Five Golden Rules of Time Management 时间管理五大黄金准则

To-do lists are typically done daily and are meant to help us focus on what's urgent and important. Time management expert and business consultant Mike Gardner recommends writing a to-do list at the same time every day. "It's generally agreed that they should be done at the same time every day, for me it's the night before," he says. 

待办事项清单通常每日必列，旨在帮助我们把注意力放在紧急和重要的事情上。时间管理专家兼商业顾问迈克·加德纳建议每天在同一时间列出待办事项清单。他说：“人们普遍赞同待办事项清单应该在每天同一时间列出，我习惯在前一天晚上列出第二天要做的事。”

To-do lists are great for left-brain logical types, but for some they can be a problem. However, an action list of three things, which can only be done by the individual, should work for most people, he says. "I recommend that people write down three things they want to achieve and focus on those first. Take it as far as you can and then move on to the next thing."

待办事项清单对于左脑逻辑思维型的人非常有用，但对某些人来说可能是个问题。不过，他表示，一份只列三件事的行动清单应该对大多数人都有用，三件只能由个人独立完成的事。他说：“我建议人们列出想要完成的三件事，并首先专注完成。 尽可能完成一件再做下一件。”

One task at a time

一次只做一件事

Concentration works best when it is focused on a task in hand. Constant interruptions break our train of thought and increase the time it takes to do tasks. It's not always possible to prevent every interruption, but don't float between tasks. Also, try to limit distractions and persuade others to leave you alone when you're busy. 

把注意力都专注在手头任务时，做事效率最高。思路不断被打断，完成任务就得耗费更多时间。我们不太可能保证每一次都不被干扰，但是切记不要在任务之间来回切换。此外，尽量减少让自己分心的事，说服别人不要在你正忙时打扰你。

"A two minute phone call takes away about 15 minutes of productivity if it interrupts an important task, similarly emails are very distracting," says Gardner. "I recommend only checking emails three times per day, in the morning, midday and evening. Also, I let calls go to voicemail if I am busy. In truth most people can do this. We wouldn't respond if we were in a meeting or at the hospital, so it is doable. Often it's about training others as to how you work and taking control," says Gardner.

加德纳说：“如果一项重要的任务被一通两分钟的电话打断，就会让这15分钟的工作没有效率。电子邮件也一样让人分心。我建议每天只在早、中、晚三个时段各查看一次邮件。还有，我在忙的时候会将电话转到语音信箱。事实上，大多数人都能做到这一点。既然我们开会时或在医院里可以做到不接电话，那在其他时候一样可以。通常，这就是要让别人适应你的工作节奏，让自己掌控一切。”

Automate where possible

尽量自动化

With online tools emerging all the time, our existing working practices quickly become old-fashioned. A regular review of your current methods might well reveal ways of improving efficiency through automation. "If you've done it more than three times then create a system to do it for you," advises Nicola Bird, CEO and founder of online coaching company Jigsawbox. 

随着在线工具不断出现，我们现有的工作方式很快就会过时。定期回顾当前使用的方法，很可能会发现用自动化提高效率的方式。线上辅导公司拼图盒子的首席执行官兼创始人尼克拉·伯德建议道：“如果同一件事你已经做了三次以上，那就创建一个系统来帮你做吧。”

Bird built up her company while also raising a family and is a strong advocate of simplifying life wherever possible. Her company uses a range of easy to operate systems to handle emails, follow up on sales and handle admin. All systems must also undergo the 'Tilly Test' (named after Bird's young daughter), which means they must be so simple that even a child could understand them. "If you automate your income streams you can focus on the important things in life," she says.

