原文: Lessons in Productivity from Ralph Waldo Emerson

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Brett McKay, editor of The Art of Manliness

Before there was Steven Covey, or GTD, or Zen Habits, before simplicity was hip, and even before the advent of a crushing load of modern technology from which people would long to be freed, there were the American Transcendentalists. The OG of simplicity. Foremost among these was Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the finest American minds, and a man who espoused principles that resonate even today.

1. Write everything down

Men are born to write… Whatever he beholds or experiences, comes to him as a model and sits for its picture. He counts it all nonsense that they say, that some things are undescribable. He believes that all that can be thought can be written, first or last; and he would report the Holy Ghost, or attempt it. Nothing so broad, so subtle, or so dear, but comes therefore commended to his pen, and he will write. In his eyes, a man is the faculty of reporting, and the universe is the possibility of being reported.

A problem that Emerson faced his entire life was the possession of an unmanageable mind. His thoughts leaped quickly from one idea to another. He had moments in life where insights sprang from his mind like water from a broken dam. During these times, Emerson had trouble organizing his thoughts effectively. Yet these deluges were gone in a flash and he was then beset with an intellectual dry spell. He compared the challenge of managing his mind to that of harnessing thunderbolts.

In order to manage these fluctuations, Emerson kept a journal. Every day he collected even the smallest thought, idea, or dream that crossed his mind. This enabled Emerson to better organize his thoughts when they flowed freely and to spur new ideas when he hit a dry spell. Writing helped Emerson make sense of the world. He would revisit the ideas he had recorded and add to them as he gained new insights. Thanks to Emerson’s journaling habit, we are blessed today with his great essays on simplicity and self-reliance.

How to apply Emerson’s lesson in your life
Take the 30 day challenge and focus completely on collecting your thoughts in a journal. Anytime a thought flits across your mind, record it. Make capturing your thoughts ubiquitous by carrying a small notebook with you everywhere. Personally, I carry around a pocket Moleskine. They’re wonderful to write in and are small enough to fit in your back pocket.

2. Eliminate Distractions

The one prudence in life is concentration; the one evil is dissipation: and it makes no difference whether our dissipations are coarse or fine; property and its cares, friends, and a social habit, or politics, or music, or feasting. . . Friends, books, pictures, lower duties, talents, flatteries, hopes, - all are distractions which cause oscillations in our giddy balloon, and make a good poise and a straight course impossible. You must elect your work; you shall take what your brain can, and drop all the rest. Only so, can that amount of vital force accumulate, which can make the step from knowing to doing.

Emerson understood early on his career as a writer that if he was to succeed, complete focus had to be given to the task at hand. By eliminating distractions in his life, Emerson created an environment in which he could completely focus on his most important work. This is not to say that Emerson was a hermit who lived only for work. He loved to engage in pithy conversations with friends in his home and visit them at home and abroad. But he did not let such things take away from his passion for writing and lecturing.

How to apply Emerson’s lesson in your life
Emerson eliminated distractions by limiting the amount of books he read, streamlining “lower duties” like household chores, and avoiding relationships with people whose nervous temperaments upset his focus. While today there are many more distractions than in Emerson’s day, we too can reduce our information consumption. Put Haiku Productivity in practice by limiting the amount of stuff you own, RSS feeds you read, and times you check email. By doing so, you’ll create an environment conducive to getting things done.

3. Keep moving

“Ah!” said a brave painter to me, thinking on these things, “if a man has failed, you will find he has dreamed instead of working. There is no way to success in our art, but to take off your coat, grind paint, and work like a digger on the railroad, all day and every day.”

Emerson understood that it is human nature to “lapse . . . quickly into flesh and sleep.” Nature is constantly pulling us toward the path of least resistance. To battle this natural tendency for laziness, Emerson stressed that we must “use all the exalters that will bring us into . . . a productive state.” For Emerson, the most effective tonic for laziness was work.

Emerson knew that once motivation dies it is hard to resuscitate. He kept his motivation alive by constantly working. When times were difficult and ideas didn’t come to him, Emerson continued to work knowing that inspiration would come soon. In a letter to an acquaintance, Emerson compared the mind to a pear-tree that goes through a season of bareness only to suddenly burst forth in fruitful growth. However, the farmer must continue to prune and graft even during these moments of sterility in order to reap the harvest.

Applying Emerson’s lesson in your life
Keep working even if you’re tired, feel uninspired, or apathetic towards your goal. Use this list of 20 great motivation hacks to help you stay moving in the right direction. While these simple tips are not the cure to restoring your high powered motivation completely, they’re great for keeping working until your season of motivation returns.

Read more from Brett McKay on the excellent blog, The Art of Manliness.

