8 Ways To Save Time

You can't change the number of hours in a day, but you can fill them more efficiently, with less stress and mental effort. You've likely heard this before, and perhaps your past efforts at time management have been, well, a waste of time. But most people's attempts to increase productivity get derailed by two virtues of modern living: technology and options.

有多少个小时，你改变不了。可是，你可以更轻松有效地度过这段时间。很可能你之前听说过，也曾浪费时间在时间管理上的。但是，因为现代生活带来的科技和选择两大便利，大多数人想要提率的各种尝试都偏轨了。

Today's onslaught of tech -- smartphones, iPads, search engines, social media -- is fragmenting our attention spans, gumming our mental gears with useless facts, and turning us into surface-level thinkers. At the same time, all the communication choices we have today -- , IM, text, Skype or Gmail chat -- are thwarting efficiency.

今日的科技冲击——智能手机，苹果平板，搜索引擎，社交媒体——正在分散我们的注意广度，用无用的事实影响我们的心理装备，与此同时将我们变成肤浅的思考者。同时，所有可用的交流方式——邮件，实时通讯，短信，网络或者谷歌聊天——都在阻碍效率。

But we don't have to give up technology to regain control. "You need to set expectations of yourself and other people," says Daniel Markovitz, a blogger on time management for the Harvard Business Review. "You need to say, 'Here's the Bat Phone number. Use it if there's an emergency. Otherwise, leave me alone to do my job.'" Here, eight ways to manage time.

但是，我们不用放弃科技去重掌时间。“你需要给自己和他人定好期望，”为《哈佛商业评论》写关于时间管理博文的丹尼尔·马科维茨讲道。你需要说清楚，“这是私人号码。有紧急事情可以打。否则，不要打扰我工作。”以下是八种时间管理的方式。

1. Finish simple tasks

1. 完成简单的任务

Always complete easy tasks, like reading a memo -- never switch between small projects. "The mind holds only about seven pieces of information at a time," says Carnegie Mellon psychologist David Creswell. "If you switch to other tasks, those pieces of information get scrambled and need to be relearned. It's a complete time waster." Bottom line: Don't try to do two simple tasks at once.

记得完成简单的任务，比如读便笺——不要在简单的任务之间切换。“大脑一次多可以保存七条信息，”卡耐基梅隆大学的心理学家大卫·克雷斯韦尔讲道。 “如果你转而去做其他，这些已有信息被扰乱，就需要重新获取了。这纯属浪费时间。”底线是：不要试着一次去完成两项简单的任务。

2. Break up complex tasks

2. 分解复杂的任务

Complex tasks like building a budget differ from simple ones: You can complete them more quickly and efficiently by breaking them up. Creswell found people who had to complete challenging tasks did so more effectively when they took a two-minute break and worked on something completely different -- for example, doing a crossword when trying to finish your taxes.

诸如做预算这样的复杂任务和简单任务不同：分解后，你可以更有效地完成。克雷斯韦尔发现当人们花两分钟时间的中断时间去做完全不同的事情时，可以更地完成挑战性的工作——比如，在结算税务的间歇做做填字游戏。

"Your brain is unconsciously processing information during distractor tasks, and it does a better job," Creswell says. "Even a two-minute period of checking can have a beneficial effect." But note he's not advising multitasking here -- always learn the contours of a problem thoroughly before distracting yourself with a menial task for a few minutes. Also, choose something completely different from your main project. "The more distinct it is, the better," he says.

“当你转移注意力时，大脑在不知不觉地处理信息，而且这样的效果更好，” 克雷斯韦尔讲道。“即使只是花两分钟去查邮件也很有益。”但是注意他不是提倡同时处理多项任务——在用小事转移注意力之前，总要先彻底弄懂大问题的概要。同时，选和你的主要项目完全不同的事情来做。“越不同越好，”他讲道。

3. Build willpower

3. 培养意志力

Willpower is key to efficiency -- and just like the muscles in your body, if you exercise it more frequently, you can improve it.

