a certain category (e.g. tech newsletters), choose the one that delivers the most value to you on a daily basis and get rid of the rest. The e-mail inbox should only be for priority communication, otherwise it just wastes your time.
清理你的收件箱。第一步，刪掉每一封你再也用不著看的時(shí)事訂閱刊。如果你在同一類別（比如技術(shù)通訊）訂閱了多份刊物，請(qǐng)選出對(duì)你每日生活最有價(jià)值的那個(gè)并放棄其余的。你的收件箱應(yīng)優(yōu)先為你的交流通訊服務(wù)，不然它只是在浪費(fèi)你的時(shí)間。
Use time multipliers. – Effective delegation of lower priority tasks is a time multiplier. Eliminating time wasting activities is a time multiplier. Screening phone calls can be a time multiplier. By practicing creative procrastination on anything that doesn’t propel you toward your goals, you can multiply the amount of time you have to achieve those goals.
學(xué)會(huì)“擴(kuò)大”時(shí)間。對(duì)無需優(yōu)先的工作進(jìn)行有效的委托可以“擴(kuò)大”時(shí)間。消除浪費(fèi)時(shí)間的活動(dòng)能夠“擴(kuò)大”時(shí)間。視頻電話也能。在一些無關(guān)緊要的事情上進(jìn)行創(chuàng)造性的耽擱，你可以通過這個(gè)方法擴(kuò)大你要用來達(dá)成目標(biāo)的時(shí)間。
Relocate closer to your place of employment.– In every major city in the world there are people traveling over an hour to reach their work destination from home. This is a huge chunk of time that could be used far more productively.
搬到離工作近的地方去。世界上每個(gè)大城市里都有人花費(fèi)一個(gè)多小時(shí)離家上班。這可本來是一大把能被更加高效利用的時(shí)間啊。
Turn off the TV. – Nuff said.
關(guān)掉電視。這還用多說嗎。
Use technology to automate tasks.– From creating email filters, to automatically backing-up your hard drive, to automatic bill paying. The more you can automate, the more time you’ll save.
利用高科技實(shí)現(xiàn)自動(dòng)化。從設(shè)置郵件過濾器到自動(dòng)完成硬盤備份，再到自動(dòng)付賬業(yè)務(wù)。越是更能熟練地操縱自動(dòng)化的人越能省下更多時(shí)間。
Keep it simple.– Keep your to-do lists and planning simple, and don’t waste time playing with new tools, etc. There’s always going to be shiny programs that promise to make your day faster and more efficient. Stick with one, and learn to rely on it.
把問題簡單化。 讓你的日程和計(jì)劃看著簡練，同時(shí)不要浪費(fèi)時(shí)間去嘗試新把戲什么的。總會(huì)有絕佳的工作程序能讓你的生活更加快捷高效。
Spend minutes now to save hours later. – During happy hour last Friday I spent some time listening to one of my colleagues confess her utter distaste for the Windows 7 Start menu. “The system is organized all wrong. The programs I need are buried and the ones I never use are right at my finger tips. I waste so much time digging through menus,” she said. “But you can easily rearrange that,” I replied. She looked down with a despondent expression on her face. “I know,” she said. “Someone else told me that too, but I haven’t taken the time to figure it out.” Bottom line: Sometimes you have to spend a few minutes now to save hours of grief in the future.
現(xiàn)在爭分奪秒能省出以后很多個(gè)小時(shí)。上周五的快樂時(shí)間我花了一些時(shí)間聽我一個(gè)同事告訴我們她對(duì)Windows7啟動(dòng)目錄的全然厭惡。“系統(tǒng)的編排都是混亂的。我要的程序都被排在后面，那些我從來不用的反倒被排到手頭來了。我費(fèi)了好長時(shí)間清理目錄。”她說。“但你可以簡單地重裝一下啊。”我這樣回答。緊接著她帶著沮喪的表情看著我說：“我知道，也有人跟我說過這個(gè)，可是我沒花時(shí)間去琢磨。”這就告訴我們，有時(shí)候你不得不立刻花幾分鐘，這樣是為了省下以后數(shù)小時(shí)的折磨。
What did I leave off the list? Please share your favorite time saving tips with us in the comments area below.
單子上我還落了什么嗎？歡迎在下方評(píng)論區(qū)和我們分享你最受用的省時(shí)方法。
聯(lián)系客服
