每天只需10件事，生活单纯化

西西

Every Wednesday is Simplicity Day on Ten Habits.
Simplifying can sometimes be overwhelming. The amount of stuff youhave in your life and the amount of things you have to do can be toobig a mountain to tackle.
But you don’t have to simplify it all at once. Do one thing at atime, and take small steps. You’ll get there, and have fun doing it.
In fact, you can do little but important things today to start living the simple life.
I was criticized a few weeks ago when I published the Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life,because many people felt the list was too long. I heard this point, and this post is my response: just the 10 most important things.
And these are not 10 difficult things, but 10 simple things that you can do today. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month. Today.Choose one and do it today. Tomorrow, choose another.
If you do these 10 things, you’ll have made great strides with little effort.
1. Make a short list. Take out a sheet of paper and fold it into a small square, perhaps 3×5 inches. Or take out an index card. Now make a short list of the 4-5 most important things in yourlife. What’s most important to you? What do you value most? What 4-5things do you most want to do in your life? Simplifying starts with these priorities, as you are trying to make room in your life so you have more time for these things.
2. Drop 1 commitment. Think about all the things in your life that you’re committed to doing, and try to find one that you dread doing. Something that takes up time but doesn’t give you much value. Perhaps you’re on a team, or coaching something, or on a boardor committee, or whatever. Something that you do each day or week or month that you don’t really want to do. Now take action today to drop that commitment. Call someone, send an email, telling the appropriate person or people that you just don’t have the time. You will feel relief. I’d recommend dropping all commitments that don’t contribute to your short list (from Item #1), but for today, just drop 1 commitment.
3. Purge a drawer. Or a shelf, or a counter top, ora corner of a room. Not an entire room or even an entire closet. Justone small area. You can use that small area as your base of simplicity,and then expand from there. Here’s how to purge: 1) empty everything from the drawer or shelf or corner into a pile. 2) From this pile, pickout only the most important things, the stuff you use and love. 3) Get rid of the rest. Right now. Trash it, or put it in your car to give away or donate. 4) Put the stuff you love and use back, in a neat and orderly manner.
4. Set limits. Read Haiku Productivity for more. Basically, you set limits for things you do regularly: email,RSS posts, tasks, feeds, items in your life, etc. And try to stick with the limits. Today, all you have to do is set limits for a few things in your life. Tomorrow, try to stick with them.
5. Simplify your to-do list. Take a look at yourto-do list. If it’s more than 10 items long, you can probably simplifyit a bit. Try to find at least a few items that can be eliminated,delegated, automated, out sourced, or ignored. Shorten the list. This isa good habit to do once a week.
6. Free up time. Simplifying your life in generalis a way to free up time to do the stuff you want to do. Unfortunately,it can be hard to find time to even think about how to simplify yourlife. If that’s the case, free up at least 30 minutes a day for thinking about simplifying. Or alternatively, free up a weekend and think about it then. How can you free up 30 minutes a day? Just a few ideas: wake earlier, watch less TV, eat lunch at your desk, take a walk for lunch, disconnect from the Internet, do email only once today, shut off your phones, do 1 less thing each day.
7. Clear your desk. I can personally attest to the amazing feeling that a clean desk can give you. It’s such a simplething to do, and yet it does so much for you. If your desk is coveredwith papers and notes and gadgets and office supplies, you might not be able to get this done today. But here are the basic steps: 1) Cleareverything off your desk and put it in a pile (either in your inbox oron the floor). 2) Process the pile from top to bottom, one item at a time. Do not defer decisions on any item — deal with them immediatelyand quickly. 3) For each item, either file it immediately, route it to someone else, trash it, or note it on your to-do list (and put it in an“action” folder). If it’s a gadget or office supply, find a place for it in your desk drawers (or get rid of it). 4) Repeat until your pile is empty and your desk is clear. Be sure to get rid of any knickknacks. Your desk should have your computer, your inbox, perhaps anotdpad, and maybe a family photo (but not many). Ahh, a clear desk! 5)From now on, put everything in your inbox, and at least once a day,process it in the same way as above.
