简化生活只需10件事 -\

简化生活只需10件事

来自：http://zenhabits.net/about/有时候，简单的生活似乎是遥不可及的。有太多的杂物塞满了自己的生活，有太多的事情需要去完成，它们就像山一样压在自己的肩上。

达到简化生活，不需要也不可能一下子就改善。只有循序渐进，每次做一件事，才能达到目标。事实上，你只要抛弃一些鸡毛蒜皮的小事，做一些重要的事情，就能开始过简单轻松的生活。

你只要做十件最重要的事情，这些事情并不困难。只要你今天开始完成其中一件，明天再完成一件。很快，你就会简化生活了。

• 列一份小清单

拿一张小纸片，把它折成一个3×5的小方形，或者用一张索引卡。在纸片上写下现在你一生中最重要的四或五件事情。什么对你最重要？你觉得什么最有价值？你的一生中最想做哪几件事？优先去完成这些事情，因为你正在为你的生活创造空间，这样你就有更多的时间做这些重要的事。

• 放弃一个任务

想想你的一生中有多少事情要做，然后找出一个你不想做的。这件事耗费了你很多时间但收获甚少。也许你在一个团队，也许在接受什么训练，也许在一个对外委员会，或者其他无论什么。这件事你每天，每星期，每月都在不停地做，但是你真的不想做了。那现在就把这个负担给丢掉，给这个任务的负责人打个电话，或者发一封Email，告诉他你没时间做这个了。我建议你放弃那些在任务清单中无足轻重，不必亲为的任务，给自己减轻一些负担。但是今天，你只要舍弃一个就好了。

• 清空一个抽屉

清空一个抽屉，或一个书架、一个柜子顶端、一个房间角落。不是整个房间或者甚至整个壁橱。只要一个小小的空间。你可以把这个空间作为你简化你的生活的据点，并且向外扩张。如何清理：

1. 把抽屉或者书架里所有东西都清理出来，把它们堆起来；
2. 从这一堆东西中，挑出最重要的或者还有用的；
3. 把剩下的东西扔了，或送给别人；
4. 把你爱的和有用的东西干净并有秩序地放回原处。

• 设一个限度

基本上，你要给经常做的事情设一个限度：收发Email、阅读RSS文章、任务清单、生活的杂事等等。然后让自己坚守这些限制。今天，你只需要设定一下这个限度，明天，开始习惯坚守他们。

• 简化你的清单

看看你的待做事项清单。如果超过了10个条目，你就能小小地简化它一下。至少找出一些可以放弃、委任他人完成的、或者可以忽略的条目。每星期简化一次清单，这可是一个很好的习惯。拓展阅读：《同强动力的任务改善你的工作效率》。

• 让你的自由时间更多

简化生活的一个方法就是让你的时间更自由，这样你就有更多的时间做自己想做的事。不幸的是，你可能或甚至找不到时间来想想如何简化你的生活。如果这样，那你该腾出30分钟来想想这个问题了。你怎么样才能每天腾出30分钟呢？很简单：早起一点、少看会儿电视、在你的办公桌上便餐、午饭后散步、断开互联网、每天只查一次EMAIL、关掉电话、每天比前一天少做一件事。

• 清空你的桌面

一个干净整洁的桌子会给你带来惊人的愉悦感。这是一件非常简单的事情，但是它带给你的好处无法估量。这里是一些清理桌面的基本步骤：

1. 把桌子上所有的东西都堆积出来，放在别处；
2. 从头到尾过滤一遍这些东西，每次一件。就像GTD中的收集和处理一样；
3. 对于每件事，你可以立刻完成（少于两分钟）、放入任务清单、委派他人、删除或存档；
4. 确定你的桌面只有最后的东西，如电脑、笔盒、手机等等。其他的杂物都应该被清理了；
5. 从此以后，经常清理，确保自己的桌面整洁。

• 清空你的Email收件箱

这和清空你的桌面有着同样的效果。你的Email邮箱中是不是堆满了已读和未读的邮件？那定是你不断地拖延自己处理邮件的决定。如果你的收件箱里的邮件少于50封，今天你就可以花上几个小时把他们全部都处理了。如果已超过了100封，你就把它们放到一个临时文件夹里，每次处理一部分（比如每天20封）。以下是如何过滤你的收件箱并清空，包括已经存在在你的收件箱里的信件和即将到来的：

1. 从头到尾过滤一次，每次一封，迅速决定如何处理；
2. 你可以选择删除、归档、回复（然后归档或者删除）、转发（然后归档或者删除）、标记上星星（然后归纳）、纳入任务清单；
3. 将所有的邮件都处理完成，直到收件箱（Inbox）为空；
4. 每天检查邮箱时，重复前面的步骤。

• 走慢点

我们一整天都在奔走，从一个任务到另一个，从一个职位到另一个，直到暮色四合，我们才能躺下。那现在就来改变它，停止忙碌，开始做慢些。慢慢地吃饭、慢慢地驾驶、慢慢地行走、慢慢地淋浴。要有计划，活在当下。这不是你需要计划到明天去做的事情，你应该现在就开始练习。

• 独立的任务

与多任务不同的是，每次只做一件事情。当你做这件事情的时候你要避免所有的干扰，摆脱其他不相干的习惯（比如查看Email，或者其它习以为常的事情）。坚持那一个任务，直到你完成它。这样就不会给你很大压力，也不会影响到你的精力。Simple Living Simplified: 10 Things You Can Do Today to Simplify Your Life

Every Wednesday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits.

