Time. You can't recover it, make up for it, or reverse it. There are 24 hours in a day and 168 in a week, and those numbers aren't changing. What you can do is use the hours more efficiently and wisely to free up at least 60 minutes a week。
時間——既不能收回，也無法彌補或倒流。一天24小時，一周168小時，永遠不多不少。你能做的只有更有效地利用好這些時間，努力爭取每周擠哪怕60分鐘出來。
Many of my executive clients work 60-plus hours a week still find a way to do things for themselves and their families. How? They do it by prioritizing. They know what's truly important, what's urgent, and what isn't. They know how to say no to certain things and yes to other things. And they know how to maximize the time that they do have and not dwell on time that they don't have。
我的很多管理層客戶每周至少工作60小時，卻依然可以擠出私人與家庭時間。他們是怎么做到的呢?通過優(yōu)先處理。他們知道什么才是真正重要的、哪些緊急而哪些又可以緩一緩。他們懂得如何拒絕或接受某些事情。而且，他們知道怎樣最大化利用自己擁有的時間，而不是一味想著沒有的。
Here's how you can optimize your time:
下面就教你如何最大化利用時間：
1. Track how you spend your time
記下自己都把時間花在了哪里
Do this for one week. Many people are entirely unaware of what they do hour to hour and where the day goes. This simple exercise of noting what you're doing each hour can have a huge impact。
堅持記錄一個星期。很多人根本不清楚自己是怎么混過每時每天的。記下每小時做了什么雖然簡單，卻能發(fā)揮重要作用。
One recent client told me how she spent 15 minutes every morning trying to decide what to wear each day. That's almost two hours a week she spent deciding what to wear. Another client told me how he spent almost an hour a day in one sitting reading sports scores even though his intention was to just "check them quickly." Track your time and know where you're spending it。
最近有個客戶告訴我，她每天早上要花15分鐘決定該穿什么衣服。也就是說，她每周幾乎花掉2小時來決定穿衣服這件事。還有一個客戶跟我說，就算原本只想“快速掃一眼”，他每天還是會花掉將近1小時用來查看比賽得分。記下你的時間分配，看看自己到底都干了些什么吧。
2. Determine which tasks and activities are vital and which are optional
確定哪些任務和活動比較重要，而哪些是可有可無的
Structure other tasks around those that are vital. Schedule your day by doing the important tasks first. This is when you are freshest and energetic. So often the less important tasks get in the way of other things that need to be done. For many this is a distraction. It's easier to do the things that aren't as important. Fear leads to procrastination and ends us keeping us stagnant. Here's how to overcome procrastination。
其他都以重要任務為中心進行安排。日程安排要先處理重要任務。這時你大腦清晰、精力充沛。通常，不太重要的事情會半路插進其他必做事情中，而且往往造成干擾。因為不太重要的事情更容易處理。畏難心理進而導致拖延，最后使我們毫無進展。下面就教你如何克服拖延癥。
3. Get up 15 minutes earlier than you normally do
比平常早起15分鐘
Doing so will provide you with an extra 75 minutes in your work week. Many of my clients who are business leaders talk about how they maximize their mornings and see it as a time to respond to emails without the distraction of telephone calls or they use it to do their daily workout。
這么做可以讓你每個工作周多出75分鐘。我有很多客戶是商業(yè)領導，在說到如何最大化利用早晨時間時，他們認為這段時間不受電話干擾，可以用來回復郵件，或者進行日常鍛煉。
4. Schedule Internet use
計劃上網(wǎng)時間
So often people lose their sense of time when they are online. Given the sensory overload, people are drawn into cyberspace and rarely can stick to just their intended task. Think about how many times you went online to read the news or check the weather and ended up staying online much longer reading other articles. Or perhaps you're like so many of my clients whose intention is to check sports scores quickly, yet they spend seven hours a week doing that. Schedule time and stick to it。
很多時候，人們一上網(wǎng)就容易忘了時間。人們被網(wǎng)絡空間吸引，思維被滿滿占據(jù)，很難堅持做完原本計劃的任務。想想有多少次你上網(wǎng)看新聞或看天氣預報，最后卻因為瀏覽其他文章而長時間耽擱吧。或者，你就像我的某些客戶，原本只想快速掃一眼比賽得分，最后卻每周浪費數(shù)小時在這件事上。請計劃好時間，并堅持執(zhí)行吧。
5. Plan
計劃
At the beginning of your week, schedule what you need to do with a "to-do" list. Similarly, at the end of your work day, plan the next day。
每周開始時，列出任務清單，計劃好需要做的事情。以此類推，下班后計劃好隔天的事情。
6. Log out of email and social media accounts
退出郵箱和社交媒體賬戶
Staying connected to such accounts will only distract you and waste time, especially when you are on a deadline or working on an important project. Schedule time to use your social media sites。
登錄這些賬戶只會使你分心并浪費時間，尤其當你在趕任務或處理重大項目的時候。規(guī)劃好使用社交媒體網(wǎng)站的時間。
7. Keep your expectations in check
隨時檢查自己的期望
Are these expectations reasonable or unreasonable? For example, are you trying to go to the gym, get the kids ready for school, do laundry, and walk the dog all before 9:00 a.m.? Make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew。
這些期望是否合理?舉個例子，你有沒有計劃在早上9:00之前全部搞定健身運動、送小孩上學、洗衣服和遛狗?請量力而行，不要奢望一口吃成胖子。
8. Change your thinking
改變自身思維
"I'm so busy" and "I don't have time for anything" are negative comments that are sure to keep you feeling overwhelmed. You might think instead, "I will make good use of the time that I do have" or "I can only do so much in one day and I will make sure I accomplish what is reasonable today."
“我很忙”和“我根本沒時間做任何事”都是消極想法，會讓你覺得不堪負重�；蛟S你可以這樣想：“我將好好利用擁有的時間”，或者“我一天只能做這么多事，還是先完成今天能夠搞定的事情吧”。
9. Group your errands in one place
一次包攬所有雜事
For example, if you know you're going to be downtown for an appointment and you know you go to a grocery store in that area, then consolidate the trips into one。
舉個例子，如果你確定要到市區(qū)赴約，而且你還要去趟那邊的雜貨店，那么何不一次就把兩件事一起搞定呢?
10. Keep your surroundings clean and organized
保持周圍環(huán)境整潔有序
A cluttered desk will distract you as will a messy home. By keeping things in order you'll keep information organized in your head and minimize the possibility of losing items and having to spend time looking for them。
亂七八糟的桌面或家里會讓你分心。讓物品井然有序，你也就能讓大腦中的信息有條不紊，并且還能減少丟失物品的幾率，免得浪費時間到處尋找。
