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You have a deadline looming. However, instead of doing your work, you are fiddling with miscellaneous things like checking email, social media, watching videos, surfing blogs and forums. You know you should be working, but you just don’t feel like doing anything. 最后期限正在逼近。然而你并没有加倍工作，反而去做些查收邮件、社会媒体、观看视频、浏览博客和论坛等繁杂的事情。你知道你应该抓紧工作，但你就是不想去做任何事情。 We are all familiar with the procrastination phenomenon. When we procrastinate, we squander away our free time and put off important tasks we should be doing them till it’s too late. And when it is indeed too late, we panic and wish we got started earlier. The chronic procrastinators I know have spent years of their life looped in this cycle. Delaying, putting off things, slacking, hiding from work, facing work only when it’s unavoidable, then repeating this loop all over again. It’s a bad habit that eats us away and prevents us from achieving greater results in life. 对拖延现象我们是再熟悉不过了。当我们拖延时，我们把空闲时间白白的学浪费掉了，并把我们应该做的重要事情推迟，直到一切为时已晚。当一切都太迟的时候，我们会惊慌失措，希望自己早些开始做就好了。我所知道的习惯性的拖拉者数年来都是在这样的怪圈中打转。推迟、拖踏、松懈、隐藏工作、只到不可避免的时候才去面对工作，然后又是完全重复这一怪圈。这是个侵蚀我们自己让我们的生活不能达到更高成就的坏习惯。 Don’t let procrastination take over your life. Here, I will share my personal steps which I use to overcome procrastination with great success. These 11 steps will definitely apply to you too: 不要让拖延占据你的生活。在这里，我将分享我个人用来战胜拖延，取得巨大成功的方法步骤。这11步肯定对你也有用处。 Break your work into little steps. Part of the reason why we procrastinate is because subconsciously, we find the work too overwhelming for us. Break it down into little parts, then focus on one part at the time. If you still procrastinate on the task after breaking it down, then break it down even further. Soon, your task will be so simple that you will be thinking “gee, this is so simple that I might as well just do it now!”.For example, I’m currently writing a new book (on How to achieve anything in life). Book writing at its full scale is an enormous project and can be overwhelming. However, when I break it down into phases such as – (1) Research (2) Deciding the topic (3) Creating the outline (4) Drafting the content (5) Writing Chapters #1 to #10, (6) Revision (7) etc, suddenly it seems very manageable. What I do then is to focus on the immediate phase and get it done to my best ability, without thinking about the other phases. When it’s done, I move on to the next. 将你的工作拆分成小的步骤。我们之所以拖延是因为潜意识里我们发现工作对我们来说太大了。把工作分成一个个小的部分，然后一次把精力注意到一个部分。如果把工作划分成小的部分之后你还是会拖延，那就把他们划分成更小的部分。很快地，你的工作就会变得很简单，你就会想“哇，这太简单了我应该现在就做好它！”举例来说：我目前正在写一本新书（生命中如何达到你想要的一切）。写书是一个巨大的工程，让你很难完成。然而，当我把它化成各个阶段比如－－（１）研究（２）决定主题（３）设计出文章大纲（４）写出内容草稿（５）写出各章节（从第一章到第十单）（６）修正（７）……，突然之间，你会发现工作很容完成了。我随后所做的就是集中精力到相关的阶段并尽我最大努力将它们做好，而不去想其他的阶段。当一个阶段完成的时候，我才去关注下一个阶段的事情。 Change your environment. Different environments have different impact on our productivity. Look at your work desk and your room. Do they make you want to work or do they make you want to snuggle and sleep? If it’s the latter, you should look into changing your workspace. One thing to note is that an environment that makes us feel inspired before may lose its effect after a period of time. If that’s the case, then it’s time to change things around. Refer to Steps #2 and #3 of 13 Strategies To Jumpstart Your Productivity, which talks about revamping your environment and workspace. 改变你的环境。不同的环境对我们的生产效率有不同的影响。看下你的工作台和你的房间。他们是让您有工作的冲动还是使你昏昏欲睡呢？如果是后者，你应该改变一下你的工作空间。值得一提的是：一段时期之后，一个能鼓舞我们士气的环境可能会失去它的效用。如果这就是事情的原因所在，那么是时候改变下你周围的东西了。参考13种方法中的第二步和第三步来创造工作效率，这两步主要是讲改进你的环境和工作空间的。 