早早开始

Start early. Going into work early was one of my favorite tricks — it was quiet, before the phones and chatter and meetings started, and I could get a lot of work done in peace. By the time everyone else was getting started, I’d gotten two or three big tasks checked off.

1. 早早开始

早点开始工作是我比较喜欢的方法——那时很安静，扰人的电话，烦心的唠叨以及会议都还没有开始，这时候我就可以在安静中完成很多工作。当其他人开始工作的时候，我已经完成了两三件任务了。

限制时间

Limit your hours. It’s ironic, because so many people work long hours and think they’re getting more done and being more productive. But they’re throwing brute hours at the problem. Instead, cut back on your hours and set a limit — say 6 or 7 hours a day — and get your most essential work done within that limit. If you know you’re only working 6 hours today, you’ll be sure to get the important tasks done first and waste less time. Limits force you to be effective.

2. 限制时间

这是很讽刺的，因为太多的人工作很长时间，他们以为这样就可以完成更多的工作，可以更有效率。但是他们在像牲口一样的思考问题。相反的，减少你的工作时间，设定一个界限——比如6或7个小时——把最需要的事情在这段时间内做完。如果你觉得今天只有六个小时的工作时间，你就肯定会把重要的任务先做完，而尽量少浪费时间。限制可以逼迫你更加的高效。

缩短计划单

Make a short list. Make a long list of all the tasks you need to do … then make a short list of 1-3 things you really want to get done. Choose so that, if you got only these tasks done, you’d be proud of what you did today. Start with the most important task, before checking email or reading online.

3. 缩短计划单

做一个你需要做的所有事情的整体清单……之后再做一个只有1-3件你真正想完成的短清单。如果用短的计划单，当你完成那几项任务时，你会为你今天所做的感到骄傲。从最重要的任务开始工作，之后再查邮件或上网浏览。

打包分心的事物

Batch distractions. What are your common distractions? Perhaps things like email, reading blogs, Twitter or another social network? Set a time for these, preferably later in the day: say, from 3-4 p.m. Don’t do the distractions before then. By grouping them all into one time period, you allow yourself to do other work first, but still get in your distraction time. Another approach might be to do them for 10 minutes at the end of each hour — but stick to that 10-minute limit!

4. 打包分心的事物

什么是让你平常分心的事情？是邮件、看博客、twitter或者其他的社交网络？为这些设定一个时间，比如就下午3点到四点。在这之前，不要做这些分心的事情。通过将它们打包到一个时间段，你可以让你自己先做其他的工作之后再做那些分心的事情。另一个方法是在每工作一个小时后，用10分钟的时间来处理那些事务——但一定要坚守时间。

写短的邮件

Write shorter emails. If email takes up a lot of your day, the simple change of limiting yourself to 3-4 sentences per email will make a big difference. First, it’ll drastically shorten the time it takes to write or respond to emails. And second, it’ll shorten responses to your emails, which means you’ll spend less time reading email.

5. 写短的邮件

如果收发邮件占用了你每天很多的时间，一个简单的改变——将你的每个邮件控制在3-4句话之内——将带给你巨大的改变。首先，它将极大的缩短收发邮件的时间。其次，它将缩短这些邮件的回复，这就意味着你讲花更少的时间阅读邮件。

控制会议时间

Limit meetings. The fewer the better. Some top Google executives just do 5-minute meetings — anyone who attends these meetings had better be prepared, and concise. If you can get out of meetings and just get the notes, or find an alternative way to communicate, it could save you hours per week.

6. 控制会议时间

越短越好。一些顶级的Google执行官只开5分钟的回忆——每一个与会者都要做好准备，并保持简洁明了。如果你可以不开会而只是读会议纪要，或者选择其他的方式交流，这可以每周帮你节省几个小时。

自动化

Automate. The fewer repetitive and routine tasks you have to do, the more time you’ll free up for creating and important work. So automate wherever possible: have people fill things out electronically, or get info from your website instead of emailing or calling you, or use a service that automatically processes payments or ships your product, and so on.

7. 自动化

你做的重复的，惯例性的工作越少，你就有越多的时间做创造性的，重要的工作。所以在尽量使用自动化的工具：让人们通过电子表格填表，或者通过你的网站获得信息而不是通过邮件或者电话，或者运用一个自动支付方式购买你的产品等等。

淘汰纸质文件

Eliminate paperwork. I used to deal with a lot of paperwork, and even then I knew it was a waste of my time. If businesses and organizations could have paperwork filled out electronically, it would save a lot of paper, copying, filing, and duplicate effort. Whenever possible, eliminate paperwork in favor of digital. This might be more of a long-term move.

