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怎样最终把事情做好(下)
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实际上，第一项任务可以是打开一封电子邮件这样简单的事情。
双语精读
In practical terms, getting going can mean something as simple as opening an email.
实际上，第一项任务可以是打开一封电子邮件这样简单的事情。
Two decades ago, in "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity", an American time-management consultant, David Allen, warned readers that "the in-basket is a processing station, not a storage bin".
二十年前，美国时间管理顾问戴维·艾伦在《搞定：无压工作的艺术》中警告读者，"收件箱是处理站，而不是储物箱"。
The email inbox, whose contents do not pile up on the desk, is even easier to confuse for a garbage can than a tabletop in-tray. Electronic correspondence is the starting point of most work projects, ever more so in the era of hybrid work.
由于电子邮箱里的东西不会堆积在桌面上，它甚至更容易被误认为是垃圾桶，而不是桌面的收文盘。电子通信是大多数工作项目的起点，在混合办公时代更是如此。
So just click it. And if you still find yourself avoiding things on your to-do list that make you anxious, involving others can help. Discussing tasks with colleagues can suppress the tendency to dodge the parts of your job you like the least.
所以就点开吧。如果你仍然发现自己在逃避待办事项清单上让你焦虑的事情，和别人一起做会有所帮助。与同事讨论任务可以抑制你逃避最不喜欢的那部分工作的倾向。
Once you have got moving, consider your waypoints. That may mean breaking a job down into smaller, more readily achievable chunks.
一旦你开始行动，就要考虑一下任务量的规划。这可能意味着将一项工作分解成更小、更容易完成的多个部分。
A seminal paper from 2005 by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology examined how conceptual knowledge is processed. The authors found that the brain prefers concrete and discrete tasks to broad and abstract ones.
麻省理工学院的研究人员在2005年发表了一篇开创性的论文，研究了人们是如何处理概念性知识的。他们发现，与宽泛而抽象的任务相比，大脑更喜欢具体和离散的任务。
Set your sights on completing a document first, rather than starting out with the goal of crafting a complete strategy. Whatever you do, resist the urge of the overly concrete, like sharpening pencils.
所以，要先着眼于完成一份文件，而不是一上来就制定一个完整的策略。无论你做什么，都要抵制住过于具体的冲动，比如削铅笔。
Procrastination lies between logic and emotion, between ambition and achievement. Bridging that gap can be difficult, even when you know full-well that if you do, the dreaded task will no longer lurk at the back of your mind like an unwanted squatter.
拖延横亘于逻辑和情感之间，也横亘于雄心和成就之间。即便你很清楚如果不拖延，可怕的任务就不会再像不受欢迎的霸占者一样潜伏在你的大脑深处，但要弥合这种差距可能还是会比较困难。
Quick progress is difficult but rewarding, offering a high that is undiscoverable to those who leave things till the very end. Putting something off doesn't make it go away. That trivial truth is worth repeating.
快速取得进展很难，但回报很高，这样做所提供的快感是那些把事情留到最后一刻的人无法发现的。拖延并不能解决问题。这个浅薄的真理值得反复强调。
Just ask the central bankers who kept delaying interest-rate rises even as economists warned of rising inflation. Now they must ratchet rates up further and faster, at the risk of provoking a recession.
问问央行官员就知道了，他们在经济学家警告通胀会上升的情况下仍在推迟加息。导致他们现在必须冒着引发经济衰退的风险，进一步加快上调利率。
Most workplace decisions are not nearly as consequential but firms can still suffer material losses if employees put off tasks and decisions. So if that email arrives first thing in the morning, read it and reply--even if that means leaving your bed unmade.