译文: 爱默生关于效率的课程

      在有史蒂芬科维，《把事情做好》,或者Zen Habits网站出现之前，在简朴时髦之前，甚至在有着决定性力量的现代技术出到之前，从人们渴望自由开始，美国就有了提倡简朴的先驱者.在他们中最著名的是Ralph Waldo Emerson（爱默生），美国最具智慧的头脑之一，同时也是一个恪守即使是今天也难坚持的原则的人。

      1写下点点滴滴

      人生来就是为写的…无论他拥有或经历了什么，通通涌来像一个模特坐在那里等着被画。他计算着他们所说的所有无聊愚蠢的事，或是一些无法描述的事物。他相信所有这些能被思考的事物都能被记下，不管是第一个还是最后一个。然后他会报道神灵，或是试图。没有任何事是太宏大，太微妙或是太珍贵而无法记忆，它们一齐涌到他的笔下来。在他眼里，一个人就是报到事业的职员，而万物均有可能被报道。

      爱默生面临的一个问题是，他的一生都被无法驾驭的思想主宰。他的思想从一个跳到另一个。有时，洞悉会像破罐力的水一样从他脑中涌出。在这些时候，爱默生很难有效地组织他的思想。然而这些如洪水般涌来的顿悟又会瞬间消失，他就只能困扰于一段智力干涸期。他把这种经营他思想的挑战比作是利用雷电的挑战。

      为了能掌控这些波动，爱默生坚持记日记。每天，他收集在他脑中即使是最细微的思绪，想法或是梦境。这使得爱默生能够更好的组织他的飘渺思绪并在干涸期时激发新点子。写作让爱默生更好地了解了世界。他往往温习他所记下的想法并注入他新的观点。得益于爱默生的记日志习惯，我们今天有幸欣赏他具有简朴自立风格的精美散文。

      如何应用爱默生的课程于生活

      试着挑战30天，完全专注于收集你的思绪于日志。任何时候你脑中闪过一丝想法，记下它。为捕捉你无处不在的想法，随时带着一个小笔记本。我则是把Moleskin（折页笔记本知名品牌）放到口袋。他们既方便记又足够小能放进你的口袋。

      2 清除分心

      生活中美好的一面是专心，罪恶的一面则是分心---孬否无异。财产及对其投入的精力，朋友，一系列的习惯，政治或者音乐，宴会等等。朋友，书籍，图片，简单义务，天赋，奉承，希望，所有这些都是导致我们在眼花缭乱的气球中摇摆不定的分散因素，它们让人无法平衡，走笔直的航线。你必须选择你的工作，你应该承担你的智慧所能达到的，然后放下其余一切。只有这样，真正能使你从认识到行动的关键力量才能集中。

      爱默生很早就知道在他写作生涯中，若想成果，他就必须完整的专注于他手上的任务。清除了他生活中的分心物之后，爱默生为自己创造了一个能够完整投入他最重要作品的环境。但这并不是说爱默生只为工作而活的隐居者。他热衷于与朋友进行精炼的交谈，登门拜访甚至出国探望。然而他并没有让这些事情掳走他对写作与讲座的激情。

      如何应用爱默生的课程于生活

      通过限制阅读书籍数量，低等义务像家庭琐事，避免接触有紧张性情的人以防干扰他的焦点/ 避免与性情紧张的人有任何关系以防干扰他的焦点。在当今社会有着远比爱默生时代多得多的分心因素，但我们同样可以减少我们的信息消费。通过限制你所有物的数量，你所阅读的RSS提供信息，和你查收邮件的时间，以实践Haiku Productivity（俳句效率）。这样，你将创造出一个有助于完成事情的环境。

      3 永不止步

      “啊!”想着这些事情，一个勇敢的画家告诉我，“如果一个人失败了，你会发现他只是空想而不实干。在人生艺术中，若想成功，除了脱下你的外套，苦苦涂漆，像一个挖掘工在铁路上每天、整天苦干一样地工以外，别无它法。”

      爱默生明白衰退是人的天性。天性往往能使我们进入低抵抗力状态。要战胜这种懒惰倾向的天性，爱默生强调——我们必须“启用所有积极性将我们带入一个有效率的状态。”对于爱默生，对付惰性最有效的良药就是工作。

      爱默生很清楚动机一旦消失就很难再复苏。为了保持动机鲜活，他马不停蹄的工作。当时间难挤并且思维干涸时，爱默生坚信灵感很快会来，继续工作。在写给一个泛泛之交的信中，爱默生把思想比做一棵在产果季只经历一次突发雨水的梨树。然而，为了保证最大限度的丰收，即使在这种绝育期，庄园主也必须持续给它修剪、嫁接。

      应用爱默生课程于你的生活

      即使累了，感觉没有灵感了，甚至无动于衷于目标时，也要坚持工作。使用这份清单的20条强烈动机帮助你驶向正确的方向。但是这些简单的小策略并不是恢复动机的良药，而对于等待动机时，你坚持工作有巨大帮助。

      更多信息请查阅Brett McKay在精彩博客上—男子气概的艺术。