As a writer, I’ll bet you’ve got more than one ‘brilliant idea’ project rolling around in your head.
作为一个作者，我建议你的脑子里不要有超过一个“天才的计划”在打转。
If you’re anything like me, you’ve come up with at least a handful of great book ideas in the past 6 months, and have a few other creative ideas flourishing as well.
如果你和我没有任何共同之处，那么在过去6个月的时间内你将只能遇到一点点书里绝佳的想法和进展很少的有创意的点子。

An e-course perhaps?
也许是一个电子课程？
An audio series?
一个音频系列？
A membership section to your blog or site?
个人博客或网站中的一个会员栏目？
Quite likely, all of the above!
没错，所有都是！
It’s one thing to come up with an endless stream of great ideas, but it’s quite another to fine-tune them into a realistic action plan and then to actually execute that plan.
无穷无尽地设想好点子是一回事，但是细致地把它们调整为可行的行动计划并实际地执行则是另一回事。
Which means that finding a way of to cut down the time it takes to execute your action plan would be brilliant, wouldn’t you say?
找到方法将时间用切分于执行行动计划将是明智的，这意味着什么，你说呢？
There is a way for you to write your new e-book project in just 25 minutes a day.
现在有一个方法能让你每天只花25分钟就能写出一本新的电子书。
The Pomodoro Technique
番茄工作法
The technique was developed in the 1990s by an Italian efficiency enthusiast.
这个方法是在20世纪90年代由一个意大利高效狂人发明的。
All you need is a task and a timer. You can use a kitchen timer (place it where you can see it as you work). Or you can use free online timers such as focusboosterapp or ticktocktimer.
你需要的只是一个任务和一个计时器。可以用厨房计时器（把它放在你工作时能看到的地方）。或者你可以用免费的在线计时器比如focusboosterapp或者 ticktocktimer。
Set the timer for 25 minutes – and write.
设置时间为25分钟并写下来。
Churn through your task, ignore distractions. Don’t edit, or check your Facebook account, or make tea, or stare at the ceiling. Just write.
专心做你的你工作，忽略干扰。不要编辑或者检查你的Facebook，泡茶或者盯着天花板。只要写。
At the end of 25 minutes, stop. Even if you want to keep going on. Just stop.
25分钟结束之时，停止。即使你想继续。停下。
How It Works
它如何运作
Seeing time ticking down gives the brain a sense of urgency. Our brains like boundaries because boundaries create sharper focus.
看着时间一分一分地流逝为大脑带来了一种急迫感。大脑像是边界，因为边界产生了更为清晰的聚焦。
Think about it. If I were to ask you to name your favorite book or author, you’d be blank for a few moments. Then you’d come up with one. As time went by, you’d come up with more and more names. Why does this happen?
想想看。如果我让你说出最喜欢的书或者作者，你会在一瞬间陷入空白。然后你会想出一个。当时间流逝，你会想出越来越多的名字。为什么？
Because there are no boundaries. You can choose any book or author you want, but your brain is groping for an answer.
因为这里没有边界。你可以选择任何你想要的书或者作者，但是你的大脑是在搜索一个答案。
First, your brain tries to formulate boundaries. Only then can you focus on a specific book or author.
首先，大脑尝试去建构边界。只有这样你才能聚焦到特定的一本书或一个作者。
But what if I asked you who your favorite mystery author is? Your answer would come much quicker, because a boundary has already been defined.
但是，如果我问你谁是你最喜欢的神秘作家呢？你的答案会给出得快一点，因为边界已经被限定了。
The Pomodoro technique creates a boundary of time, sharpened by the visual of time ticking down. On focusboosterapp, the color of the timer changes from green to orange and then darkens to red, and there’s a ringing sound at the end of the session. On ticktocktimer, a very satisfying gong sound signals the close of 25 minutes.
番茄工作法创造了一个时间的边界，并因视觉见证时间的一点点流逝而被突出。在focusboosterapp中，计时器的颜色由绿色变为橙色然后渐渐变暗成为红色，在一个阶段结束的时候一阵铃声响起。在ticktocktimer里面，一段非常悦耳的信号钟声标志着25分钟的结束。
And that is the secret.
这就是秘密。
How I Drafted My Book in 3 Weeks
如何在三个星期内写完一本书
I’ve written a book on sleep. Insomnia and other sleep disorders, to be specific.
我曾经在睡觉的时间写完一本书。失眠和睡眠不规律，是其原因。
It has 6 chapters, an introduction, a summary, a couple of handy worksheets, and many ‘real-life’ stories of insomnia woven in – everything from the hilarious no-sleep story to stuff that will make you cry.
有6个章节，一个引言，一个总结，两份便捷的工作记录，以及一些编织在失眠中的“真实生活”的故事——每一个有趣的无法入睡的故事都会让你潸然泪下。
Sure sounds like a big project, doesn’t it? And I’ve written all that by working just 25 minutes a day, using the Pomodoro technique.
听着确确实实像是一个巨大的计划，对吗？然而我每天只用了25分钟就全部写完了，就是用了番茄工作法。
I learned about the technique from a fellow blogger, and decided to give it a go.
我从一个博友那儿学到这个方法，就决定试一试。
Can’t hurt, I thought. And certainly anything that has a finite end to it is more appealing than the never-ending feeling of urgency and being overwhelmed that we writers are so good at.
不会有害处，我想。当然，任何有一定结果的事都比作者熟知的永不停止的紧迫和慢慢淹没其中的感觉更有吸引力。
My sleep book had been gathering metaphorical dust for about 5 weeks until I started using the Pomodoro technique.
从开始使用番茄工作法以来，我的睡眠记录已经积了将近5个星期的隐喻之灰了。
In just 3 weeks of using the technique, I’ve finished drafting my introduction, key chapters, and summary, and have done roughly 80% of the necessary research and fact gathering. All in 25-minute blocks.
仅仅使用了3个星期，我就完成了引言、主要章节和总结，并且粗糙地完成了80%的必要的研究和事实收集。所有的事情都在25分钟内做完。
What surprised me was how often I got into the flow of writing – no toggling, no editing, no lack of clarity. Writing seemed delightfully easy!
真正让我震惊的是我现在常常能进入到流畅写作的状态——没有暂停、没有增删、也不缺乏清晰。写作似乎是令人愉悦的简单。
Make It Work for You
让它为你工作
The key to using this technique effectively is using an actual timer. I like ticktocktimer because it lets you choose the length of time you’d like (you might find you work better in 20- or 30-minute blocks).
有效率地使用这个方法的关键在于使用一个可见的计时器。我之所以喜欢ticktocktimer是因为你可以选择自己喜欢的时间长度（也许你发现自己在20或30分钟的时间段内工作得更好）。
The best part is that even if you don’t feel like writing, even if you’ve no idea what you’re going to say, it’s easy to begin when you know that the ‘pain’ of writing will be over in a few minutes.
最好的事情是，即使你不想写作，即使你根本不知道该说什么，当你知道写作的“徒劳”将在几分钟之内超过一切时，就很容易开始了。
And who knows? You may find yourself in that elusive flow state before you know it!
谁知道呢？在知道之前也许你就找到了自己捉摸不透的源源不断的状态。
There it is – the key to writing your next book or project in just 25 minutes a day. Let me know in the comments how it goes for you. Gong!
这是每天仅用25分钟写完下一本书或者计划的秘诀。请在评论中让我知道它对你是否有用。叮铃铃！