8. Clear out your email inbox. This has the same psychological effect as a clear desk. Is your email inbox always fullof read and unread messages? That’s because you’re delaying decisions on your emails. If you have 50, let’s say, or fewer emails in yourinbox, you can process them all today. If you have hundreds, you should put them in a temporary folder and get to them one chunk at a time (do20 per day or something). Here’s how you process your inbox to empty —including emails already in your inbox, and all future incoming emails:1) process them top to bottom, one at a time, deciding and disposing of each one immediately. 2) Your choices are to delete, archive, respondimmediately (and archive or delete), forward (and archive or delete),or mark it with a star (or something like that) and note it on yourto-do list to respond to later (and archive). 3) Process each email like that until the inbox is empty. 4) Each time you check your email,process to empty. Ahh, an empty inbox!
9. Move slower. We rush through the day, from one task to another, from one appointment to another, until we collapse on the couch, exhausted, at the end of the day. Instead, simplify yourlife by doing less (see Items 1, 4 and 5) and doing them more slowly. Eat slower, drive slower,walk slower, shower slower, work slower. Be more deliberate. Be present. This isn’t something you’re going to master today, but you canstart practicing today.
10. Single-task. Instead of multi-tasking, do one thing at a time. Remove all distractions, resist any urge to check email or do some other habitual task like that while you’re doing the task at hand. Stick to that one task, until you’re done. It’ll make a huge difference in both your stress level and your productivity.
有时候,单纯的生活与你好像遥不可及.太多的杂物塞满了你的生活,你有太多的事情要做,它们像山一样压在你的肩上.
但是你不需要一下子就改善它.循序渐进,每次做一件事,你就能达到目标,并且享受到其中的乐趣.
事实上,你只要抛弃一些鸡毛蒜皮的小事,做一些重要的事情,这样就能开始过一种简单而轻松的生活.几个星期以前我发表"简单生活的宣言:72个点子简化你的生活."这篇文章的时候,有人指责我,觉得这清单太长.
我听说了这一点,所以这篇POST的目的就是:只做10件最重要的事情.
这里要你做的并不是10件困难的事情,而是你现在就可以做的10件小事.不是明天,不是下星期,或者下个月,而是今天.今天,挑一件完成它,明天挑另一件.
如果你完成了这10件事,你已经很轻松地迈出了一大步.
1. 列出一个小清单.拿出一张小纸片,把它折成一个小方形,大概3×5英寸.或者拿出一张索引卡.现在在纸片上写下你一生最重要的4-5件事情.什么对你最重要?你觉得什么最有价值?你的一生中最想做哪几件事?以这些事情优先,因为你正在为你的生活创造出空间,这样你就有更多的时间做这些重要的事.
2. 放弃一个任务.想想你的一生中有多少事情要做,然后找出一个你不想做的.这件事耗费了你很多时间但收获甚少.也许你在一个团队,也许在接受什么训练,也许在一个对外委员会,或者其他无论什么.这件事你每天,每星期,每月都在不停地做,但是你真的不想做了.现在就开始行动吧, 把这个负担丢掉.给这个任务的负责人打个电话,或者发一封email,告诉他,你没时间做这个.你会感觉到解脱的.我建议你放弃所有对你的清单(第一件事情中的清单)中的事情没有帮助的一些负担,但是今天,只放弃一个就好了.
3.清空一个抽屉.或者一个书架,或者一个柜子顶端,或者一个房间角落.不是整个房间或者甚至整个壁橱.只要一个小小的空间.你可以把这个空间作为你简化你的生活的据点,并且向外扩张.如何清理:1)清空一个抽屉或者书架或者角落里的任何东西,把它们堆起来.2)从这一堆东西中,挑出最重要的或者你最爱的.3)放弃剩下的.现在就做,抛弃它或者放到你的汽车里赠送给他人.4)把你爱的和有用的东西干净并有秩序地放回原处.