尽管大多数工作场所的决策没有那么重要，但如果员工在完成任务和做决定上拖延，公司仍然可能遭受重大损失。所以，如果早上第一件事就是收到邮件，那就看一下，回复了吧----即使你会因此没时间铺床。
词汇预习
readily [高考]
美[ˈredɪli] | 英[ˈredɪli]
adv. 容易地；迅速地；乐意地；欣然
logic [高考]
美[ˈlɑːdʒɪk] | 英[ˈlɒdʒɪk]
n. 逻辑；逻辑学；条理性；推理
achievable [高考]
美[ə'tʃivəbl] | 英[ə'tʃi:vəbl]
adj.做得成的，可完成的，可有成就的
consequential [高考]
美[ˌkɑnsəˈkwenʃl] | 英[ˌkɒnsɪˈkwenʃl]
adj. 重要的；间接的；随之发生的；自高自大的
confuse [高考]
美[kənˈfjuːz] | 英[kənˈfjuːz]
vt. 使困惑；使混乱；混淆
rate [高考]
美[reɪt] | 英[reɪt]
n. 比率；速度；价格；费用；等级 v. 认为；估价；定等级；值得；怒斥；责骂
urge [高考]
美[ɜːrdʒ] | 英[ɜːdʒ]
vt. 驱策；鼓励；催促；力陈 vi. 极力主张 n. 冲动；强烈愿望
pile [高考]
美[paɪl] | 英[paɪl]
n. 桩；堆；摞；桩柱 v. 堆放；摞起；叠放；放置
document [高考]
美[ˈdɑːkjumənt , ˈdɑːkjument] | 英[ˈdɒkjumənt , ˈdɒkjument]
n. 文件；公文；文档 vt. 记载；(用文件等)证明
garbage [高考]
美[ˈɡɑːrbɪdʒ] | 英[ˈɡɑːbɪdʒ]
n. 垃圾；废物；食物残渣
tendency [高考]
美[ˈtendənsi] | 英[ˈtendənsi]
n. 趋势；倾向；秉性
concrete [高考]
美[ˈkɑːŋkriːt] | 英[ˈkɒŋkriːt]
adj. 具体的；实质性的；混凝土的 n. 水泥；混凝土；具体物 v. 凝结；结合
broad [高考]
美[brɔːd] | 英[brɔːd]
adj. 宽广的；清楚无误的；明显的；胸怀开阔的；粗俗的 n. [俚]女子
resist [高考]
美[rɪˈzɪst] | 英[rɪˈzɪst]
v. 抵制；抵抗；反抗；忍住 n. 防蚀涂层
ambition [高考]
美[æmˈbɪʃn] | 英[æmˈbɪʃn]
n. 雄心；抱负；野心；精力 vt. 追求；有 ... 野心
consultant [高考]
美[kənˈsʌltənt] | 英[kənˈsʌltənt]
n. 顾问；咨询者；[英]会诊医生
abstract [高考]
美[ˈæbstrækt] | 英[ˈæbstrækt]
adj. 抽象（派）的，纯理论的 n. 摘要，概要; 抽象派艺术作品 v. 提取，抽取，摘取; 写摘要
storage [高考]
美[ˈstɔːrɪdʒ] | 英[ˈstɔːrɪdʒ]
n. 保管；贮藏；仓库；保管费；[计]存储器
pile up [高考]
美[paɪl ʌp] | 英[pail ʌp]
堆积； 积累
means [高考]
美[miːnz] | 英[miːnz]
n. 方法；手段；收入；财产 v. 意思是，意味（动词mean的第三人称单数）
further [高考]
美[ˈfɜːrðər] | 英[ˈfɜːðə(r)]
adv. 更远地，再往前地；进一步；此外，而且 adj. 更多的，进一步的；（距离上）更远的，较远的 v. 促进，推进
gap [高考]
美[ɡæp] | 英[ɡæp]
n. 缺口；裂缝；差距；空白
era [高考]
美[ˈɪrə] | 英[ˈɪərə]
n. 纪元；时代；年代
hybrid [高考]
美[ˈhaɪbrɪd] | 英[ˈhaɪbrɪd]
n. 混合物；杂种；混血儿 adj. 杂种的；混合的
workplace [高考]
美[ˈwɜːrkpleɪs] | 英[ˈwɜːkpleɪs]
n. 工作场所
tray [四级]
美[treɪ] | 英[treɪ]
n. 托盘；盘
recession [四级]
美[rɪˈseʃn] | 英[rɪˈseʃn]
n. 后退；（经济）不景气
email [四级]
美['imeɪl] | 英['i:meɪl]
vt. 发电子邮件；给……发电子邮件 n. 电子邮件，电子信函
inflation [四级]
美[ɪnˈfleɪʃn] | 英[ɪnˈfleɪʃn]
n. 通货膨胀；膨胀
trivial [四级]
美[ˈtrɪviəl] | 英[ˈtrɪviəl]
adj. 不重要的；琐碎的
suppress [四级]
美[səˈpres] | 英[səˈpres]
vt. 镇压；隐瞒；压制；止住；禁止
unwanted [四级]
美[ˌʌnˈwɑntɪd] | 英[ˌʌnˈwɒntɪd]
adj. 不需要的；多余的；无用的；讨厌的；不受欢迎的
to-do [四级]
美[təˈdu] | 英[təˈdu:]
n. [非正式]骚动； 喧闹
make it [四级]
美[mek ɪt] | 英[meik it]
成功 达到预定目标,性交易,幸存
back of [四级]
美[bæk ʌv] | 英[bæk ɔv]
在 ... 后部； 在 ... 背部
not nearly [四级]
美[nɑt ˈnɪrli] | 英[nɔt ˈniəli]
adv. 远不及；完全不
offering [四级]
美[ˈɔːfərɪŋ] | 英[ˈɒfərɪŋ]
n. 供品；作品；出售物
rewarding [四级]
美[rɪˈwɔːrdɪŋ] | 英[rɪˈwɔːdɪŋ]
adj. 有报酬的；有益的；值得的
overly [六级]
美[ˈoʊvərli] | 英[ˈəʊvəli]
adv. 过度地；极度地
correspondence [六级]
美[ˌkɔːrəˈspɑːndəns] | 英[ˌkɒrəˈspɒndəns]
n. 通信；信件；相符，相似；一致，相当
dodge [专四]
美[dɑːdʒ] | 英[dɒdʒ]
v. 避开；躲避 n. 躲避；诡计
lurk [专八]
美[lɜːrk] | 英[lɜːk]
v. 潜藏；潜伏；埋伏 n. 潜伏；隐藏