意志力是的关键——就如你身体的肌肉一样，锻炼越多，越能提升。

Florida State University psychologist Roy Baumeister found that making people perform simple willpower exercises -- like using their nondominant hand to open doors or brush their teeth -- strengthened their focus during more important tasks.

弗罗里达州立大学的心理学家罗伊·鲍迈斯特发现，让人们做简单的意志力练习——比如用不惯用的手去开门或者刷牙——能让他们在做重要任务时加强注意力。

"When you practice overriding habitual ways, you are exerting deliberate control over your actions," says Baumeister. "If you can get people to do willpower exercises like these, it will improve how well they manage their time and help them develop the willpower to make better decisions." Hone your willpower by breaking a routine like driving the same way to work or by giving up a bad habit like junk food for a week.

“当你练习惯常方式时，你在特意地控制自己的行为，” 鲍迈斯特讲道。“做这些意志力练习会帮助人们提高时间管理的能力，同时锻炼他们的意志力从而做出更好的决定。”打破常规的习惯——比如每天开同样的路回家，或者坚持一星期放弃坏习惯——比如垃圾食品，能帮助你培养意志力。

Willpower gets depleted when you use it too much -- which is why judges and surgeons, who make decisions all day, begin to make generic or underinformed ones later on. Avoid making major decisions after a series of hard choices. When possible, make the toughest decisions when your willpower is strongest -- in the morning for most, says Baumeister. You can identify this time by experience, he says. Are you more likely to forgo a workout in the morning or afternoon? Do you get more done at work when you first get in or before you leave?

意志力，用太多就少了——这就是为何整日做决定的法官和外科医生，时间久了会开始做泛泛的、信息不足的决定。避免在一系列艰难的抉择之后做任何重大决定。可能的话，在意志力强的时候做艰难的决定——对大多数人而言是早晨，鲍迈斯特讲道。你可以通过练习找出这个时间，他说。你更可能在早晨还是下午取消健身计划?你会在刚到公司时还是下班离开前做更多的工作?

4. Develop Google discipline

4. 限制网上搜索

Gorging on all the data available today has made us a nation of distracted thinkers. How many times have you searched for an answer online only to find yourself wandering through a hyperlink forest, gobbling up factoids, switching from LinkedIn to Facebook to ?

现今，吞食所有可用信息让我们的充斥着注意力涣散的思考者。有多少次，你在网上搜寻，最终却发现自己被淹没在超链接的森林里，风卷残云般略过各种说法，从“领英网”调到“脸谱网”，再跳去?

Research shows when people look for an answer on the Web, they visit too many sites when only one or two would do. Limit your searching to what you need for a project. Whenever possible, turn off all other technology, like and your phone, when completing a project on your computer.

研究显示， 在网上搜寻时，事实上只有一两个网站就可以提供解答，而人们往往会去浏览很多网站。在项目工作中，限制自己的搜寻在需要范围内。用电脑做项目时，可能的时候，关掉诸如和的其他所有高科技。

5. Keep a calendar, not a to-do list

5. 安排日程表，而不是待办清单

To-do lists are ineffective because they lack context: Research shows people leave the most difficult tasks undone at the end of the day. Instead, Markovitz advises laying out blocks of time for each task. "I tell people to have a healthy relationship with their calendars," he says. "How can you prioritize if you don't know how much time you have? You need to make mindful decisions about the finite amount of time you have to work." Blocking out time provides structure and gives you micro-deadlines to complete tasks. Leave a few empty spaces for inevitable crises and interruptions, and to make room for tasks that may take longer.

待办清单缺乏内容，因为不是很有效：研究表明结束的时候，人们难的任务往往还没做。与此相对，马科维茨建议给每项任务分配时间版块。“我告诉人们要和自己的日程表建立健康的关系，”他讲道，“如果你都不知道自己有多少时间可用，怎么去安排优先级?你要在自己有限的工作时间里，有意识地做决定。“标出时间版块能让你更有条理，同时帮你给各项任务设置了微观的截止时间。记得留出空白时间给无可避免的危机和干扰，以及可能需要延长工作时间的任务。

6. Pull, don't push

6. 提取信息，而非推送

Most of us are bombarded with s, calls, and requests that don't necessarily need our attention that moment -- or even that day.

