30招让你每天比别人多活半小时

30招让你每天比别人多活半小时

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.

我们都太忙了。我们活在一个对人的时间和注意力有着无限需求的时代，无论我们的状态是在线或是挂线。其结果则是我们几乎没有一点时间留给自己，哪怕就在那儿呆着。

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.

如果你有那么一点像我，你会盼望每天能多出那么几分钟来。好消息就是，总有各种各样的方法让时间被节省出来。每天省那么一点时间，你就能在周末感受几小时的富裕时光。下文中我将与你探讨我最喜欢的30种每天省出半小时的方法。

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.

有的时候我们的生活里挤满了太多要做的事情，好像我们也只能透过每天多出来的这半小时看看自己是不是已经完全陷入抓狂状态。而我通常则会选用以下这些节时小贴士在劳碌一日之际让自己保持理智与清醒。

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

也许你能一遍一遍地记起并复述出来的最棒的问题，就是“怎样最高效地处理我现在的时间？” ——布莱恩·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.

类似的工作要乘胜追击。在不同工作间频繁换工具总是不太好办。大多数人要花几分钟的时间适应一个具体的新工作——让自己的大脑习惯新的工具并使之高效运作。因此，把类似的工作集中处理是说得通的，以此来减少难处并减少给工作排序的时间消耗。

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?

抄最有价值的捷径。那些宣称生活中的捷径没有任何价值的人一定是被洗脑了！差不多一切事情都有高效的捷径。在一天的基础上能够找到并使用这样的捷径可以不时地省几分钟。如果你用电脑，学会用键盘快捷操纵你最常用的程序。如果你能永久地委派一项你的常规任务给别人，那就这样做吧。有没有少点流量的工作路线？怎么才能一石二鸟？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.

规定时间内消除一切杂念。杂念无处不在。电邮、电话、同事的询问等等都会导致分心。我发现在规定时间内清除一切分心的可能性是短时内完成事情的最有效方法之一。你不可能永远躲避生活的干扰，但一旦你这样做一会，你的效率会多倍提升。

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.

减少牵扯到你的风险。生产效率通常不是我面临的挑战，减少出现风险的倾向才是。尽管你有着知识和能力达到超高效率的水准，你总会遇见一些特殊情况，在这些时候想要一下子同时高效兼顾每个任务前线往往只会导致进程阻滞。这时需要你稳住，有时甚至要以退为进。

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分钟时间专注的做个计划就能省了转天早上30分钟的临时抱佛脚。同样，早上有目的地早开工30分钟有可能给你的一天注入双倍而多产的时间。

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.

空间布局要有条理。你知道平均人们要费多少时间找他们错放的东西？始终保持你生活和工作的地方有条理无疑可以每天多省出30分钟来。

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.

有效利用等候的时间。 等候的时间未必就要干瞪眼。当你在候诊，邮局排队，或者恭候下一个有时间的议员代表，这点功夫你能干点什么轻而易举的活儿呢？ 你可以把你的邮件梳理一番，把原定推迟的感谢回复提前完成；或者读一读你一直打算看的书；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。“两分钟定律”是我从大卫艾伦的书《把事做好》里学来的简单有效的技巧。若是你估摸着有件事你可以花不到两分钟就搞定，那就现在解决它。放着这种小事不做让它们停留在你的印象里是浪费时间和精力的。

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.

遇事多问。尝试和错误恶性循环的过程是很浪费时间的。一般来讲人们把问问题，靠别人视为无能，但其实这是一种可悲的误解。多问问题会拉近你和身边人的距离，还有可能省下你一大部分时间，这是一箭双雕。

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.

大批买，大批干。买东西和做饭是两样最常见的并无需计划的时间消费。多数人只会在需要时买少量的接替物，或者干脆饿了的时候才想起来吃的。问题是这些意外情况经常在不合适的时间发生。我知道的最有效的消除这个困扰的办法就是大批买大批干。比方说我知道我的车总是需要油的，所以每次在加油站我都会给我的车加满油，不管这消费有多么惊人，我绝不会一次又一次25块地加。同样，我知道每天中午饭时间我都会饿，所以周日时我会多烤五个鸡胸出来，做成鸡肉卷或三明治给工作日准备着。 

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.

拾起电话。现在我们是如此习惯于数码通讯：收发邮件、即时通讯、短信等等。我们有时忽略了其实一两个快捷的电话就可以在小段时间内迅速解决问题。 

Don’t mindlessly browse online ad infinitum.

不要不加顾虑地没限制地浏览线上广告。网页浏览真是一个消耗时间的巨大黑洞。你可能都不会意识到你已经花了几个小时浏览网络却收获甚微。

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.

