新概念雙語：效率第一：如何用最短時間完成最多工作

We are designed by evolution to be busy. That’s OK for the caveman, who needs to feed himself; not OK for you in the 21st-century when you have to deal with an ever-growing range of tempting distractions. Which is why it is so baffling that Paris has been identified as the city with the shortest working week, when France is renowned for having higher productivity than the UK.

進(jìn)化論決定我們勢必非常忙碌。對于洞穴人來說這也許沒什么，畢竟他們需要維持生計;但對于生活在21世紀(jì)、需要面對日益增長的外界誘惑的你而言，則沒有那么容易。這就是為什么法國在擁有最短工作時間的同時，又因擁有高于英國的生產(chǎn)力而著稱，此點著實令人困惑。

As a coach who specialises in enabling people to get more done more quickly, I notice that those who get the most worthwhile work done in the smallest amount of time follow a set of rules. Oddly, we are never taught these rules, and most of us just stick to the same old unconscious (bad) habits. Here are eight rules to help you get the most done in the shortest time:

作為一位專門研究如何使人們更快地完成更多事情的老師，我注意到那些用最少時間完成最多有價值工作的人，都遵循著一套規(guī)則。然而奇怪的是，從沒有人教過我們這些規(guī)則，我們大部分人還是沿襲老舊的下意識的(壞)習(xí)慣。以下八條規(guī)則能夠幫助你用最短的時間完成最多的工作：

1. Disappear

1.消失

Lock yourself in a room away from distractions and focus fully on one task at a time. Sounds dead simple, but try it. If you multitask a lot, you will find this especially painful. And research shows, interestingly, that those who multitask the most are in fact the worst at multitasking.

將自己反鎖在遠(yuǎn)離干擾的屋子里，某一時刻全身心專注于一項工作。雖然這聽起來非常簡單，但你不妨嘗試一下。如果同時進(jìn)行多項工作，你會覺得非常痛苦。有意思的是，研究也表明，同時進(jìn)行最多項工作的人實際上最不懂得多任務(wù)處理。

2. Don’t fight distraction

2.不要對抗干擾

Those who get more done quickly don’t fight distractions – we can’t. Rather, they work in short bursts, with high levels of focused attention, so that they benefit from the satisfaction of making headway on one important project at a time. They know they have been successful when they can answer a simple question: “What did I get finished today that was important to me and the organisation I work for?”

那些最快完成工作的人從不試圖對抗干擾-因為我們根本做不到。相反，他們會最高程度集中注意力，以最短時間完成工作，并且某一時間段內(nèi)在一個重要任務(wù)上取得進(jìn)展還能給他們以巨大的成就感。“今天我完成了哪些對我或者我所效力的機(jī)構(gòu)很重要的事情?”當(dāng)他們能夠輕松回答這樣一個簡單的問題時，他們就知道自己成功了。

3. Simplify

3.簡化

As Laozi said: “To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.” So what can you stop doing? Habits drive us to continue doing tasks that don’t need doing. Try not to take on more tasks without first asking: “Why is this really important?” Often we say yes before even making a conscious choice. What can you simplify? Reduce emails and reports to the bare minimum. Enforcing brevity saves time for everyone.

老子曰：“為學(xué)日益，為道日損。”那么你能夠不做哪些事情?習(xí)慣驅(qū)使我們繼續(xù)做些根本沒必要的事情。在承擔(dān)更多工作前，首先問問自己：“這件事為什么如此重要?”我們常常沒有經(jīng)過深思熟慮就輕易攔下這些工作。你能夠簡化什么?將郵件和報告減到最少。刪繁就簡為所有人節(jié)約了時間。

4. Find your rhythm

4.找到自己的節(jié)奏

Do thinking work in the morning. It’s tempting to clear out emails so you feel on top of things, but you will not look back when you are in your 70s and say: “God, I was proud of keeping my inbox to zero.” Instead spend the first 60 minutes of your day on the one or two really important tasks you need to get done. It even helps to write them down the night before – this sets clear intentions, which the brain likes as it can focus on what is in its control.

清晨進(jìn)行思考工作。清理郵箱以完全掌握所有事情可能對你來說非常有誘惑力，但當(dāng)你七十多歲回首往事時，絕不會說：“天哪，我為處理完了所有郵件而感到驕傲。”相反，你應(yīng)該把一開始的一小時用來處理一天當(dāng)中最為重要的一到兩件事。甚至，在頭天晚上把要做的事情寫下來也會有幫助-這能清晰羅列目標(biāo)，我們的大腦喜歡這樣因為它能夠幫助大腦掌握重點。

5. Strengthen

5.專注強(qiáng)項

How much of your day is spent doing things you are not good at? You will get through much more work more quickly if you actively arrange your role so you can focus on what you are good at and, even better, practise getting even better at what you are good it. Does Usain Bolt run half-marathons?

一天當(dāng)中你有多少時間浪費在你不擅長的事情上?如果你積極安排自己的角色，能夠讓自己專注于擅長的事情，你會更快地完成更多的事情，甚至可以將自己擅長的事情精益求精。你見過尤塞恩·博爾特(牙買加短跑運動員)跑半程馬拉松嗎?

6. Watch the robots

6.小心變成機(jī)器人

Be careful about trying to get too efficient. Robots are efficient, and they are taking jobs and transforming industries. It is better to focus on being effective, for example working on the most important task – which requires you to think and be creative.

注意不要過度高效。機(jī)器人很高效，它們承擔(dān)了一些工作并且變革了傳統(tǒng)工業(yè)。盡量專注于高效本身，比如解決最困難的任務(wù)-這需要你思考和創(chuàng)新。

7. Be honest

7.坦誠

It’s often our own deeply entrenched habits that stop us from getting more done more quickly. If you find yourself regularly sitting in long, poorly run meetings, or if you constantly switch from one task to another, then you are likely to struggle in the 21st-century workplace, which is currently going through huge change.

很多時候，我們根深蒂固的習(xí)慣阻止我們更高效完成工作。如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)自己經(jīng)常參與冗長乏味的會議，或者你經(jīng)常從一個任務(wù)轉(zhuǎn)換到另一項任務(wù)，那么你很可能掙扎在21世紀(jì)的工作場所，而它現(xiàn)在正經(jīng)歷著巨大的變化。

8. Avoid articles like this

8.扔掉雞湯文

It’s easy to turn to self-help books when you consider the basic paradox: you won’t ever do all the things you need or want to do in your allotted time. But if you stop reading this and get to work, that might be a good start.

當(dāng)你思考基本矛盾：“你永遠(yuǎn)不可能在有限的時間里完成所有需要完成或者想要做的事情”時，你很容易求助于自助書籍(心靈雞湯)。然而，如果你拋開這些文章立刻投身于工作，也許是個不錯的開端哦。