Your Best Tips for Beating Procrastination

如何对抗拖延症？

New York Times

纽约时报

I am writing this sentence days after I wanted to finish this, and only a few hours before deadline. Not exactly the last minute, but close enough.

其实早在几天前我就已经想写下这句话了，但我还是拖到了现在，离截稿时间只剩几个小时。虽然还不至于是最后一分钟，但也已经很接近了。

Two weeks ago we talked about beating procrastination* and getting stuff done. Clearly I still have a lot to learn. But I asked you all for your tips, and hundreds of you emailed or tweeted your best advice for starting tasks and getting across the finish line.

早在两周前，我们就讨论了如何对抗拖延症，把该做的事情及时完成。显然我还有很多要学习的。在询问读者有什么小窍门后，我在邮箱和Twitter上收到了数百条回复。

*procrastination：the act of delaying something that must be done, often because it is unpleasant or boring 拖延症；耽搁；拖沓

Many of your tips were fantastic. They were so good, in fact, that I wanted to share a few of my favorites:

以下是一些精选的小窍门：

· 苏珊·恩格金(Susan Engelking)：

Each morning I write the words "I Will Feel Great About Today If I..." on a notepad. I list one or more things that will make me feel great if I do them that day — even if I accomplish nothing else. This is NOT a "to do" list. It is purely about creating the "reward" you describe — feeling great.

每天早上我都会在笔记本上写下：“如果我……我今天就会颇有成就感。”我会列出一件或几件会让我有成就感的事情——即使当天我可能没有完成任何其他事。这并不是一张待办事项清单，纯粹只是为你自己赢得所描述的“奖励”，也就是成就感。

· 蕾哈娜·里瓦斯(Rhiana Rivas)：

A good tip that a friend of mine once gave me is the "Seven Minute Rule," that is, if you can get it done in seven minutes (or less), do it — send the email to your boss, schedule the meeting, pack your lunch for tomorrow, clear off the clutter* from your desk, take the recycling bin down to the basement, etc.

一个朋友告诉了我一个好办法，叫“七分钟法则”：如果你可以在七分钟（或以内）将事情完成，那就去做——给老板发邮件、安排会议、装好明天的午餐、整理好桌上乱七八糟的东西、将回收筒放到地下室等。

*clutter：(a lot of objects in) a state of being untidy 杂乱，凌乱；杂乱的东西

Sorry about the clutter in the kitchen.

对不起，厨房里杂乱不堪。

· 萨希尔·古普塔(Sahil Gupta)：

In my first year of residency, I used to struggle to do even basic tasks, and was paralyzed with guilt when I would miss deadline after deadline. But since, I have been using the Pomodoro Technique and I plan out my days in 25 min intervals and 5 min break and complete small tasks throughout the day which have had a huge cumulative* effect. It has been literally a life changer.

在我搬过来后的第一年，我连最基本的任务都要挣扎着完成，在错过了一个又一个的截止期限之后，我被罪恶感侵蚀。但从那以后我就开始采用“番茄工作法”，将每天分成25分钟的间隙和5分钟的休息时间。在一天中完成不同的小任务，就会产生巨大的累积效应。这个办法彻底改变了我的生活。

*cumulative：increasing by one addition after another 累积的；渐增的

The cumulative effect of using so many chemicals on the land could be disastrous.

使用大量化学物质经年累月会对土地造成灾难性的后果。

· 巴迪·迪纳(Buddy Diener)：

What I did to help me stop procrastinating was get a tattoo on my arm that says "If not now, when?" So every morning when I wake up I can read that! May not be realistic for everyone, it really helped though. End procrastination now!

为了治好自己的拖延症，我在我的手臂刺上了纹身：“此时不做，更待何时”这样一来，每一天早上醒来我都可以看到！这可能不是一件对每一个人都可行的事情，但它的确有用。现在就停止犯拖延症吧！

· 康妮·弗莱彻(Connie Fletcher)：

My trick is to imagine my future self (this could be myself in a day, or a week, whatever) and to do things for this future self — "Connie of the Future." I picture how grateful Connie of the Future will be if I've laid out work clothes for next week, or done food prep for that night in the morning, or answered an email that Connie of the Present doesn't feel like doing. Whenever I meet Connie of the Future, she thanks me, Connie of the Past.

我的窍门是想象一下未来的自己（可以是一天后、一周后或是任何时刻的自己），然后为这个未来的自己行动——“未来的康妮”。我设想，如果我早就摆好下周的工作装、或者在早上已经为晚上准备好食物，或者回复了一封当下的康妮不想回复的邮件，未来的康妮会有多感激。每当我遇见未来的康妮，她都会感谢我——这个过去的康妮。

· 梅格·格林(Meg Green)：

On my desk, for all my years, I had a saying that worked for me. Most times: "If you have to swallow a toad*, it's best not to look at it too long."

这些年来，在我桌子上一直放着一句对我有用的话。大多数情况下是这样的：“如果你要吞下一只蛤蟆，最好不要盯着它看太久。”

*toad：a small, brown animal, similar to a frog, that has big eyes and long back legs for swimming and jumping 蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

· And, finally, Kate Engelke sent in my favorite of the bunch:

最后是我最喜欢的一条窍门，来自凯特·恩格尔克(Kate Engelke)：

Envision yourself as the sloth* you really are, and be proud you recognize who you were born to be! The key is to live within your own sloth community and hang out in the trees with your clan! Let their progress be your guide! Reward? Knowing that no one expects much of a sloth.

想象一下你就是那只树懒，并要骄傲地认识到你生来就是如此！关键不过就是好好在你的树懒社区里生活，并和族群一起在树间闲挂！让他们的进度引导你前进。那么奖励是什么？就是要知道没有人会对一只树懒抱有太高的期望。

*sloth：a mammal that moves slowly and lives in trees 树懒

Got any other procrastination-beating tips?

你有什么其他治疗拖延症的好办法吗？