This is, of course, not an all-inclusive list, but it’s a good start
to reclaiming some time back. These were some of my biggest time-wasters:
当然我没法给出一个囊括所有可能的列表，但这个列表会是一个好开始，保证
帮你争取不少时间。下面这些都是我本人浪费时间的常见行为：
1. Television – just stop it. Besides the occasional news, a movie
every once in a while, some documentaries, I found it to be a huge time-waster.
电视——直接忽略。我发现，除了偶尔看看新闻、电影和纪录片，电视对我
来说纯粹是浪费。
2. Internet/web – It’s really become the new television, and as su
ch, an equivalent waste of time. Ask yourself this, “Do I really need to see another cat video?”
互联网/网络——这些其实也都是变相“电视”，纯粹浪费时间罢了。何不问
问自己：“我就非得再看一个喵星人视频吗？”
3. Email – This was a more difficult one for me since responding to em
ails made me believe that I was being more productive. Howeve
r, responding to emails all day was actually making me less produc
tive by taking my focus off things that I really needed to get do
ne. I now limit my time and frequency of responding to emails.
邮件——这个还真难下手。毕竟，我一直认为回复邮件可以提高效率。但
事实却是，每天回复邮件反倒转移我的注意力，大大降低了效率。现在我已经限制了自己回复邮件的时间和频率。
Seven Ways to Create More Time In Your Day
每天创造更多时间的七大方法
1. Get Up Earlier
早起
Get up fifteen minutes earlier. If you're like most folk, your m
orning probably feels rushed: you drag yourself out of bed at the la
st possible minute, grab a hasty shower, maybe get some breakfast if
you're lucky, sort out the kids/cat/partner and dash off to work.
提前15分钟起床。你要是像大部分人那样起床，早上可能会觉得有点赶：
在最后一刻挣扎着起来，赶紧冲个澡，来得及的话就吃两口早餐，安顿好小孩/
猫咪/爱人后冲出门上班。
Getting up just a bit earlier can give you some breathing space. Perhaps i
t'll give you time to actually sit down and enjoy your breakfast for once
. Maybe you can use that fifteen minutes a day to read through that book or
stack of journals that you keep meaning to get to.
稍微早点起床就不至于那么匆忙。或许至少可以真正坐下来吃顿早餐。你也可以利用每天早起的15分钟看看书或者整理一下记事本。
2. Create a Plan
制定计划
At the start of your workday, before you even check your emails, make a
plan. Jot down the three most important tasks you want to accomplish tha
t day. Put a big star next to the most important. Now, before you get i
nto the busy work of emails and photocopying and tidying your desk, st
art on that important task and see it through to the end.
在你刚开始工作时，趁着还没查看邮件，赶紧定个计划吧。写下当天必须完成的
三个最重要的任务，最重要的那个打上标记。然后趁着还没开始检查邮件、影
印资料或整理办公桌等工作内容前，赶紧着手那个最重要的任务并保证完成它。
Surprisingly few people take the time to plan their workday, and end
up spinning their wheels on a number of low-priority tasks withou
t really accomplishing anything big.
奇怪的是，很少有人能有计划地工作，一天下来后还是周旋在几个效率甚低的任务上，最后其实什么实事都没做成。
3. Batch Tasks Together
分批处理任务
When you're going through the workday, try to keep similar tasks together. When you s
witch from one thing to another, your brain takes a few minutes to catch up and settle
in:
constantly jumping between answering emails and writing a report and tidying up you
r desk just means you'll lose track of where you'd got to. You might feel like you're
working super-efficiently (because your mind is buzzing all over the place), but you
'll actually be wasting a lot of time.
工作时可以将相似的任务并在一起处理。当你从一个任务换到另一个任务时，大脑会花几分钟进
行调整：同时既要回复邮件、撰写报告，又要整理办公桌，到头来你可能会手足无措。虽然这样
你可能觉得自己效率超级高（因为大脑一刻没停），但其实并没有优化利用时间。
If you need to answer a number of emails, do them all at once. The same goes for
phone calls, filing, photocopying and other similar tasks.
如果要回复的邮件很多，那就一起处理掉。电话、整理文案、影印等同样如此。
4. Block Out Chunks of Time
腾出大段时间
Do you have some big project that you'd love to get round to? Maybe it's writin
g a novel, starting a business, training for a marathon... whatever your particula
r venture or goal, you never get around to making progress.
你是否有个大计划总想花时间去做？比如写小说、创业、或马拉松训练，不管个人想法或目
标是什么，你就是还没时间去落实吧？
The best way to tackle big projects like this is to force them into your schedul
e. Spare time doesn't just appear from nowhere – you need to make a conscious effor
t to create it. Block out a weekend afternoon, for instance: tell family and frien
ds you have another engagement that day. Then storm on ahead with that project. Tr
ust me, you'll feel great for having made a start.
对付这种大计划的办法就是强行做出安排。时间就像海绵里的水，你得用心去挤才行。比如，
你可以腾出一个周末下午的时间，告诉亲友自己另有安排，然后开始拿出行动吧。相信我，一旦
开始你就会感到妙不可言。
5. Don't Multitask
不要一心多用
Although multitasking feels efficient – because it feels busy – it actually l
oses you time. By sticking to doing one thing at a time, you'll be much more foc
used and able to produce your best work: there's nothing efficient about rushing
a job which you then end up having to redo.
虽然同时处理多个任务会使你感到很有效率（因为一直在忙），但其实很耗时间。坚持一次只做一
件事，你会更专注更有效率：与其匆忙“鬼画符”后又返工，还不如先专心做好一件事呢。