提高生活質量的7個重要時間管理技能

 

ing-bottom: 68.13%;">

Time is the great equalizer—everybody gets the same twenty-four hours each day. Making productive use of that time can mean the difference between getting things done and scrambling to keep up. These time management tips will help you streamline your day and work smarter.

時間是最公平的——每個人每天都會獲得同樣的二十四個小時。但對時間的有效利用與否卻決定了你是高效完成工作還是勉強趕完任務。以下的這些時間管理技巧能幫助你提高工作效率，讓你更聰明地開展工作。

1. Do a time audit.1. “審查”時間 

Do you get to the end of every workday and wonder where the time went? Maybe you wonder why you didn’t manage to accomplish as much as you’d hoped you would. You could be wasting more time than you realize. There may well be a discrepancy between how you think you spend your time and how you actually spend it. A time audit can be an eye-opener!

當你工作一天，忙到天黑的時候，是不是總在想時間跑去哪兒了？也許你也想知道爲什麼自己沒有完成預期的計劃呢？那麼很可能你浪費了比你原先意識到的更多的時間。你認爲自己花費的時間和實際花費的時間可能會非常不同。而對時間進行一番“審查”肯定會讓你大開眼界！

 

Here’s a simple method for conducting a time audit.

以下是一個進行時間“審查”的簡單方法。

 Get some sort of timer that you can set to go off every thirty minutes. (The alarm app on your phone could do the trick.)使用某種定時器，可以每三十分鐘設置一次。（手機上的鬧鐘應用就可以做到這一點。） Begin the timer and go about your day. Try not to think about the timer—just let it run quietly in the background.
設定好計時器後，你就可以開始一天的工作了。儘量不要在意這個計時器——讓它在後臺靜靜地運行就可以。 When the timer goes off, write down what you’re doing at that very moment. Be honest! If you’re checking Facebook or sending your best friend a funny text, own up to it.
當定時器響起時，記錄下當時你正在做什麼。要誠實地面對自己！如果你正在檢查Facebook或者正在給好朋友發送一則有趣的消息，爽快地承認吧。 Set the timer for another thirty minutes and repeat the process until the end of your day.
重新將計時器設置三十分鐘，然後重複上面的過程，直到結束一天的工作。 Review how you’ve spent your time. How often were you caught doing something that wasn’t productive?
回顧一下自己是怎麼分配時間的，又是多久就被一些低效的事情絆住了工作的步伐？ 

Try conducting an audit every day for a week to get a good overview of how you’re spending your time. (You can vary the time between check-ins so that you don’t begin to anticipate the alarm going off every thirty minutes.) If you find that you’ve been spending too much time checking your email, scrolling through your social media feed, or chatting with co-workers, you’ll know exactly where you have to make adjustments.

試試每天“審查”一下時間，一週之後，你就能很好地瞭解自己是如何分配時間了。（你可以變換兩次檢查間隔的時間，而不是總惦記着計時器每30分鐘會響一次。）如果你發現自己花了很多時間在檢查電子郵件，瀏覽社交媒體狀態更新或者與同事閒聊上，你就可以對症下藥，知道對哪一塊兒進行調整了。

 2. Block out distractions
2. 屏蔽干擾 

Now that you have a better idea of what’s distracting you, it’s time to block that thing out. If social media is your downfall, for instance, try a productivity app that blocks online distractions. FocusMe, Cold Turkey, and SelfControl are a few available options. If you’re working on a writing project, try going into fullscreen mode to prevent yourself from opening tabs or answering desktop notifications.

既然你已經知道了是什麼東西讓你分心，那麼是時候屏蔽這些干擾因素了。舉個例子，如果社交媒體是你的弱點，那麼可以使用某些應用來阻止這些網絡干擾以促進工作效率。FocusMe，Cold Turkey和SelfControl不失爲一些可用的選擇。如果你正在進行一個寫作項目，可以試試全屏模式，以防自己打開瀏覽器標籤頁或點擊桌面通知。

 

Speaking of notifications, turn them off. Unless it’s critical to your job, odds are good you don’t need to be alerted every time a new email comes in or someone interacts with you on social media.

