Written on 6/2/2008 by Shamelle Perera, who blogs about personal development with a heavy focus on practical and actionable advice. Visit the Site at
The Enhance Life or subscribe to the
RSS feed.
It's been a hectic day as usual. The phone has rung at least a dozen times, you have attended 3 meetings, you spent an hour answering emails, dealt with 4 queries from colleagues who unexpectedly arrived in your office, and there have been 2 major crises to sort out. You have been busy but you don't really feel as if you have achieved anything. Before you know it its time to go home.
The chaos continues at home as well ….….
You always seem to be in a hurry. There seems to be too much to do, and just not enough time. Do you feel like you're chasing something, but you never quite catch up?
Don't you think it's about time to figure out just WHY you are always in such a rush and do something about it?
- Analyzing your current use of time: That sounds so simple, but in reality, most people find difficult to practice. We can get swept along in the cut and thrust of daily life without appreciating where our time goes by. Try keeping a time log. You will be able to identify people you don't need to talk on the phone, bits of paper mislead, meetings last longer than expected…
- Cut back on time wasters: When completing a time log many people are shocked at the amount of time that is wasted during the day. What is a waste of time (or not) is often a matter of opinion. You decide for yourself when you choose priorities. And yet, people often continue to spend time on an activity they've decided is a waster, usually because it's a habit or something that provides instant gratification. For example excessive television, games, pointless online surfing
If you find an activity that is wasting your time, you might try scheduling a smaller amount of it rather than totally eliminating it.
- Accept the fact that you don't have time for everything: Do you have a hard time saying "No"? Make conscious choices and priorities about what you are going to do. Don't feel obliged or guilty about the other things.
People will have wants and needs that don't always coincide with your own. You would do well to learn when to take time for others and when it's better to say no. You must decide whether or not the person receives your time by examining your values and priorities. There are times you will want to be sensitive to other's needs and go the extra mile. But when you weigh the situation and decide you must say no, don't hesitate to do so.
- Perfectionism: Do you spend extra time getting things 100% right when 95% would do? Does your attention to detail mean something else more important doesn't get done?
Trying to be perfect takes too much time and effort. It creates too much stress and is impossible anyway. Your best is good enough. Live to a high standard, not to an impossible obsession.
- Delegate Tasks: If you can justify the cost of hiring someone to do the unpleasant or time consuming task, you should. Less enjoyable responsibilities such as laundry, house cleaning or house repairs etc are not only time consuming but also can drain you of energy.
Why do all the work yourself? Share those household chores as a family. Besides a less-stressed you, there will be more time for your family and your kids will learn that great virtue called responsibility. Make sure to post a list of chores and the member responsible.
- Set time limits: If you have to work late, or during the weekend, set time limits for yourself. Whether you work for two or four hours, stop working at the end of that time and enjoy the rest of the evening or weekend.
- Have a place for things: Make things easy to find. Time spent looking for items is not only wasteful it's frustrating as well. It also has an effect on delaying daily appointments, which will leave you pressed for time.
Put things in the same place so you don't have to think about where they are. Life is too short to spend time looking for things!
- Schedule fun time: People who are highly motivated to succeed sometimes forget to leave a little time for pure relaxation. Although the ideal situation would be to enjoy everything one does, many people find it necessary to work at things, which are not totally gratifying.
A hard working individual may find it exhilarating to think of an activity as fun time, or "my time". For example, you could spend time with your children and view that as your fun time. You may view your daily walk as "my time that nobody can interfere with; no phone calls or interruptions".
Finally….
