四招教你克服拖延症

　　"How will I ever start this project?" This question may lead you to carefully consider and think through the steps of accomplishing a pressing task. This deliberation be very useful in the workplace, since it permits a worker to complete tasks more successfully. However, there is a big difference between an occasional delay due to deliberation and a regular habit of procrastinating on work tasks.

　　“我该如何着手这个项目?”这个问题也许会引发你的思考并考虑完成一项紧急任务的步骤。这种深思熟虑的习惯在职场中非常有用，因为这样能使员工更出色地完成每项任务。然而，出于考量的偶尔延迟，与习惯性的工作拖延之间也是有很大的差别的。

　　Procrastination is a common human weakness, and all of us have fallen prey to it at one time or another. Maybe you are even procrastinating right now by reading this article instead of working on a project!

　　拖延症是常见的人性弱点，并且我们都会常常深受其害。也许你当下正在拖延症发作，因为你在阅读这篇文章而不是完成你的工作任务!

　　The following steps can help you to stop procrastinating now:

　　下面的几个小步骤能够帮助你马上停止拖延：

　　Understand why you are procrastinating. Have you found yourself putting off tasks at work until the very last possible minute? Try to determine why you procrastinate. Perhaps you think you work better under pressure, you don't enjoy certain tasks or you just get distracted with other things during the day. Maybe you like to wait for your boss to remind you, so you are sure it's an important enough task and high on her priority list. Perhaps it is fear, because you are not sure you can complete the task alone or feel that you don't have the needed skills to complete it successfully.

　　了解拖延症的原因。你是否已经发现自己一直把任务拖延至最后的限期?尝试确定自己拖延的原因。也许你认为在压力之下完成任务的效果更好，或者你并不喜欢某些任务，又或者你一直被其他的事情分散你的注意力。也许你喜欢等待你的老板过来提醒你，这样你就能确定这一项任务非常重要，以致老板也把它排在的优先顺序表的前列。也许出于恐惧，因为你并不确定你是否能够独自完成这项任务，或你认为自己并不具备成功完成这项任务的必备技能。

　　Action tip: Ask yourself why you procrastinate. If you are unsure, keep a daily log of your activities at work to discover where you are spending (or wasting) your time. This will help you uncover why you are procrastinating. Until you discover the why, it will be harder for you to combat the habit.

　　行动指南：问问自己拖延的原因。如果你并不肯定，把你的日常工作活动记录下来，然后你就能发现你把时间利用(或浪费)在哪些方面。这样就能帮助你找出自己拖延症的原因。如果你无法找出拖延症的原因，那么解决这个坏习惯的难度将会更大。

　　An important note: Some people do work better under pressure, and if you're one of them, that's OK! Just realize the difference between a reason (your performance is better under pressure across the board or on certain tasks) versus an excuse (procrastination).

　　重要提示：某些员工在压力之下能够更好地完成工作任务，如果你是其中一员，那就没有问题了!只需要清楚认识“理由”(你的表现能够一直在压力之下或某些任务表现得更好)与“借口”(拖延症)的区别。

　　Get started. Take a baby step on an unwanted task by working on it immediately and then planning to finish the task by breaking it up into manageable amounts. Create a task list to first work on the aspects you like the least. It may even be helpful to set reminders on your work computer or tablet, making sure that the time you allot is a realistic amount for working on the project.

　　马上行动。踏出一小步，马上从最不想完成的任务上着手，然后做出计划，把这项任务分解成若干个便于控制的小部分。编制一份任务列表把你最不想完成的任务放在第一位。你也可以在你的工作电脑或写字板上设置待办事项提醒，确保你所安排的时间符合实际完成的工作量的需要。

　　By doing what you least like first, you can get ahead of procrastination. At the very least, the worst part will be over before you know it. Scheduling out a project in this manner is a big stress reducer and can help you manage your work week more effectively.

　　把最不想完成的任务先处理了，你就可以赶超拖延症了。至少，最让人感到折磨的地方在你意识到之前已经结束了。通过这种方式安排任务能够大大减轻你的工作压力，也能帮助你更积极有效地安排你的工作。

　　Action tip: Set your timer for 15 minutes, and get to work on your project. Stop when the timer goes off. Based on your first 15 minutes, you can gauge how long it will take you to finish the project. Set your timer for another 30 minutes, and decide when during the week you have a few chunks of time to continue working on the project. (They could be as little as 15- to 30-minute chunks.) Schedule a reminder for yourself for the days and times you have chosen, and stick to your plan.

