Big claims are made for what neuroscience, behavioural economics and psychology can do for us. Some authors give the impression that certain outcomes can be almost guaranteed if you approach human interactions with the right bag of tricks.

神经科学、行为经济学和心理学对我们有什么用处？人们有些夸大其词。一些作者给我们这样一种印象，如果你与人交往中用对了技巧，那么你几乎可以确定能得到某种结果。

Fortunately, Caroline Webb, a former partner at management consultancy McKinsey, is not one of those authors. She adopts a restrained tone when drawing on emerging discoveries about the brain and human psychology.

所幸管理咨询公司麦肯锡(McKinsey)前合伙人卡罗琳韦布(Caroline Webb)不是这样的作者。她对于人类大脑和心理新发现的运用持一种克制的论调。

Although she read hundreds of academic papers before writing this book, Webb’s purpose is practical, as captured by the understated title. She offers what she calls “science-based tweaks” in behaviour and attitudes which could help you have a better day at work.

虽然韦布在写这本书之前阅读了几百篇学术论文，就像其低调的书名显示出的那样，她的目标是务实的。她指出，通过对行为和态度进行“基于科学的微调”，可以帮助你在工作中表现得更好。

Webb briskly summarises some of the findings made by psychologists and neuroscientists that are increasingly familiar. She returns constantly to the context of the workplace, citing practical examples rather than speculating about the psychological potential of humankind.

韦布干净利落地总结了几条心理学家和神经学家越来越被人熟知的几条发现。她没有对人类的心理潜力妄加猜测，而是不断回到职场环境下引用工作之中的实例。

Reflecting on a grumpy videoconference for which she was underprepared and that got a day off to a bad start, she has three observations, based on her study of how our minds work.

她反思了自己因为准备不足在一场视频会议上发脾气的经历，那场会议给当天开了一个不好的头。对此，她基于自己对人类心理的研究，总结了三条发现。

First, priorities and assumptions determine our perceptions to a surprising extent. Second, setting the right kind of goals lifts our performance and makes us feel good. And third, what we imagine in our mind’s eye can shape our real-life experience. Webb’s book is essentially about “focusing on the right things, and organising your time to give those priorities your best attention”. This is not wishful thinking. That focus and “best attention” are based on working with our human nature, not against it.

第一，优先事项和假设对认知的决定作用是惊人的。第二，设定恰当的目标可以提升我们的表现，让我们感觉良好。第三，我们内心的设想可以造就我们现实生活的经历。韦布的书基本上讲的是“关注正确的事物，安排好时间，将最好的注意力集中在那些优先事项上”。这不是主观上一厢情愿的想法。这种关注和“最好的注意力”是顺应人性的，而非与之相左。

We should not just let the day happen to us, she says. A quick daily intention-setting routine can help, though we should set specific goals in “bite-sized chunks”. Any to-do list should be of today’s tasks only, otherwise our brains will be overwhelmed.

她说，我们不能随波逐流地度日。每天迅速设立全天的目标是有用的，不过我们应该按照“一口吃完的份量”来设定具体目标。任何待办事项应该只是今天之内完成的任务，否则我们的大脑会应接不暇。

We should plan downtime and avoid “decision fatigue”. “Pit stops are not wasted time — they’re an essential part of an efficient, well-planned race,” she says. We need enough sleep. “As one CEO I know put it, going short of sleep is like forgetting to save a document that you’ve worked on all day...If we don’t regularly rest and refuel our brain, the quality of our reasoning, self-control and planning declines sharply.”

我们应该规划休息时间，避免陷入“决策疲劳”。“停车加油休息不是浪费时间——而是一场规划良好的高效竞赛中必不可少的一环，”她说。我们需要足够的睡眠。“就像我认识的一名CEO所说的，睡眠不足就像你没有保存你处理了一整天的文件……如果我们不能规律作息，给大脑充电，那么我们理性思考、自控和规划的能力就会大幅下降。”

The science does not all lead to dutiful conclusions. Gossip is healthy. Why? “Merely getting answers to questions visibly activates the reward system in people who are lying in a brain scanner,” Webb writes.

科学得出的结论并不全像人们想的那样。八卦是有益健康的。为什么呢？“通过观察脑部扫描仪，仅仅是得到问题的答案就能够显著激活人脑的奖励系统，”韦布写到。

And we can prime ourselves to perform better, too. The author admits to humming Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” to herself before client workshops.

此外，我们还能通过事前准备来让自己表现得更好。韦布坦言，她开客户研讨会前会哼唱唐娜萨默(Donna Summer)的歌曲《我感到了爱》(I Feel Love)。

What else does science reveal that will help us have a good day? “Multitasking” damages productivity: “We’re far more productive if we singletask.”

科学上还有什么发现能帮我们过好一天？“同时处理多项任务”会降低我们的工作效率：“当我们只处理一项任务的时候，效率会高得多。”

The routines of work can sometimes make it seem like a Sisyphean task. But, as Albert Camus said, we have to believe that Sisyphus is happy. And think how much happier he might have been if he had known the words to “I Feel Love”.

日复一日的工作有时候会让我们觉得自己像西西弗斯(Sisyphus)一般周而复始地推着石头。但是，就像阿尔贝加缪(Albert Camus)说的那样，我们必须相信西西弗斯是快乐的。而且去想象如果他知道《我感到了爱》的歌词，他肯定会更加快乐。