經典:讓你充實過好每一天的13件小事
Start early. Going into work early was one of my favorite tricks — it was quiet, before the phones and chatter and meetings started, and I could get a lot of work done in peace. By the time everyone else was getting started, I’d gotten two or three big tasks checked off.
1. 早早開始
早點開始工作是我比較喜歡的方法——那時很安靜，擾人的電話，煩心的嘮叨以及會議都還沒有開始，這時候我就可以在安靜中完成很多工作。當其他人開始工作的時候，我已經完成了兩三件任務了。
Limit your hours. It’s ironic, because so many people work long hours and think they’re getting more done and being more productive. But they’re throwing brute hours at the problem. Instead, cut back on your hours and set a limit — say 6 or 7 hours a day — and get your most essential work done within that limit. If you know you’re only working 6 hours today, you’ll be sure to get the important tasks done first and waste less time. Limits force you to be effective.
2. 限制時間
這是很諷刺的，因爲太多的人工作很長時間，他們以爲這樣就可以完成更多的工作，可以更有效率。但是他們在像牲口一樣的思考問題。相反的，減少你的工作時間，設定一個界限——比如6或7個小時——把最需要的事情在這段時間內做完。如果你覺得今天只有六個小時的工作時間，你就肯定會把重要的任務先做完，而儘量少浪費時間。限制可以逼迫你更加的高效。
Make a short list. Make a long list of all the tasks you need to do … then make a short list of 1-3 things you really want to get done. Choose so that, if you got only these tasks done, you’d be proud of what you did today. Start with the most important task, before checking email or reading online.
3. 縮短計劃單
做一個你需要做的所有事情的整體清單……之後再做一個只有1-3件你真正想完成的短清單。如果用短的計劃單，當你完成那幾項任務時，你會爲你今天所做的感到驕傲。從最重要的任務開始工作，之後再查郵件或上網瀏覽。
Batch distractions. What are your common distractions? Perhaps things like email, reading blogs, Twitter or another social network? Set a time for these, preferably later in the day: say, from 3-4 p.m. Don’t do the distractions before then. By grouping them all into one time period, you allow yourself to do other work first, but still get in your distraction time. Another approach might be to do them for 10 minutes at the end of each hour — but stick to that 10-minute limit!
4. 打包分心的事物
什麼是讓你平常分心的事情？是郵件、看博客、twitter或者其他的社交網絡？爲這些設定一個時間，比如就下午3點到四點。在這之前，不要做這些分心的事情。通過將它們打包到一個時間段，你可以讓你自己先做其他的工作之後再做那些分心的事情。另一個方法是在每工作一個小時後，用10分鐘的時間來處理那些事務——但一定要堅守時間。
Write shorter emails. If email takes up a lot of your day, the simple change of limiting yourself to 3-4 sentences per email will make a big difference. First, it’ll drastically shorten the time it takes to write or respond to emails. And second, it’ll shorten responses to your emails, which means you’ll spend less time reading email.
5. 寫短的郵件
如果收發郵件佔用了你每天很多的時間，一個簡單的改變——將你的每個郵件控制在3-4句話之內——將帶給你巨大的改變。首先，它將極大的縮短收發郵件的時間。其次，它將縮短這些郵件的回覆，這就意味着你講花更少的時間閱讀郵件。
Limit meetings. The fewer the better. Some top Google executives just do 5-minute meetings — anyone who attends these meetings had better be prepared, and concise. If you can get out of meetings and just get the notes, or find an alternative way to communicate, it could save you hours per week.
6. 控制會議時間
越短越好。一些頂級的Google執行官只開5分鐘的回憶——每一個與會者都要做好準備，並保持簡潔明瞭。如果你可以不開會而只是讀會議紀要，或者選擇其他的方式交流，這可以每週幫你節省幾個小時。
Automate. The fewer repetitive and routine tasks you have to do, the more time you’ll free up for creating and important work. So automate wherever possible: have people fill things out electronically, or get info from your website instead of emailing or calling you, or use a service that automatically processes payments or ships your product, and so on.
7. 自動化
你做的重複的，慣例性的工作越少，你就有越多的時間做創造性的，重要的工作。所以在儘量使用自動化的工具：讓人們通過電子表格填表，或者通過你的網站獲得信息而不是通過郵件或者電話，或者運用一個自動支付方式購買你的產品等等。
Eliminate paperwork. I used to deal with a lot of paperwork, and even then I knew it was a waste of my time. If businesses and organizations could have paperwork filled out electronically, it would save a lot of paper, copying, filing, and duplicate effort. Whenever possible, eliminate paperwork in favor of digital. This might be more of a long-term move.