　　行动指南：把计时器设置15分钟提醒一次，在这段时间内专注于你的工作项目上。当时间计时器停止了，你就停止工作。参照首次15分钟的工作内容，你可以计算出你完成这项任务所需要的时间。然后再把计时器设置为30分钟，然后决定每周里你有这么多的“时间块”可以让你继续完成这项任务。(“时间块”可以至少设置为15到30分钟一次。)设置待办事项提醒器，明确自己所需要完成的日子和时间，并坚持自己的计划。

　　This process can work well for certain projects that you can break up into steps. Others may require longer amounts of focus time and aren't as appropriate for these shorter time frames. Or, using time frames may not be the best way to break out the project. For example, coding a website can require longer periods of focused time than just 15 minutes. However, you can break this project into designing one page or sections of a page at a time, instead of using time as your method for breaking it up. Determine the best way to break up whatever project you are working on, and then create those baby steps based on that structure.

　　这个方法可以使你通过把某些项目拆分成若干的小步骤，从而更好地完成任务。而别的需要更长的关注时间的任务则不适用这种短期的计划。或者说，使用时间框架的形式并不是最佳的完成项目的方法。例如，写一个网站的编程要求比15分钟还要长的专注时间。然而，你可以把这个项目分解为设计一个页面或一个页面的几个部分，而不是把时间用作工具拆分开来。决定最佳的分解任务的方法，无论你当前手头上的任务是什么，然后再根据任务的结构设置若干的小步骤。

　　Learn how to manage your time. Chronic lateness is also a form of procrastination. This includes being late to work and meetings. Make an accurate estimate of how long it takes you to get to work in the morning or how long it takes you to get from your office space to the place of the meeting. If you walk into work at 9 a.m., it's impossible for you to be in a meeting and ready to go at 9:15. Be honest with yourself about timing, and schedule things accordingly. Then try moving up the time in your head. If a meeting is at 3, for example mentally aim for 2:30.

　　学会时间管理。习惯性的迟到也是一种拖延症的表现，这不限于上班还是参加会议。你应该精确地估计早上上班所需要花费的时间，以及从办公室到达会议场地所需要的时间。如果你早上9点到达办公室，那么对于你来说，9点15分就能准备好参加会议室是不可能的事情。坦诚面对自己的时间观念，并安排相应的日程。然后尝试在脑海里把时间提前。如果会议开始的时间是3点钟，那么你的心理准备时间就应该设定在2点30分了。

　　Another great way to better manage your time is to track it for one week to nail down what you typically spend it on. Track it using categories of tasks, rather than haphazardly writing down every single thing you do. For example, a small business owner may have categories such as marketing, administration, financial, sales and product or service tasks. Create separate columns on a page to track the time in each category. Do this for a minimum of a week, so you get an average for a typical day and week.

　　另外一个很不错的时间管理的方法就是，把你的时间轨迹记录下来并明确这些时间节点内你到底在做什么事情。让各种各样的任务形成你的时间轨迹，而不是偶尔写下一两件你做过的事情。例如，一位小型企业的老板也许会有多种诸如市场营销、行政管理、金融管理、销售以及产品或服务类型的任务。编制一份清单，把这些事项按照不同栏目进行分类，并记录完成这些任务所花费的时间。至少每周做一次这样的计划，这样你每天和每周就能取得工作量的平衡。

　　Next, analyze the time you tracked by asking yourself: Am I spending my time in the right places? Are there any areas I'm spending too much time on that someone else could handle or that could be automated? How can I adjust my work schedule or daily task schedule so that I'm working on the toughest tasks when I am most fresh and alert?

　　下一步，分析你所记录的时间轨迹，询问自己：我把时间都花在合适的事情上了吗?我是否把时间过多的花在了别人能够迅速完成或自动完成的事情上了?我该如何调整我的行程工作表从而使自己能够胜任最不熟悉又担心的艰难任务上呢?

　　Action tip: Pull out your calendar this month, and look at your scheduled tasks and meetings. Ask yourself if the time allotted is realistic. Remember that you can't schedule meetings back to back. In your travel time, allow time for issues that come up – such as spilling coffee, stopping for gas, dealing with a frozen computer or updating a co-worker – and schedule accordingly.

　　行动指南：拿出本月的月历，查看这个月内安排的任务和会议有哪些。思量你所安排的时间是否合理。请谨记不能把会议安排得一个紧跟着一个。在你的行程里，必须保留突发事情的时间——比如打翻了咖啡，停车加油的时间，处理宕机的电脑，或者认识一位新同事——都应该有相应的空闲时间。

　　You may find you need to make a few adjustments the first month you are implementing this system to get a sense of time frames for meetings, travel time and unexpected interruptions. After that, you should have the hang of it.

　　也许你会发现，在第一个月里你需要做一些调整，因为你需要实行这种模式以获取会议的时间框架观念，行程时间和一些意外干扰。自此，你就能够游刃有余地掌握时间了。