原文: Life Hacks: 10 Ways To Increase Productivity at Work, at Home, Anywhere

1. Eliminate unimportant tasks

   There are many tasks which we all have to get done by the end of a day. In the midst of rushing to complete all of them, we have to simply eliminate the unimportant task. Evaluate each task that you do in a day. There are bound to be many tasks which will not have any effect on the bottomline. So, cut down on unimportant ones.

2. Two-minute rule

   If a task is important and needs to get done, ask yourself whether you can complete it in 2 minutes. If yes, do it immediately or as soon as you think about the task. If you can reply to an important e-mail in two minutes and you're already at the computer, do it. By following this simple two-minute rule, you will find yourself having more time to complete other stuff.

3. Set short deadlines

   Give yourself shorter deadlines so that you will remain on task and focused. There is a tendency for all of us to waste time when there is a lot of time given to complete an assignment or a project. Very often, we push the task right to the back of our mind and forget about it until it's a few days towards the deadline. Even though we can still complete it in time, imagine what more we could do if the task could be completed in the shortest possible time.

4. Limit important tasks in a day

   I would suggest to limit the important tasks to just three each day. Ask yourself which tasks, if completed, would make you really satisfied and happy. These are the things which you have to complete and try to do them early in the day, when you are at your most energetic and raring to go.

5. Set short-term goals

   I'm done with long-term goals. I have no idea what I will be doing 10 years down the road. But I know what I want to do in the next few weeks and months. I feel more motivated when I am engaged in short-term projects instead of long-term ones. This is primarily due to the fact that I lose interest very quickly. I may feel very excited about one thing this week but the excitement wanes towards the second week. So, to keep myself focused, I give myself projects which can be completed very quickly, preferably within a week or two, or at most a month. That keeps me going.

6. Cut down phone calls

   If you're at work, make sure that each call has a purpose. No more socializing or gossiping with your colleague. Get to the point and make excuses to shorten the call if the other party wishes to drag it.

7. Cut down meetings

   I have realized how pointless meetings can be. Meetings are such a waste of time, really. There are many things which can be discussed over the phone or via e-mail, instead of face-to-face meetings. There is time wasted in coordinating and setting a meeting date and time, preparing an agenda, and getting people to be on time for the meeting. Meetings tend to drag on longer than necessary. As far as possible, use the phone or better still, send a well-constructed e-mail to discuss issues. Some meetings are unavoidable. So, try to set the end time of the meeting before it starts and everyone will remain focused on agenda at hand.

8. Check e-mail once a day

   Limit checking of e-mails to once or twice a day at most. Switch off e-mail alerts and concentrate on tasks at hand. They are just distracting you from the important things you need to accomplish. Another tip is not to check your e-mail in the morning. That is when most people start to e-mail others. You will realize that you will continue to have a stream of e-mails throughout the day. Try checking at noon and just before you leave for the day. These two times are the best because at noon, people are done e-mailing and you just need to take note or reply quickly with little distraction. In the evening, you may just want to make sure that there is no urgent task which needs to be completed before you head home.

9. Am I inventing things to avoid the important?

   From time to time, you have to ask yourself whether you are inventing things to do, just to avoid doing the important tasks. This happens to me all the time. I will want to check e-mail to see if this person has replied (even though I just checked like two minutes ago) or give some excuses to avoid doing the more important things. Remind yourself about this several times throughout the day.

10. There must be a better way

    At all times, you have to ask yourself whether there is a better way of doing things. Highly likely, there are more effective and more efficient ways to handle a particular task. So, keep improving.

So, let's all try to work more effectively and efficiently together. If you have other suggestions, feel free to leave your comment below.

