职场英语：9种方式给自己留出更多时间

Wouldn’t it be great to have more time? With a few extra hours a week, you could finally accomplish those goals that have been on your list for so long … but your life just seems to get busier and busier.

“要是时间再多点儿该多好呀!”——你是不是这样感叹过?的确，每周如果能多出几个小时，或许那些一直想做但没做的事情就都可以完成了!不过你的生活似乎变得愈加繁忙起来。

It doesn’t have to be that way. You can find time to reach your goals – in fact, you already have enough time, you just might not realize it.

其实不用这样累的。即使一天只有24个小时，你依然可以实现自己的目标——事实上，你拥有的时间已经够了，只是你自己没有意识到而已。

Here are nine powerful ways to find more time, starting now:

以下九个小贴士，能帮你有效找到“更多”的时间。就从现在开始吧!

1. Track Your Time for Several Days

连续几天记录自己的时间用途

Where does your time really go? If you’re not sure, then keep track of your time for a few days. Record what you’re doing in 15 minute intervals. You may want to focus particularly on trouble-spots: times of day when you tend to procrastinate.

你的时间，到底都用在哪儿了?假如你不确定答案，那就试着连续记录几天，找出自己真正的时间分配。每隔15分钟就记录一下自己在做的事情。很快你就能发现自己在什么地方特别容易浪费时间——也就是你的拖延症发作期啦。

Look for any time sinks – tasks or activities that are taking up a lot more time than you thought. Can you cut down the amount of time you spend on these – or cut them out of your day altogether?

找出那些耗时的陷阱——那些让你实际花费的时间比自己认为的多得多的事情。你能把它们占用的时间缩小吗?或者干脆彻底摒弃?

2. Break Your Goal into Little Chunks

把目标拆分成小块

If you have a huge goal like “run a marathon” or “write a book”, you’re obviously not going to accomplish it overnight: it’s going to take months or even years of effort. Big goals can be daunting – but by breaking them into little chunks, you make it much easier to get started and to keep going.

假如你的目标很远大，比方“跑马拉松”、“写一本书”这种，不可能一夜之间就能实现而需要数月数年才能完成的事，你可以试着把它们分成小块，这样就更容易一步步实现，而不会让你退缩啦。

Spend a few minutes writing down the next five small steps that you need to take to move towards your goal. These might be steps like “find a good training plan” or “buy new trainers” or “go for a 15-minute jog today” if you want to run a marathon next year.

花几分钟时间来列出为了达到这个目标而需要做的5件事。比方说如果你的目标是马拉松，你可以写上：“找到一个合适的训练计划”、“买一双新跑鞋”、“每天坚持慢跑15分钟”等等，为明年实现马拉松的目标而努力。

3. Realize That Even 10 Minutes is Enough

短短十分钟也能做很多事

It’s often easy to put off working on a goal because you don’t have enough time. Sure, you might have 10 minutes to spare – but you think you need a whole hour or two. Even 10 minutes, though, is enough to make some progress towards your goal.

我们很容易因为时间不够而推迟目标的达成。拨出10分钟来的确不难，但你可能觉得自己需要整整一、两小时。其实，哪怕是10分钟，也足够帮助你慢慢实现计划了。

Find little tasks that you can fit into 10 minutes … you’ll be surprised how much they’ll add up over a week or a month! If you’re working on a book, you could spend 10 minutes brainstorming topics, adding to your plan, or even writing a new paragraph of the content.

找出那些你能在10分钟内完成的任务，日复一日，你会惊讶地发现，原来一周一月累积完成的事情可以有这么多!拿写书来讲，每天都花10分钟找找灵感、设计写作计划、或者干脆写上一段，将会非常可观。

4. Block Out a Whole Afternoon or Weekend for Your Goal

为目标腾出一整个下午或周末

Of course, it’s not easy to accomplish your whole goal in daily 10-minute increments: if you want to run a marathon, for instance, you’ll need to train for longer than 10 minutes at a time. This is when a diary or calendar becomes a vital tool to help you towards your goal.

