有启发的两章：设定目标和制定计划

在旧书店门口捡到一本旧书Eat that Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time，读了几段后，视线就离不开了。
第一章Set the Table讲述了设定目标对于人生成功的重要性。在讲述之前，作者引用拿破仑-希尔的一句话：There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants and a burning desire to achieve it.
作者接着说：Before you can determine your "frog" and get on with eating it, you have to decide exactly what you want to accomplish in each area of your life. Clarity is the most important concept in personal productivity. The number one reason why some people get more work done faster is because they are absolutely clear about their goals and objectives and they don't deviate from them.
在本书中，作者把得到自己想要的东西、实现自己的理想、把事情做出来比喻成“吃青蛙”（eat a frog）。作者认为，首先要知道自己需要什么，越清楚越好。为什么有些人能在很短的时间内得到更大的产出？这是因为他们始终知道他们要什么，然后围绕着这个目标核心去做事情，从不偏离目标。在实际做事情中，有一种熊熊燃烧的企图心（burning desire）实现理想。
这些话非常有道理！这使我想起做研究生也是如此，有理想和没有理想有区别，理想远大和理想小也有区别。如果只是为了混两篇文章毕业和为了毕业后当教授的区别很大。有的人老板叫他干什么他就干什么，不用思考为什么做（for what?），知道的只是去执行命令（do it!）。做坏了也不知道为什么做坏了，拿劳动力去交换工资呗。而有的人能够积极主动（take initiative），老板没有叫他做的事情，他也能赶在前面，提前做好。比如老板没有叫他整理实验数据，他就把文章整理出来了，老板没有叫他做新的实验，他自己能提出新的点子，开辟新的方向。而有时候老板叫他“撤退”时，有理想的人知道自己只要再沿着这个方向前进，就一定能得到好的结果，于是十几道金牌下来也不“撤退”。这就是区别！
作者在第一章总结到：Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. The bigger your goals and the clearer they are, the more excited you become about achieving them. The more you think about your goals, the greater becomes your inner drive and desire to accomplish them.
反之，A major reason for procrastnation and lack of motivation is vagueness, confusion, and fuzzy-mindedness about what you are supposed to do and in what order and for what reason. You must avoid this common condition with all your strength by striving for ever greater clarity in everything you do.
那么，有了理想以后怎么具体操作呢？在第二章Plan Every Day in Advance中，作者讲述制定每日计划的重要性：It takes only about ten or twelve minutes for you to plan out your day, but this small investment of time will save you at least two hours (100-120 minutes) in wasted time and diffused effort throughout the dat.
那么，怎么制定计划呢？作者说：Always work from a list. When something new comes up, add it to the list before you do it. You can increase your productivity and output by 25 percent or more from the first day that you begin working consistently from a list.
事实上，在每日的运作中，我也潜意识地定了计划。我会估测做某件事情或者某个操作单元（比如审稿、修改某文章一遍、做某实验）需要多少时间，然后在脑子里想：上午我做事情A，下午我做事情B，晚上我做事情C。这样安排好以后，基本上尚且能够赶得上计划。当然，要是临时想到什么事情，马上从口袋里拿出一张纸，记录下来。
这么做的好处是什么呢？作者说：As you work through the day, tick off the items on your list as you complete them. This activity gives you a visual picture of accomplishment. It generates a feeling of success and forward motion. Seeing yourself working progressively through your list motivates and energizes you. It raises your self-esteem and self-respect. Steady, visible progress propels you forward and helps you to overcome procrastination.
我感到，这种“勾销”以后有成就感的心理不但出现在完成每日计划以后，而且也出现在完成某项任务，比如完成科研项目（project）和整理出文章、投稿以后。我的电脑里面有两个文件夹，一个是“待投稿”，一个是“已经完成的文章”，里面各有一些子文件夹。每当我把一个文件夹从“待投稿”转移到“已投稿”，我的心里都会有把事情办完的愉悦感觉。
作者说，注意事项是要做到分清轻重缓急：Lay out each of your major goals, projects, or tasks by priority, what is most important, and by sequence, what has to be done first, what comes second, and so forth. Start with the end in mind and work backward.