8. 淘汰紙質文件
我以前需要處理很多紙質文件，即使我知道那是浪費時間。如果商業和組織可以通過電子程序完成紙質工作，那將節省很多紙張，打印，填寫和謄寫工作。只要可能，儘量淘汰紙質文件改用數字的。這個也許是一個長期的過程。
Clear your desk. This can be done in a few minutes. Clear everything off the top of your desk. Only put back a few essential items. Everything else should be: filed, given to the appropriate person, given a permanent spot in a drawer, or trashed/recycled. Make quick decisions and then get back to work.
9. 清理你的辦公桌
這在幾分鐘之內就可以完成。把你桌子上的東西都清理掉。只把幾個必須的物品放在上面。其他的都應該：整理好，或交給該交的人，或者放在一個固定的抽屜裏，或者扔掉或回收。快點決定並儘快回到動作中。
Get away. If you can get out of your office, you can find a peaceful spot where you can focus on important work. Find a spot where you can work, turn off the Internet and do your work, and then turn the Internet back on so you can email or upload it to the appropriate spot. Working from home is a good option here. The more you can do this (it might be once a week, or an hour a day, or half of every workday), the better.
10. 離開
如果你可以離開你的辦公室，你可以找一個安靜的地方專注於重要的工作。找一個你能工作的地方，切斷網絡，專心工作，完成後再接通網絡，這樣你就可以發出郵件或者將你完成的工作上載到指定的地方。在家工作也是個很好的選擇。你這樣做越多（也許這一週一次，或者一天一小時，或者每半個工作日），你就會受益越多。
Take breathing breaks. Every 15-20 minutes, get up from your desk, and take a breathing break. It could be simply walking around the office, saying hi to someone, or even better, getting outside to get some fresh air. Walk around, get your blood circulating, perhaps massage your neck and shoulders if you feel tension. Do some pushups if you want to get fitter. When you get back to work, remind yourself what you want to be working on, and clear away all distractions.
11. 做短暫的休息
每工作15到20分鐘，站起來休息一下。可能就是簡單的在辦公室走一圈，或者跟同事問聲好，或者更好的去戶外呼吸一下新鮮空氣。走一走，促進你的血液循環，再或者當你感覺痠痛時，按摩一下你的頸部和肩膀。如果你想更健壯一點，那就做幾個俯臥撐。當你回去工作時，提醒自己要做什麼工作，並且排除一切雜念。
Practice a focus ritual. Every hour or two, do a refocus ritual. This only takes a minute or two. You might start it by closing down your browser and maybe other open applications, and maybe even take a walk for a couple of minutes to clear your head and get your blood circulating. Then return to your list of Most Important Tasks and figure out what you need to accomplish next. Before you check email again or go back online, work on that important task for as long as you can. Repeat this refocus ritual throughout the day, to bring yourself back. It’s also nice to take some nice deep breaths to focus yourself back on the present. More focus rituals.
12. 練習集中精神
每一到兩個小時，要重新集中精神。這隻需花一到兩分鐘。你可以通過關掉瀏覽器或者其他應用程序，或者走幾分鐘來清醒你的大腦並促進血液循環。之後再看看你的“最重要任務”列表，找出下一步要完成的事情。然後在你重要的任務上工作儘量長的時間直到你再次去查收郵件或者上網。每天不斷重複這個注意力訓練來保持清醒。同樣，你可以通過做幾次橫呼吸來重新集中注意。
Schedule big blocks of creative time. Not everyone can do this, but when possible, put a big block of 3-4 hours in your schedule for creating or doing other important work. Make this time inviolate, and don’t allow meetings or other things to be scheduled during this time. Be ruthless about clearing distractions and doing the work you love during these blocks, taking breathing breaks as necessary. Rejoice in your creativity.
13. 安排大塊的創意時間
並不是每個人都做這個。但是如果有必要，安排3-4小時的整塊時間給創意或者做其他重要的事情。保證這段時間沒有人打擾，且不要在這段時間安排會議或者其他事情。堅決的排除雜念，並且在這段時間做你喜歡的事情，如果必要可以短暫的休息。在創造過程保持愉悅。