我们中的大多数人，每天都被邮件、和要求轰炸，而这些大都是不需要我们当下——或者甚至当天就去注意。

"People push information on us when it's ready, not when we need it," says Markovitz. Instead, Markovitz suggests pulling information when needed rather than passively receiving it anytime.

“人们在准备就绪时讲信息推向我们，而不是在我们需要的时候，” 马科维茨讲道。与此相对，马科维茨建议在需要的时候去提取信息，而不是任何时候都被动地接收信息。

How to pull, not push? If a project is complicated and involves multiple people, talk about it instead of ing. Don't constantly check and respond to s – process messages in batches, like once every three hours. Create an signature that says you don't have time to respond to everything, and if it's urgent, to call. The same goes for meetings: Do you really need to be there? "You need to set expectations," says Markovitz. "You need to slow down the avalanche of information coming at you.

" 怎样去提取，而不是推送呢?当项目本身复杂同时有多方人员参与时，与其发邮件，不如口头交流。不要频繁地查看和回复邮件——批量处理信息，比如每三小时一次。创建一个电子签名，说明你没有时间回复所有邮件，有紧急事件请打。开会也一样：你一定要在场么?“你需要设定期望值，” 马科维茨讲道。“你需要放慢奔涌而来的信息。”

7. Limit your choices

7. 限制你的日常选择

While you can't change the number of decisions you make for your job, you can limit daily choices at home. For instance, President Obama wears only blue or gray suits to curb unnecessary decisions. He also uses "decision" memos with three check boxes: agree, disagree and discuss.

你无法改变出于工作需求所做的决定数量，却可以限制自己在家的选择。比如，奥巴马总统只穿蓝色和灰色西装以避免不必要的选择。他也使用只有三个选项的“决定”便笺：同意，不同意和再议。

"Too much choice is paralyzing," says Sheena Iyengar, a Columbia University business professor. "You walk into your office and a bazillion people will come at you from every side -- s, calls, meetings. Ask yourself: Are you being proactive or just reacting? If you're reacting, then half the day goes by before you say, 'Wait a minute, what am I supposed to be working on?'" Establish routines that let you focus on what you need to do first.

“选择太多让人不知所措，”哥伦比亚大学商业学教授席娜·艾扬格讲道。“你走进办公室，一大拨人从四面八方向你袭来——通过邮件，和会议。问问你自己：现在的你，是主动的，还是只在被动接收?如果你实在被动反应，那么在你讲“等等，我该干什么来着?”之前，大半天已经过去了。建立例行程序，让自己首先集中在需要做的事情上。

8. Prep the night before

8. 前做好准备

While it's important to get a good night's sleep, the time just before bed is ideal for getting your thoughts together for the next day -- and not just because it lessens what you have to do tomorrow.

好的睡眠固然重要，然而睡前时间是为第二天整理思绪的理想时段——不仅仅因为这样做可以减轻明天的工作任务。

Scans of sleeping people show our brains work on solving problems when we're not awake, so reviewing a little work before bed helps imprint on your brain exactly what needs to be solved. "We've all had that aha moment in the shower the next morning," says Creswell. "That's because you've let the unconscious mind operate organically on the imprinted information." But avoid overly stressful projects before bed, which may cause you to toss and turn with worry. And don't work on anything with a screen within an hour of bed: Studies show the blue light in screens can lead to fitful sleep.

对入睡后人们的大脑扫描显示：在我们没醒着的时候，大脑在自行解决问题，因此睡前小小地回顾下工作可以帮助大脑留下印象，知道在睡眠阶段应该解决什么问题。“第二天清晨洗澡时，我们都有过灵光乍现的瞬间，” 克雷斯韦尔讲道。“那是因为你让大脑在留下信息印象之后无意识地运转了。”但是避免在睡前去想压力很大的项目，这样做可能会让你辗转忧虑。而且，睡前一小时不要对着屏幕做事：研究显示屏幕辐射出的蓝光会让睡眠断断续续。