8. 淘汰纸质文件

我以前需要处理很多纸质文件，即使我知道那是浪费时间。如果商业和组织可以通过电子程序完成纸质工作，那将节省很多纸张，打印，填写和誊写工作。只要可能，尽量淘汰纸质文件改用数字的。这个也许是一个长期的过程。

清理你的办公桌

Clear your desk. This can be done in a few minutes. Clear everything off the top of your desk. Only put back a few essential items. Everything else should be: filed, given to the appropriate person, given a permanent spot in a drawer, or trashed/recycled. Make quick decisions and then get back to work.

9. 清理你的办公桌

这在几分钟之内就可以完成。把你桌子上的东西都清理掉。只把几个必须的物品放在上面。其他的都应该：整理好，或交给该交的人，或者放在一个固定的抽屉里，或者扔掉或回收。快点决定并尽快回到动作中。

离开

Get away. If you can get out of your office, you can find a peaceful spot where you can focus on important work. Find a spot where you can work, turn off the Internet and do your work, and then turn the Internet back on so you can email or upload it to the appropriate spot. Working from home is a good option here. The more you can do this (it might be once a week, or an hour a day, or half of every workday), the better.

10. 离开

如果你可以离开你的办公室，你可以找一个安静的地方专注于重要的工作。找一个你能工作的地方，切断网络，专心工作，完成后再接通网络，这样你就可以发出邮件或者将你完成的工作上载到指定的地方。在家工作也是个很好的选择。你这样做越多（也许这一周一次，或者一天一小时，或者每半个工作日），你就会受益越多。

做短暂的休息

Take breathing breaks. Every 15-20 minutes, get up from your desk, and take a breathing break. It could be simply walking around the office, saying hi to someone, or even better, getting outside to get some fresh air. Walk around, get your blood circulating, perhaps massage your neck and shoulders if you feel tension. Do some pushups if you want to get fitter. When you get back to work, remind yourself what you want to be working on, and clear away all distractions.

11. 做短暂的休息

每工作15到20分钟，站起来休息一下。可能就是简单的在办公室走一圈，或者跟同事问声好，或者更好的去户外呼吸一下新鲜空气。走一走，促进你的血液循环，再或者当你感觉酸痛时，按摩一下你的颈部和肩膀。如果你想更健壮一点，那就做几个俯卧撑。当你回去工作时，提醒自己要做什么工作，并且排除一切杂念。

练习集中精神

Practice a focus ritual. Every hour or two, do a refocus ritual. This only takes a minute or two. You might start it by closing down your browser and maybe other open applications, and maybe even take a walk for a couple of minutes to clear your head and get your blood circulating. Then return to your list of Most Important Tasks and figure out what you need to accomplish next. Before you check email again or go back online, work on that important task for as long as you can. Repeat this refocus ritual throughout the day, to bring yourself back. It’s also nice to take some nice deep breaths to focus yourself back on the present. More focus rituals.

12. 练习集中精神

每一到两个小时，要重新集中精神。这只需花一到两分钟。你可以通过关掉浏览器或者其他应用程序，或者走几分钟来清醒你的大脑并促进血液循环。之后再看看你的“最重要任务”列表，找出下一步要完成的事情。然后在你重要的任务上工作尽量长的时间直到你再次去查收邮件或者上网。每天不断重复这个注意力训练来保持清醒。同样，你可以通过做几次横呼吸来重新集中注意。

安排大块的创意时间

Schedule big blocks of creative time. Not everyone can do this, but when possible, put a big block of 3-4 hours in your schedule for creating or doing other important work. Make this time inviolate, and don’t allow meetings or other things to be scheduled during this time. Be ruthless about clearing distractions and doing the work you love during these blocks, taking breathing breaks as necessary. Rejoice in your creativity.

13. 安排大块的创意时间

并不是每个人都做这个。但是如果有必要，安排3-4小时的整块时间给创意或者做其他重要的事情。保证这段时间没有人打扰，且不要在这段时间安排会议或者其他事情。坚决的排除杂念，并且在这段时间做你喜欢的事情，如果必要可以短暂的休息。在创造过程保持愉悦。