把例行公事标准化。如果你发现自己常常在一个规律的基础上进行同一系列的工作，那么你就该考虑创建一套高效的标准化的解决方式。是不是某些事早上干起来更容易？有没有其它一些资源只能在某一时段利用？找到一个高效的模式，将其标准化并将工作按其执行，这是你的任务。

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.

用好路上的时间。听录音，打电话，做有前瞻性的时间计划等等。当我奔波在办公的路上，我会利用手机上的笔记管理功能获取成千上万个新主意。

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.

好脑子不如烂笔头。谁也没有完美的记忆力。不适时做记录就直接敲定计划的结果，就是本来用几秒可以记下来的东西，你还要花几分钟去回忆它到底是什么。

统一分叉，不走回头路。 你应该学会把所有差事都统一到一条路线上。而不是开着车来来回回从家到便利店，返家后又去银行，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.

不要再多虑啦。总有那么个时刻你必须停止反复琢磨，果断决定迅速处理。思考着采取行动并不是真的行动，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.

天天锻炼。我知道这可能听着有反你的直觉。你必须花时间锻炼。但研究表明锻炼有促进认识力、创造力、解决问题和劳动的能力的功效。事实上一个NASA的研究显示那些天天锻炼的雇员可以在七小时的工作后仍然高效地全力以赴，而那些不锻炼的人的效率则会有先前一半的衰减。这意味着同样的事情他们要花双倍的时间完成。

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.

用个计时器。我用计时器来限制我每天花在写邮件、回电话、启动各项日程的时间。这能使我在处理每天必须完成的重要工作时不被过度分心。

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。趁着脑子清醒先处理棘手的问题，这样你会很快搞定它们，迅速转战其它事务。

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.

利用团队的力量。我听过一个故事，讲的是一群马在进行牵引重物的比赛。一匹马能拉动3000磅，另一匹可以拉动4000磅。有人建议把两匹马集中到一起看它们能拉动多少。许多人猜测结果应该在7000到10000磅之间但当两匹马真的这样做了，它们不可思议地拉动了20000磅！这就是团队的力量。优质的团队合作能在及其少量的时间内完成大项目。

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.”

学会拒绝。虽然说“是”可以顺利地给我们找台阶下，但勇于说“不”也存有许多价值。生命时长有限，你真的愿意随意放弃属于你的时间么？有些事情如果没有规则强迫你必须挤出时间来做，比如承担新项目、帮朋友个忙或者为另一个委员会服务，对此，说“不”的确是个好主意。

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.

专时专用。戒掉一次性多任务处理的做法会使你更加一心一意地专注于一件工作并善始善终地完成它，而不是同时启动多项工作最后一样也干不完。

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，删掉每一封你再也用不着看的时事订阅刊。如果你在同一类别（比如技术通讯）订阅了多份刊物，请选出对你每日生活最有价值的那个并放弃其余的。你的收件箱应优先为你的交流通讯服务，不然它只是在浪费你的时间。

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.

学会“扩大”时间。对无需优先的工作进行有效的委托可以“扩大”时间。消除浪费时间的活动能够“扩大”时间。视频电话也能。在一些无关紧要的事情上进行创造性的耽搁，你可以通过这个方法扩大你要用来达成目标的时间。

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.

搬到离工作近的地方去。世界上每个大城市里都有人花费一个多小时离家上班。这可本来是一大把能被更加高效利用的时间啊。

Turn off the TV. – Nuff said.

关掉电视。这还用多说吗。

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.

利用高科技实现自动化。从设置邮件过滤器到自动完成硬盘备份，再到自动付账业务。越是更能熟练地操纵自动化的人越能省下更多时间。

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.

把问题简单化。 让你的日程和计划看着简练，同时不要浪费时间去尝试新把戏什么的。总会有绝佳的工作程序能让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.

现在争分夺秒能省出以后很多个小时。上周五的快乐时间我花了一些时间听我一个同事告诉我们她对Windows7启动目录的全然厌恶。“系统的编排都是混乱的。我要的程序都被排在后面，那些我从来不用的反倒被排到手头来了。我费了好长时间清理目录。”她说。“但你可以简单地重装一下啊。”我这样回答。紧接着她带着沮丧的表情看着我说：“我知道，也有人跟我说过这个，可是我没花时间去琢磨。”这就告诉我们，有时候你不得不立刻花几分钟，这样是为了省下以后数小时的折磨。

What did I leave off the list?  Please share your favorite time saving tips with us in the comments area below.

单子上我还落了什么吗？欢迎在下方评论区和我们分享你最受用的省时方法。