Simplifying can sometimes be overwhelming. The amount of stuff youhave in your life and the amount of things you have to do can be toobig a mountain to tackle.

But you don’t have to simplify it all at once. Do one thing at atime, and take small steps. You’ll get there, and have fun doing it.

In fact, you can do little but important things today to start living the simple life.
I was criticized a few weeks ago when I published the Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life,because many people felt the list was too long. I heard this point, andthis post is my response: just the 10 most important things.

And these are not 10 difficult things, but 10 simple things that youcan do today. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month. Today.Choose one and do it today. Tomorrow, choose another.

If you do these 10 things, you’ll have made great strides with little effort.

1. Make a short list. Take out a sheet of paper andfold it into a small square, perhaps 3×5 inches. Or take out an indexcard. Now make a short list of the 4-5 most important things in yourlife. What’s most important to you? What do you value most? What 4-5things do you most want to do in your life? Simplifying starts withthese priorities, as you are trying to make room in your life so youhave more time for these things.

2. Drop 1 commitment. Think about all the things inyour life that you’re committed to doing, and try to find one that youdread doing. Something that takes up time but doesn’t give you muchvalue. Perhaps you’re on a team, or coaching something, or on a boardor committee, or whatever. Something that you do each day or week ormonth that you don’t really want to do. Now take action today to dropthat commitment. Call someone, send an email, telling the appropriateperson or people that you just don’t have the time. You will feelrelief. I’d recommend dropping all commitments that don’t contribute toyour short list (from Item #1), but for today, just drop 1 commitment.

3. Purge a drawer. Or a shelf, or a countertop, ora corner of a room. Not an entire room or even an entire closet. Justone small area. You can use that small area as your base of simplicity,and then expand from there. Here’s how to purge: 1) empty everythingfrom the drawer or shelf or corner into a pile. 2) From this pile, pickout only the most important things, the stuff you use and love. 3) Getrid of the rest. Right now. Trash it, or put it in your car to giveaway or donate. 4) Put the stuff you love and use back, in a neat andorderly manner.

4. Set limits. Read Haiku Productivityfor more. Basically, you set limits for things you do regularly: email,RSS posts, tasks, feeds, items in your life, etc. And try to stick withthe limits. Today, all you have to do is set limits for a few things inyour life. Tomorrow, try to stick with them.

5. Simplify your to-do list. Take a look at yourto-do list. If it’s more than 10 items long, you can probably simplifyit a bit. Try to find at least a few items that can be eliminated,delegated, automated, outsourced, or ignored. Shorten the list. This isa good habit to do once a week.

6. Free up time. Simplifying your life in generalis a way to free up time to do the stuff you want to do. Unfortunately,it can be hard to find time to even think about how to simplify yourlife. If that’s the case, free up at least 30 minutes a day forthinking about simplifying. Or alternatively, free up a weekend andthink about it then. How can you free up 30 minutes a day? Just a fewideas: wake earlier, watch less TV, eat lunch at your desk, take a walkfor lunch, disconnect from the Internet, do email only once today, shutoff your phones, do 1 less thing each day.

7. Clear your desk. I can personally attest to theamazing feeling that a clean desk can give you. It’s such a simplething to do, and yet it does so much for you. If your desk is coveredwith papers and notes and gadgets and office supplies, you might not beable to get this done today. But here are the basic steps: 1) Cleareverything off your desk and put it in a pile (either in your inbox oron the floor). 2) Process the pile from top to bottom, one item at atime. Do not defer decisions on any item — deal with them immediatelyand quickly. 3) For each item, either file it immediately, route it tosomeone else, trash it, or note it on your to-do list (and put it in an“action” folder). If it’s a gadget or office supply, find a place forit in your desk drawers (or get rid of it). 4) Repeat until your pileis empty and your desk is clear. Be sure to get rid of any knickknacks. Your desk should have your computer, your inbox, perhaps anotepad, and maybe a family photo (but not many). Ahh, a clear desk! 5)From now on, put everything in your inbox, and at least once a day,process it in the same way as above.

8. Clear out your email inbox. This has the samepsychological effect as a clear desk. Is your email inbox always fullof read and unread messages? That’s because you’re delaying decisionson your emails. If you have 50, let’s say, or fewer emails in yourinbox, you can process them all today. If you have hundreds, you shouldput them in a temporary folder and get to them one chunk at a time (do20 per day or something). Here’s how you process your inbox to empty —including emails already in your inbox, and all future incoming emails:1) process them top to bottom, one at a time, deciding and disposing ofeach one immediately. 2) Your choices are to delete, archive, respondimmediately (and archive or delete), forward (and archive or delete),or mark it with a star (or something like that) and note it on yourto-do list to respond to later (and archive). 3) Process each emaillike that until the inbox is empty. 4) Each time you check your email,process to empty. Ahh, an empty inbox!

9. Move slower. We rush through the day, from onetask to another, from one appointment to another, until we collapse onthe couch, exhausted, at the end of the day. Instead, simplify yourlife by doing less (see Items 1, 4 and 5) and doing them more slowly. Eat slower, drive slower,walk slower, shower slower, work slower. Be more deliberate. Bepresent. This isn’t something you’re going to master today, but you canstart practicing today.

10. Single-task. Instead of multi-tasking, do onething at a time. Remove all distractions, resist any urge to checkemail or do some other habitual task like that while you’re doing thetask at hand. Stick to that one task, until you’re done. It’ll make ahuge difference in both your stress level and your productivity.