Create a detailed timeline with specific deadlines. Having just 1 deadline for your work is like an invitation to procrastinate. That’s because we get the impression that we have time and keep pushing everything back, until it’s too late. Break down your project (see tip #1), then create an overall timeline with specific deadlines for each small task. This way, you know you have to finish each task by a certain date. Your timelines must be robust, too – i.e. if you don’t finish this by today, it’s going to jeopardize everything else you have planned after that. This way it creates the urgency to act. My goals are broken down into monthly, weekly, right down to the daily task lists, and the list is a call to action that I must accomplish this by the specified date, else my goals will be put off. 为特定的时间期限建立具体的时间点。只有一个最后期限对你的工作来说就像是接受了拖延的请柬函。这是因为我们总认为我们还有时间，这样就会不断地把工作推后，直到一切为时已晚。分解你的工程（看第一个建议），然后为每一个小任务建立一个最后期限。这样，你就知道就必须在一定的日期完成每项任务。你的每个期限也应该制定的严谨——例如，如果你今天没有完成一项任务，就会危及到你计划的后续环节。这样就使你有行动的紧迫感。我的目标就被分解成每月的、每周的、直到每日的任务清单，清单是我行动的一个个召唤：提醒我必须在特定的日期内完成任务，否则我的目标就会被推迟。 Eliminate your procrastination pit-stops. If you are procrastinating a little too much, maybe that’s because you make it easy to procrastinate. Identify your browser bookmarks that take up a lot of your time and shift them into a separate folder that is less accessible. Disable the automatic notification option in your email client. Get rid of the distractions around you. I know some people will out of the way and delete/deactivate their facebook accounts. I think it’s a little drastic/extreme as addressing procrastination is more about being conscious of our actions than counteracting via self-binding methods, but if you feel that’s what’s needed, go for it. 除去你拖延的缺陷。如果你经常会拖延一点点，或者是因为你使拖延变得容易了。确定那些占据你很多时间的网页标签，把他们移到一个独立的不容易接近的文件夹里。关闭你邮箱客户的自动通知选项。除去周围分散你注意力的事物。我知道有些人会荒谬地删除脸书上的用户。我认为这样做有点过份了，因为对待拖延问题不仅仅通过不同的组合方法来阻止拖延行为，更要认识到我们的拖延行为，但如果你认为需要这样做，那就去做吧。 Hang out with people who inspire you to take action. I’m pretty sure if you spend just 10 minutes talking to Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, you’ll be more inspired to act than if you spent the 10 minutes doing nothing. The people we are with influence our behaviors. Of course spending time with Steve Jobs/Bill Gates every day is probably not a feasible method, but the principle applies. Identify the people/friends/colleagues who trigger you – most likely the go-getters and hard workers – and hang out with them more often. Soon you will inculcate their drive and spirit too. As a personal development blogger, I “hang out” with inspiring personal development experts by reading their blogs and corresponding with them regularly via email/social media. It’s communication via new media and it works all the same. 经常与那些能够激励你采取行动的人在一起。与你在十分钟的时间内什么都不做相比，我十分确信如果你花哪怕只有十分钟的时间与斯蒂芬·乔布斯或比尔盖兹谈话，你将更有动力采取行动。和我们在一起的人会影响我们的行为。当然，每天和斯蒂芬·乔布斯或比尔盖兹一起生活可能是个不可行的方法，但是这种原理还是可行的。确定那些激发你的人、朋友、同事——特别是那些能干的人——经常和他们在一起。不久你就会感染他们的驱策力和志气。作为一个个人发展方面的博客作者，我通过阅读他们的博客、给他们写电子邮件与他们通信而经常跟那些能鼓舞人心的个人发展专家在一起。这是一种通过新媒体进行的交流，并且一直有好的作用。 Get a buddy. Having a companion makes the whole process much more fun. Ideally, your buddy should be someone who has his/her own set of goals. Both of you will hold each other accountable to your goals and plans. While it’s not necessary for both of you to have the same goals, it’ll be even better if that’s the case, so you can learn from each other. I have a good friend whom I talk to regularly, and we always ask each other about our goals and progress in achieving those goals. Needless to say, it spurs us to keep taking action. 结交一个朋友。同伴可以让整个过程更加有趣。原则上，你的朋友应该是那些有自己目标的人。你们互相对达到你们的目标和计划负有责任。