至於通知，還是把它們都關了吧。除非有些通知對你的工作至關重要，其實很多情況下，你不必時刻留意着每次收到一封新的電子郵件或別人在社交媒體上發來的消息。

 3. Schedule yourself
3. 制定計劃表 

Worrying about how you’ll fit all your tasks into the average workday can put a serious strain on your productivity. When we’re stressed, we struggle to stay productive, which can lead us to work longer hours to meet deadlines. Who needs that?

擔心着如何才能將所有任務都納入一天的計劃中，這可能會嚴重影響我們的工作效率。當處於壓力中時，我們又盡力想保持高效，這可能會導致花費更長的時間才能按時完成任務。誰想這樣事倍功半呢？

 

To-do lists can become overwhelming if you’ve got a lot to accomplish. Instead, use your favorite calendar tool (or even a good old-fashioned datebook) to schedule yourself. You might set aside an hour for answering emails, two for researching and outlining that important report for next week’s meeting, one for a lunch date with a colleague, and so on. If you have a shared corporate calendar, all the better. You can remind your colleagues to interrupt you only when absolutely necessary if you have time blocked off for important tasks.

如果你有很多工作要做，羅列任務清單可是會壓地你喘不過氣來。相反地，使用你最喜歡的一個日程表工具（甚至可以是一本老式的記事本）來制定自己的計劃表。你可以撥出一個小時來答覆電子郵件，另外兩個小時用於研究和概括下週會議的重要報告，再分出一個小時與同事共進午餐等等。如果你們公司有一個公用的日曆表，那就更好了。你可以提醒您的同事，如果你專門騰出時間做重要任務的時候，除非非常有必要，他們才能來打擾你。

 

You’ll be surprised what time blocking will do for your productivity. For example, if you’re in the habit of answering emails as they come in, you may well be interrupting your own workflow to do it. That means that after you’ve dropped everything to answer that email, you’ll have to take extra time to reorient yourself to the task you’d been working on before it came in. Scheduling yourself allows you to set your priorities in advance and avoid being distracted by less important matters.

你會驚訝地發現，時間規劃將對你的效率產生多麼大的影響。例如，如果你總是習慣於在收到電子郵件時進行回覆，那麼你就很可能要打斷自己原先的工作流程來處理這些郵件。這意味着，當你放下手頭的工作去回覆郵件，之後你得再多花些時間重新讓自己集中到之前所進行的工作。制定計劃可以讓你提前分清輕重緩急，避免被不太重要的事情分散注意力。

 4. Avoid multitasking
4. 避免同時進行多項任務 

You may think you’re good at multitasking, but odds are you’re wrong. When you divide your focus between tasks, you’re actually diverting attention from one task to another and using more brain bandwidth. You’ll perform better if you give your full attention to one task at a time.

你可能認爲自己很擅長同時執行多項任務，但通常是你弄錯了。當你將重點放在多個任務上時，實際上也將注意力從一個任務轉移到另一個任務上，並且消耗了更多的腦力。如果一次只集中在一項任務上，你的表現會更好。

 

Grouping similar tasks can also keep you in the right mindset. You might, for instance, group your writing tasks together and do them during one particular block of time. Administrative tasks can fall into another time block. Need to be active on social media? Cool. Block time for using a scheduler like Buffer to queue up your posts for the day so you won’t feel the constant need to check in.