译文: 提高工作和生活效率的十个方法

删除不重要的任务
每天我们都有许多工作需要完成，在这个匆忙完成任务的过程中，我们有时就必须删除掉一些不重要的工作。审视一下你一天内的各项工作，看看有哪些并不那么紧迫那么重要的，那么就删除掉吧。

“2分钟”规则
如果这项工作非常重要，需要你马上去完成的话，首先问问你自己，是否可以在2分钟内完成它，如果回答是肯定的话，你就要在接手工作之后尽可能快地去完成。如果你有能力在2分钟中内回复一个重要的邮件，并且电脑就在你面前，那就赶快去做了它。一旦遵循了这项“2分钟”规则，你就会发现自己能多出许多时间来做其它事情。

缩短完成任务的期限
给自己一个短期限，这样就可以提高效率，聚精会神地完成工作。对于大多数人来说，如果有大段时间来完成一项工作的话，我们通常都会拖拖拉拉，浪费时间，甚至把工作都抛掷脑后 ，一般来说，只有到了最后几天我们才会真正把这项工作给重视起来。即使这样，我们也总能赶在最后期限把工作给完成了，所以想一想，如果缩短工作期限的话，我们可以多出多少时间来做更多的事啊。

限制一天内重要任务的完成量
我建议，每天能完成三项重要任务即可，不妨问问你自己，一天之中完成哪些任务最能让你有满足感和愉悦感？而正是这些工作，需要你一早就去完成和努力去完成，因为一早是你精力最旺盛、思路最清晰的时间段。

制定短期目标
我不喜欢制定所谓的长远目标，因为连我自己都不清楚自己10年后的规划。但是我很清楚自己在后面几周、几个月里需要做些什么。所以在完成短期目标的时候，我会觉得更有动力；而长期目标却不行，最主要的原因是在这个过程中我很容易失去兴趣，比如，这个礼拜我对某件事非常感兴趣，可能到了下个礼拜兴趣就不那么浓厚了。所以，为了让自己一直能专注，我总会给自己制定一些短期目标，可以在一周，或者最多一个月内即能完成的，这些短期目标让我一直不断进步。

缩短电话通话时间
如果你在工作，就必须确保每个电话的通话都是有明确目的的。不能一直占着电话来与同事社交或传闲话，通话内容要有重点，如果对方拖延时间，你可以找一些借口来缩短通话时间。

缩短会议时间
我已经认识到开会是件多么没有意义的事情，可以说开会就是在浪费时间。有许多事情并不需要面对面开会商讨，通过电话或邮件就可以解决。开一个会，我们需要协调和确定会议日期和时间，准备会议流程，通知与会人员准时开会，所有这些都要浪费许多时间。开会通常都会产生不必要的延后情况，而事实上，打一个电话，或者发送一封结构清晰的邮件也可以达到同样的目的。当然，有些会议是不可避免的，所以在会议开始之前我们就需要确定好会议的结束时间，并且确保每人都参与，每人手头都有一份会议流程。

每天查看邮箱一次
每天查看邮箱的次数不要超过两次，将邮件提示音调至静音状态，这样才能让你专注于自己手头上的工作，因为提示音总会让你在工作时分心。另一个小贴士就是，不要一清早就去查看邮箱，因为在早晨，大多数人才刚开始准备写邮件。你会发现一整天里你都会持续不断地收到许多邮件，我的建议是，在中午和下班前这两个时段来查看邮箱最为适宜，因为在中午，人们基本上都已发送出了自己的邮件，这时你只要做记录或快速地回复即可，不会对你的工作造成打扰。而在下班前，查看一下邮箱可以让你确定在你回家前没有什么紧急的棘手问题需要解决。

我是否在为自己找借口不去做重要的工作？
不管在什么时候，都要问问自己，是否有意地想出一些有的没的的事情让自己做，从而避免去做那些重要的工作？这种情况时常在我身上发生，有时我会去查看邮箱，看看对方有没有给我回复（即便2分钟前我刚查看过），又有时会为自己找些借口，不去做那些更为重要的事情。要在这方面时刻提醒自己。

一定有更好的方法
时时刻刻都要记得问问自己，是否还有更好的方法来处理问题，在完成一项具体工作的时候，很有可能还存在更高效更有效的方法，所以，要记得不断让自己进步。

好了，现在就让我们一起更高效更有效地工作吧，如果你还有其它好的建议的话，非常欢迎您的留言。