4.设一个限度.多读读Haiku Productivity.基本上,你要给你经常做的事情设一个限度:email,RSS文章,任务,订阅源,生活的条目,等等.然后试着让自己坚守这些限制.今天,你只需要设定一下这个限度,明天,开始习惯坚守他们.
5.简化你的清单.现在看看你的待做事项清单.如果超过了10个条目,你就能小小地简化它一下.至少找出一些可以放弃,可以委任,可以自动完成,可以请外援,或者可以忽略的条目.把清单简化.每星期一次,这是一个很好的习惯哦.
6.让你的自由时间更多.简化你的生活的一个方法就是让你的时间更自由,你就有更多时间做自己想做的事.不幸的是,你可能甚至找不到时间来想想如何简化你的生活.如果是这种情况,你至少需要每天腾出30分钟来想想如何简化你的生活.或者,花一个星期来思考这个问题.你怎么样才能每天腾出30分钟呢?很简单:早起一点,少看点电视,在你的办公桌上便餐,午饭后散步,断开互联网,每天只查一次EMAIL,关掉电话,每天比前一天少做一件事.
7.清空你的桌面.我发誓一个干净整洁的桌子会给你带来惊人的愉悦感.这是一件如此简单的事情,但是它带给你的无法估量.如果你的桌子堆满了报纸和便条甚至是一些库存,你可能不能一下子清理干净.但是这是一些基本的步骤:1)清空你的桌子,把东西都堆在一起(或者放在你的储物盒或者地上).2)从头到脚过滤这一堆东西,每次一件.不要试图延迟你的决定--迅速地作出你的决定.3)对于每件东西,你可以选择迅速地纳入档案,或者交付他人,或者或者扔掉,或者纳入你的要做的事情的清单(并且要放到"事件"文件夹).如果这是一个机械的物品或者是办公室必须品,在你的抽屉里给它找一个容身之地,(或者干脆丢掉它).4)一遍一遍地筛选过滤知道你那一堆杂物被清空.一定要确保摆脱了任何小玩意.你的桌面应该只有你的电脑,一个盒子,或者掌上电脑,也许还有一个家人相框(但不要太多).哈哈,一个干净的桌子!5)从现在开始,把所有的东西都放在盒子里,并且每天都要不断的进行清理,确保你的桌面整洁.
8.清空你的email收件箱.这和清空你的桌面有着同样的效果.你的email是不是总是充满了已读和未读的邮件?那是因为你对你的邮件延缓了你的决定.如果你的收件箱里有50,或者少一点点的邮件,你可以今天花一整天时间把他们处理完.如果超过了100封,你应该把他们放到一个临时文件夹里,每次处理一部分(比如每天20封).以下是如何过滤你的收件箱并清空--包括已经存在在你的收件箱里的信件和即将到来的:1)从头到尾过滤一次,每次一个,迅速的决定如何处理.2)你可以选择删除,归档,迅速回复(然后归档或者删除),转发(然后归档或者删除),或者标记上星星(或者类似的)然后将它纳入清单,以后完成(然后归档).3)每封邮件都要如此处理直到收件箱为空.4)每次检查email,依上法过滤其为空.啊哈,一个空空如也的收件箱!
9.走慢点.我们一整天都在奔走,从一个任务到另一个,从一个职位到另一个,直到暮色四合,我们才能躺下.让我们来改变它吧,让做更少的事(参见条目1,4,5),让我们做的更慢.慢慢地吃饭,慢慢地驾驶,慢慢地行走,慢慢地淋浴.要有计划,活在当下.这不是你需要计划到明天去做的事情,你应该现在就开始练习.
10.独立型任务.与复合型任务不同的是,每次只做一件事情.当你做这件事情的时候你要避免所有的干扰,摆脱其他不相干的习惯(比如想查查Email或者其他的习以为常的事情).坚持那一个任务,直到你完成它.这样它不会给你很大压力,也不会影响到你的精力.