How many times every week do you hear co-workers, friends, and family members complain that they wish there were more hours in the day? The thought of knocking off everything on your to-do list and heading out the door before dark every evening is pretty much a myth.
每周你会听到多少次你的同事、朋友和家人向你抱怨,说要是每天再多几个小时就好了?能完成任务清单上所有的任务、天黑之前就结束工作的想法简直就是神话。
Well, not for Cal Newport.
不过,卡尔·纽波特就做到了。
Newport is a Georgetown professor as well as a father, a four-time author, a frequent publisher in his field of study, and a constant blogger. Oh, and he still stops work every day at 5:30 PM and doesn't work most weekends. He sounds like a superhero, right?
纽波特是美国乔治敦大学的教授,同时他也是一位父亲、四本书的作者、在他的研究领域里活跃的出版人,还是持续更新的博客写手。喔,而且他还能每天下午5:30就下班,大部分周末都不用工作。听起来根本是个超级牛人,对吧?
Turns out, almost anyone can be just as productive as he is by learning from his methods. One of Newport's top time-savers is what he calls a "fixed productivity schedule:" He plans his day backward, starting at 5:30 and working his way to the earlier hours. The main idea is that he gives himself a set amount of time to work, strictly schedules his day accordingly, and forces himself to focus.
事实上,几乎任何人都可以向他学习,然后变得像他一样高效率。他的时间管理秘笈之一就是他所说的“固定高效率日程”。他将他一天的时间倒过来安排,从下午5:30开始一直排到早上。重点是,他固定了自己的工作时间,并以此严格安排自己的日程,使自己保持专注。
How can you make a backward schedule work for you? Here's how to plan it out--and make sure you're filling it with the right stuff.
你怎么把这个方法运用到自己的工作中呢?下面就是计划的框架步骤——当然你要先确保自己放入的是正确的任务内容:
1. Skip the To-Do List and Schedule Everything
1.放弃任务清单,直接安排每一项任务
The important tenant of the backward schedule method of productivity is forgoing the to-do list altogether and instead scheduling everything into your day. Why? By actually putting agenda items on your calendar, you're more realistic about how long they'll take and when they'll get done. You'll also know exactly what time you need to start your day in order to fit everything in.
倒序高效计划法最重要的是完全放弃任务清单,直接把每一项任务排到日程里。为什么?这是因为,把工作事项放到日程表里,会让你更加清楚地知道这些任务的所需时间和完成时间。同时你也会知道你什么时候开始工作才能把所有任务处理完。
So, try pulling out your old to-do list, opening your calendar, and actually creating an event for each item. For longer-term tasks, think about how much time you need each day to methodically work your way through it. Then, as new tasks come up, find time for them on your calendar, rather than relegating them to your never-ending to-do list.
所以,丢下你原来的任务清单,打开你的日程表,一个个地创建你的工作事项。对长期任务来说,想想你每天应该花多少时间,最后才能有条不紊地完成。接下来,每次接到新任务,在日程时间表里找空档安排好,而不是把它们扔在你永无止境的任务清单之末。
2. Start With the Big, Then Slot in the Small
2.大的先,小的后
It seems super obvious, but how often do you spend your actual workday answering emails, networking, and generally not paying attention to the deeper parts of your job?
显而易见。但你有多经常把实际工作时间花在回复邮件、刷社交网络,而不是关注你工作中更深层次的内容?
When you're planning out your schedule, start by blocking out big chunks of time for the things that are really important, and then using the remaining breaks for smaller tasks. Personally, I've stopped answering non-work emails (non-urgent press inquiries, emails from old connections, and the like) between nine in the morning and five at night, and it's forced me to focus on the bigger agenda items instead of getting lost in a sea of smaller tasks. Emails can be answered whenever; coming up with a winning content strategy can't be put off for after-work hours.
当你做计划的时候,先把大块时间安排来做真正重要的事情,再把小任务放到零碎时间完成。就我而言,从早上九点半到下午五点钟,我都不去理非工作邮件(不紧急的媒体采访、老相识的信件什么的),这使我专注于更主要的工作而不是在纷杂琐碎的小事情上浪费时间。邮件什么时候都可以回,想出成功的内容策划却不可以推到下班后的时间。
3. Get Rid of Your Morning Gossip Session (and Other Time-Wasters)
3.停止你的早晨日常八卦(以及其他浪费时间的事情)
Newport says he accomplishes this fixed productivity schedule every day by "ruthlessly culling obligations, turning people down, becoming hard to reach, and shedding marginally useful tasks along the way."
纽波特说他之所以能每天都完成自己的固定高效率日程,是因为他“无情地推脱责任、拒绝他人、变得很难联系上、同时削推脱部分有用的差事”。
Sounds aggressive, but if you think about it, there are probably plenty of ways in which you're not using your time as well as you could be. For example, instead of gossiping next to the coffee pot in the morning or near the copier in the late afternoon (losing who knows how much time), save your socializing for more appropriate times of day, like the 30-minute lunch break you've put on your schedule.
听起来有点强硬,但仔细想来,去做某些事可能确实会让你无形中降低了时间利用效率。举个例子,比起每天早上在咖啡壶边或者傍晚在复印处大聊八卦,把社交安排在一天中更恰当的时段或许更好,比如说你安排在日程表上的半小时午餐休息。
Planning your day from finish to start can be incredibly intimidating, but knowing that you're taking out unnecessary action items and being realistic about how much time everything will take makes the process a lot easier--and help you leave the office exactly when you want to.
从尾到头安排自己的一天可能还蛮吓人的,但心里明白你正在移除不必要的事项、对所有工作要花多长时间更有了实际概念,将会让你工作进展得更加顺利——并帮助你在你梦想的时刻准点下班。