將相似的任務進行分類也可以讓你保持良好的思維狀態。例如，你可以將所有的寫作任務放在一起，並在特定的時間段內進行。管理型任務可以安排在另一塊時間。你需要在社交媒體上保持活躍？沒問題，使用像Buffer這樣的調度程序將你的郵件按順序排好，這樣你就不用時不時地進行查看了。

 Here’s a tip: Keep a small notebook handy when you’re working. When you suddenly remember another task you need to do (“Whoops! Did I schedule my electric bill payment?”), jot it down. That way, you won’t forget that important thing, but you won’t interrupt your jam, either.
小建議：工作時可以隨身帶着一個小的筆記本。當你突然想起你還需要做另外一件事情時（“哎，我有把付電費這事兒安排進計劃表了嗎？”），把它記下來。這樣，你不會忘記待會兒要去做這件重要的事情，也不會中斷手頭上的工作。 5. Insist that others respect your time.
5. 要相信別人會尊重你的時間。 

You know that meeting you were asked to attend that had almost no relevance to you? The one where you had nothing to contribute? That’s an hour of your time you’ll never get back. Get out of those do-nothing meetings. Every meeting should have to justify its existence, and every meeting organizer should have to justify your required attendance, especially if not attending the meeting would ultimately make you more productive.

你知道你被要求參加的會議與你幾乎沒有任何關係？在這個會議中你也不會有什麼貢獻？這是屬於你的一個小時，過去了就不再回來了。所以想辦法擺脫那些對你而言無事可做的會議吧。每個會議都應該有其存在的意義，每個會議組織者也應該爲所需的出席者提供正當的理由，尤其是不參加會議反而能提高你的工作效率的情況。

 

The same goes for chatty coworkers. You have a right to work time free from unnecessary interruptions, so ask for it. You could say something like “I have a lot of trouble concentrating sometimes, and interruptions take me out of the flow when I’m working. Could we save chit-chat for when we’re off the clock?”

這點同樣適用於愛閒聊的同事。你有權在沒有任何不必要的干擾下工作，所以和他們直言說明吧。你可以這樣說“有時候我很難集中精神，工作中有人打擾可能會讓我脫離工作的狀態。我們下班後再聊可以嗎？”

 6. Keep your “call to action” in mind.
6. 請牢記你的“行動呼籲”。 

What do you want to get out of that phone call you’re about to make or that meeting you’re about to schedule? You need to know what you’re asking for, or at least what you hope to achieve, before you dive in. Otherwise, you’ll end up spending time in conversations and meetings that aren’t ultimately productive.

在接下來要打的這個電話和要安排的這個會議中，你想獲得什麼？在行動之前，你應該明確自己想要什麼，或者至少弄清楚自己希望達成的目標。否則最後你會浪費很多時間在這些低效率的對話和會議中。

 

Take a few minutes after meetings and phone calls to reflect on whether you achieved the outcome you were hoping for. If you didn’t, plan your next steps so you can attain it. You’ll be more prepared when the opportunity to address the issue comes around again.

在開完會議和打完電話後，花幾分鐘時間，好好反思一下自己是否取得了原本希望的結果。如果沒有，計劃接下來的步驟實現它。當解決問題的機會再次出現時，你會準備地更好。

 7. Get enough down time and rest.
7. 放下工作，得到足夠的休息時間。 

Taking a break when it’s crunch time may seem counterproductive, but one study found that lack of sleep is costing the U.S. workforce $411 billion annually. You’re not at your best when you’re sleep-deprived.

在關鍵時刻停下來休息似乎會降低效率，但一項研究發現，睡眠不足使美國勞動力每年損失4110億美元。睡眠不足的時候，你並不會處在最佳狀態。

 

And don’t shy away from taking your vacation time. Skipping vacation is actually bad for your health. Not only that, but taking time to relax can make you more productive. When you’re well rested and refreshed, you’re far more likely to tackle your tasks with focus and enthusiasm.

不要躲避你的休假時間。放棄度假實際上對你的健康不利。相反的，花點時間放鬆可以讓你的工作更有效率。當你休息好了，身心舒暢的時候，更有可能集中注意力和以高漲的熱情來處理工作。

 所以，現在你該知道怎麼管理自己的時間，做一個高效率的人了吧！ （本文首發於滬江商務英語公衆號，掃碼關注，即可獲取更多商務英語資訊。轉載請“滬江商務英語”後臺聯繫！）