伯德创立了自己的公司，同时也在养家，她强烈主张尽可能简化生活。其公司使用一系列易于操作的系统处理电子邮件、跟进销售和处理行政工作。所有系统都必须经受“蒂莉测试”（以伯德小女儿的名字命名），这意味着这些系统必须非常简单，就连小孩子也能理解。伯德说：“如果把自己的收入流自动化，就能专注于生活中重要的事情。”

Parkinson's law

帕金森定律

"Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion," declared British civil servant Cyril Parkinson. It's a point which many have taken exception to over the years, but there does seem to be some truth in it. It's remarkable how much we can all achieve when pushed, so cut down on your workload by slashing [英[ˈslæʃɪŋ] 美[ˈslæʃɪŋ] v.(用利器) 砍，劈; 大幅度削减; 大大降低;] the time spent doing it. Gardner reckons [英[ˈrekənz] 美[ˈrekənz] v.想; 认为; 被普遍认为是; 被看作是; 料想; 预计; 指望;] that if we really enjoy a task we tend to stretch out the time it takes to complete it and there's a great deal of procrastination [英[prəʊˌkræstɪ'neɪʃ(ə)n] n.拖延;] in the workplace. 

英国公务员西里尔·帕金森宣称：“只要还有时间，工作就会不断扩展，直到用完所有时间。”多年来，这一观点并不为人认同，但似乎也有些道理。压力状态下，人们能够完成相当多的任务，所以可以通过削减工作时间来减少工作量。加德纳认为，如果我们确实享受某项任务，往往会延长完成该任务所需的时间，并且职场上还有大量拖延行为。

"Sometimes we should say: 'that's good enough'. It's not that we should not do good work, but that often we achieve 80 % of the task in 20% of the time we spend doing it. The rest of the time is spent attempting to perfect it, when really we should stick to time limits and complete the task."

“有时，我们应当说：'够好了。'不是说我们不应好好完成工作，而是我们通常仅用20％的时间就可以完成80％的任务。剩下的时间全用于尽力完善了，而实际上我们应该遵守时限并按时完成。”

Take a break

休息一下

The final rule of time management is the most paradoxical [英[ˌpærəˈdɒksɪkl] 美[ˌpærəˈdɑːksɪkl] adj.似自相矛盾的; ] of them all - do nothing. If we work around the clock, we become less productive, creative and prone [英[prəʊn] 美[proʊn] adj.易于遭受; 有做(坏事)的倾向; 有做…倾向的; 易于遭受…的; 俯卧的;]to making costly mistakes. Everyone needs sleep, some time off and a little time to step back and think about things. 

时间管理的最后一条准则是所有准则中最奇怪的——什么都不做。如果昼夜不停地工作，效率和创造力就会下降，也容易犯下代价高昂的错误。人人都需要睡觉，需要有时间放松，还需要花点儿时间回顾和思考。

Angela Muir, head of leadership and people practice at Ashridge Business School, says all business owners need to take breaks, although the exact amount of time required is a personal decision. "There's no 'one size fits all' approach for holidays, the key things are about autonomy and control," she says. Muir also says that business owners that get too sucked into the world of work can dramatically reduce their effectiveness. A lack of sleep can reduce productivity by as much as 80% and mistakes are bound to follow.

阿什里奇商学院领导力和实践力项目主任安吉拉·缪尔认为，所有的企业家都需要休息，尽管具体需要休息多长时间由个人决定。她说：“假期长短没有一个人人适用的标准，关键在于自主和控制。”缪尔还认为，太过沉迷于工作的企业家可能工作效率会极大降低。缺乏睡眠可能导致效率下降高达80%，错误也必将随之产生。

Entrepreneurs are liable to burning out and should step back before they do so. "There's something about stepping away from the dance floor and going up to the balcony [英[ˈbælkəni] 美[ˈbælkəni] n. 阳台; (剧院的) 楼厅，楼座;] to look down on things for a while — stepping back and recharging your batteries is a good idea," Muir says.

企业家很容易劳累过度，他们应该在精疲力尽之前后退一步。缪尔说：“就好比离开舞池，走上阳台，花点儿时间审视全局——后退一步，并给自己充充电，是个不错的主意。”