当然，每天只花10分钟对你的远大抱负来说，肯定不够啦。想跑马拉松，10分钟的练习时间肯定不够。所以你还可以利用日记/日历等有效工具，来帮助你实现目标。

Look ahead a few weeks, and see whether you can block out a whole Saturday afternoon – or even a whole weekend – to spend on your goal. Mark that time now in your diary or calendar, and don’t let any social events or chores creep into that space.

把日历往后翻，看看未来的哪个周六下午可以彻底空出来——要是能空出一整个周末那就更好啦。接下来，把这几天做上标记，以确保它不会被任何其他活动侵占。

5. Get Help from Others

寻求别人帮助

You don’t have to pursue your goal all on your own. Even if you don’t know anyone who can help you in a direct way, with advice or even useful equipment, you can get people to help you free up some time.

实现目标并不意味着得踽踽独行。即使你的朋友没法直接给你帮助、建议或相关物质援助，你也依旧可以从他们那里得到免费的偶尔援助。

If you have kids, for instance, how about swapping childcare with a friend? That way, you could have a few extra hours each week to focus on your goal.

如果你有孩子，你朋友也有孩子，那不如来和朋友轮流照顾孩子?这样的话，你就可以每周都空出几个小时，来专注于自己的目标啦。

6. Use Your Lunch Break

妥善利用午休时间

If you’re in the habit of grabbing lunch at your desk, start using your lunch break to work on your goal. You might not be able to spend the whole hour – but you could at least take 30 minutes to go for a brisk walk, or to do a little extra work on your book.

如果你的午餐通常都在办公桌前解决，那么这段时间便可拿来利用。没必要把中午的一整个小时都耗上，你只需要腾出半小时去散散步啦、或者写写书啦之类的。

Don’t feel guilty about taking a proper break, either (even if your colleagues don’t tend to). As well as feeling good about making progress toward your goal, you’ll get a much-needed rest from your work – leaving you more able to focus on your work during the afternoon.

同样，也不要因为“我把时间花在休息上了” 而觉得内疚——即使你的同事都不休息，你也没必要这样自责。因为要快乐地达成目标，你需要偶尔休息一下，这样才能保证下午的工作效率满满。

7. Use Your Commute

利用上下班的路上时间

If you normally drive to work, how about listening to an audio book on your journey? Pick something that ties in with your goal.

假如平时你习惯开车去上班，不如边开车边听听有声读物?你可以选择一些跟自己的目标相关的书本。

If your goal relates to exercise, can you walk, jog, or cycle to work? This obviously isn’t practical for everyone – but even if you have a long journey, you could get off the train (or park your car) further from the office and walk the rest of the way.

如果你的目标是体育锻炼方面的，何不如试着走路/慢跑/骑车上班?虽然这方法未必适合每一个人，不过即使是离家很远的上班族，也可以提早一站下地铁(或把车停在离公司一定距离以外)，然后下车走完全程。

8. Set Your Alarm 20 Minutes Early

每天早起20分钟

By getting up just a little earlier, you can make time for your goal before all the busyness of the day has begun. That might mean 20 minutes of exercising or writing, perhaps before the rest of your family is awake.

早点起床，这样能给你在奔忙的一天开始之前，赢得额外的20分钟为目标而奋斗。无论是锻炼20分钟、写作20分钟，或是仅仅为了求得宁静，而比全家人早起的那20分钟。

If you’re worried about being too tired, try going to bed earlier. Most of us don’t accomplish anything much in the 20 minutes before bed – whereas when we’re refreshed in the morning, we can get a surprising amount done.

担心自己起太早，会犯困?那就早点睡觉。因为，我们睡前的20分钟基本上都是被浪费掉的，而早上起来的那会儿，精力充沛可以让你极高效地完成目标。

9. Get Better at Saying “No”

试着学会拒绝

One big reason why most of us don’t have enough time for our goals is because we say “yes” too often. We take on commitments that aren’t a good fit for our true aims and dreams. If this sounds like you, then get better at saying “no”.

我们总觉得时间不够，很大程度上是因为我们太容易答应别人的请求了。而那些事，未必对我们实现自己的目标有帮助。深有同感?那么，试着学会拒绝，说“不”吧。