然而这并不是说你们两个必须有共同的目标，如果有共同目标的话就更好了，这样你们就可以互相学习了。我有一个经常倾诉的好朋友，我们经常询问彼此的目标和进展情况。不用说，这促使我们不断地采取行动。 Tell others about your goals. This serves the same function as #6, on a larger scale. Tell all your friends, colleagues, acquaintances and family about your projects. Now whenever you see them, they are bound to ask you about your status on those projects. For example, sometimes I announce my projects on The Personal Excellence Blog, Twitter and Facebook, and my readers will ask me about them on an ongoing basis. It’s a great way to keep myself accountable to my plans. 向别人说出你的目标。在更大的范围上，这和第六步方法的功能是一样的。对你所有的朋友、同事、认识的人和家人诉说你的计划。这样，不管你何时见到了他们，他们必然会询问你计划的进展情形。举例来说：有时我在人性的优点博客上、微博客上、脸谱网上宣布我的计划，这样我的读者们将会在计划进行中询问我计划进展的情况。这是保证我对自己的计划负责任的一种好方法。 Seek out someone who has already achieved the outcome. What is it you want to accomplish here, and who are the people who have accomplished this already? Go seek them out and connect with them. Seeing living proof that your goals are very well achievable if you take action is one of the best triggers for action. 找个已经有一定成果的人。这种方法你需要完成的是：谁是那位已经有所成就的人？把他们找出来并与他们取得联系。如果你采取行动，你的目标就能够很好的实现。如果你看到了活生生的例子的话，对你会更有激发作用。 Re-clarify your goals. If you have been procrastinating for an extended period of time, it might reflect a misalignment between what you want and what you are currently doing. Often times, we outgrow our goals as we discover more about ourselves, but we don’t change our goals to reflect that. Get away from your work (a short vacation will be good, else just a weekend break will do too) and take some time to regroup yourself. What exactly do you want to achieve? What should you do to get there? What are the steps to take? Does your current work align with that? If not,what can you do about it? 重新明确自己的目标。如果你曾在很长一段时间里习惯了拖延，那也许可以反映出你想要的和你目标所做的之间的不一致的地方。常常，我们的目标随着我们不断的了解自我也变得过大了，但我们并没有调整我们的目标。离开你的工作（度个假或者仅仅周末的休息都挺好的）并花些时间来重新组织下自己。你真正想要达到的目标是什么？需要做些什么才能达到目标？需要采取哪些步骤？你目前的工作和你的目标一致吗？如果不是一致的，你能做些什么呢？ Stop over-complicating things. Are you waiting for a perfect time to do this? That maybe now is not the best time because of X, Y, Z reasons? Ditch that thought because there’s never a perfect time. If you keep waiting for one, you are never going to accomplish anything. Perfectionism is one of the biggest reasons for procrastination. Read more about why perfectionist tendencies can be a bane than a boon: Why Being A Perfectionist May Not Be So Perfect. 不要再把事情复杂化。你是不是一直在等待一个完美的时刻来做这些呢？还是因为这样那样的原因，你觉得现在不是最好的时机？摒弃那样的想法吧，因为从来没有一个完美的时刻。如果你一直等候这样的时刻到来，你将不会完成任何事情。完美主义是拖延的一个最大的原因。阅读更多关于：为何追求完美更可能有害无益——为什么一个完美主义者可能并不是那么完美。 Get a grip and just do it. At the end, it boils down to taking action. You can do all the strategizing, planning and hypothesizing, but if you don’t take action, nothing’s going to happen. Occasionally, I get readers and clients who keep complaining about their situations but they still refuse to take action at the end of the day. Reality check: I have never heard anyone procrastinate their way to success before and I doubt it’s going to change in the near future. Whatever it is you are procrastinating on, if you want to get it done, you need to get a grip on yourself and do it. 抓住窍门去做吧！到最后都归结为采取行动。你可以做很多战略、计划和假定，但如果你不采取行动，什么都将不会发生。偶而，会有读者和客户不断的向我抱怨他们的处境，但直到一天结束他们却没有采取任何行动。现状核实：我以前从未听说过有哪个拖延的人取得成功的，我怀疑将来他们也不会成功。不管你在什么事情上拖延，如果你想完成它，你就需要抓住窍门，采取行动吧！ Which tips work best for you? Do you have your own personal tip to overcome procrastination? Please share with everyone in the comments section 哪些方法对你最有效果？你是否也有自己的方法来战胜拖延呢？请您在评论部分和大家分享自己的观点：） |
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