When you are striving to gain and maintain your balance, whether it's working towards a single goal, or several goals, your pace should be relaxed and confident, not rushed and worried. When you put your top priorities first, take one thing at a time, and do the best you can. The important things get done while the less important things will simply have to wait. If you have many priorities which are all important, you'll just have to decided which are top priority, and put those first
-Shamelle
译文:
8条建议改变你匆忙生活,时刻保持冷静
Shamelle Perera于2008年2月6日发表这这篇关于自我发展的博文，他提出了很具有实践性和可行性的建议。你可以在“The Enhance Life”上找到它或者订阅RRS。
和往常一样，今天又是一个繁忙的日子。电话起码响起了十几次，一天中你参加了3个会议，你花了1小时回复电子邮件，你的同事不请自来跑到你办公室问了你4个问题，还有你处理了两次主要的紧急事件。你很忙，可是你没有真正的感觉到你自己得到了什么。在你明白过来之前，你已经下班回家了。
可是……忙乱在你的家中继续。
你似乎总是急急忙忙，总是有很多做不完的事情，而时间对你来说根本不够用。你会有这样的感觉吗？你总是在追赶一些什么，可是你却从未真正的赶上。
你是不是觉得是时候来分析下为什么你总是很匆忙？然后想办法改变一下呢？
1．分析现在的时间分配：这听起来很容易，但实际上，对于大多数人而言是很难做到的。我们在生活里快进快出，但我们并不关心我们的时间是怎么溜走的。试着做一个时间目录。这样你就能够分辨哪些人是你不需要在电话上多聊几句的，那些文件会误导你，而哪些会议又是会比想象的拖的更长的
2. 减少对于时间浪费：一旦有些人完成了他们的时间目录，他们会被一天中所浪费的时间感到震惊。浪费时间（或者没有浪费）通常是见仁见智的事情。你为你自己决定选择什么事情先做。但是，人们总是不断地把时间花在一下他们已经认定是浪费时间的事情上，通常这是因为一种习惯或者这些事情能够让人有暂时的满足。比如过多的看电视，玩游戏，以及毫无目的的上网。
如果你发觉你做的那件事情是在浪费你的时间，那么你要尽量只分配比较少的时间来做它而不是完全沉迷于它
3．接受事实你没有时间顾全每件事：你是不是觉得很难说“不”？权量再三谨慎地选择自己要去做什么呢？但你不需要对没有做到的事情觉得为难或者有罪恶感。
别人总有一些事情想要做以及需要做但是和你的不一样。你要学着分辨什么时候适合分配自己的时间为别人做事，而什么时候更应该拒绝。你必须作出判断你被别人所占用时间是否值得是否真的应该先做。有些时候你想要满足人家的需要并且付出辛苦的劳动。但当你经过衡量决定你要拒绝的时候，不要有过多的犹豫。
4．尽力就好：你会花更多的时间把事情做到100%的好吗？而其实只要做到95%就可以了。你会很关注一些不比其他事情重要的任务是否完成吗？
你总是很努力的用很多时间和精力来造就完美。这就会给你带来很大的压力，而且这是无论如何都不可能实现的。只要你自己努力过了就足够了。你需要活出更高的生活质量，而不是去实现一个不可能的雄心壮志。
5．分摊任务：如果你可以接受出钱雇佣某人来做那些麻烦的或者很占用时间的事情，那么你就这么做吧。很多不那么让人愉悦的事情，比如洗衣服，打扫房间或者房屋修缮等等都不仅仅知识消耗时间，也会让你筋疲力尽。
为什么什么事情你都要亲自上阵呢？把这些家庭琐事分派给家里人做。这样做除了能减轻你的压力，同样也能让你的家庭成员和你的孩子学会很重要的一项品质，那就是责任感。你需要列张家务表，以及谁负责那一项就可以了。
6．设时间限制：如果你很无奈，你必须工作到很晚或者要在周末加班，那就给你自己指定时间限制。无论你要工作两个小时或是四个小时，一旦时间到了，你就要停下手上的事情，享受剩下的晚上时光或者周末。
7．固定一个地方存放东西：你需要确保你的东西能够很快找到。把时间花在寻找某样东西上不仅浪费还很容易让人感到不耐烦。而且它有时会让你不得不达乱你的原定计划，然后让你不断的去压缩自己做别的事情的时间。
把东西都放在一个地方，这样你就不用去思考它们在哪里了。生命短暂，不能把时间花在寻找东西上！
8．给自己安排找乐子的时间：人们总是在努力取得成功，有时候已经忘记给自己留点空间彻底放松下来。虽然最理想的形式是享受自己所做的每件事情，但事实上很多人发现自己身不由己，不得不做一些根本不能让人感到愉悦的事情。
一个勤奋的人也许会发觉给自己安排一点娱乐时间，或是一些私人时间，会让他热血沸腾。比如，你可以找时间和你的孩子在一起，这就是你的娱乐时间。你也可以把你每天的散步看成是“属于我自己的时间，没有人可以打扰我，没有电话，没有工作骚扰”。
最后我想说……
当你努力想要得到或者维持生活的平衡，不管是为了一个单一的目标，还是几个目标，你必须在生活的道路上踏出自信和惬意的步伐，不要充满担忧与匆忙。当你一定要设定一些事情的先后，那么你一次只能做一件事情，并且要竭尽你的所能。你在完成很重要的事情的时候，那些不那么重要的也就只能排队等着。如果你有很多很重要的事情要优先完成，你必须分辨出哪些是极为重要的，然后把他们放在首位去做。