discrete [专八]
美[dɪˈskriːt] | 英[dɪˈskriːt]
adj. 不连续的；分离的
bin [考研]
美[bɪn] | 英[bɪn]
n. 箱柜；仓；垃圾箱 vt. 放入箱内
terms [雅思]
美[tɜːrmz] | 英[tɜːmz]
n. 条件；条款；关系；措辞
重点讲解
In**** practical terms,**** getting going can mean**** something as**** simple**** as**** opening an**** email.****
实际上，第一项任务可以是打开一封电子邮件这样简单的事情。
Two decades ago,**** in**** "Getting**** Things**** Done****:**** The Art of**** Stress****-Free**** Productivity****", an**** American**** time****-management**** consultant****,**** David Allen,**** warned**** readers that**** "the**** in****-basket**** is**** a processing**** station,**** not a storage bin".
二十年前，美国时间管理顾问戴维·艾伦在《搞定：无压工作的艺术》中警告读者，"收件箱是处理站，而不是储物箱"。
The email inbox, whose contents do not pile up on the desk, is even easier to confuse for a garbage can than a tabletop in-tray. Electronic correspondence is the starting point of most work projects, ever more so in the era of hybrid work.
由于电子邮箱里的东西不会堆积在桌面上，它甚至更容易被误认为是垃圾桶，而不是桌面的收文盘。电子通信是大多数工作项目的起点，在混合办公时代更是如此。
pile up
1. 堆积；堆放
【例】The books piled up on the floor.
书堆放在地板上。
2. 堆积；积压
（英文释义：to become larger in quantity or amount）
【例】Work always piles up at the end of the year.
年底总是积压一大堆工作。
So just click it. And if you still find yourself avoiding things on your to-do list that make you anxious, involving others can help. Discussing tasks with colleagues can suppress the tendency to dodge the parts of your job you like the least.
所以就点开吧。如果你仍然发现自己在逃避待办事项清单上让你焦虑的事情，和别人一起做会有所帮助。与同事讨论任务可以抑制你逃避最不喜欢的那部分工作的倾向。
dodge v. & n.
1. 作动词
（1）闪开；躲开
【例】He ran across the road, dodging the traffic.
他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。
（2）（尤指不诚实地）逃避
【例】He dodged his military service.
他弄虚作假逃避了服兵役。
【拓展】dodge a bullet 逃过一劫，避免（失败、损失、受伤等）
【例】Coastal towns dodged a bullet when the hurricane veered out to sea.
当飓风转向海上时，沿海城镇躲过了一劫。
2. 作名词：推脱的计策；逃避的诡计
【例】When it comes to getting off work, he knows all the dodges.
说到请假，他什么花招都想得出。
Once you have got moving, consider your waypoints. That may mean breaking a job down into smaller, more readily achievable chunks.
一旦你开始行动，就要考虑一下任务量的规划。这可能意味着将一项工作分解成更小、更容易完成的多个部分。
waypoint n. （旅途中的）停留处；沿途的坐标点
【例】In Dnipro in central Ukraine, a main waypoint for those fleeing the fight, new arrivals are in constant need of comfort and shelter.
乌克兰中部的第聂伯罗是人们逃离战乱路上的重要停留处，刚到达此地的人总是急需舒适的庇护所。
A seminal paper from 2005 by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology examined how conceptual knowledge is processed. The authors found that the brain prefers concrete and discrete tasks to broad and abstract ones.
麻省理工学院的研究人员在2005年发表了一篇开创性的论文，研究了人们是如何处理概念性知识的。他们发现，与宽泛而抽象的任务相比，大脑更喜欢具体和离散的任务。
waypoint n. （旅途中的）停留处；沿途的坐标点
【例】In Dnipro in central Ukraine, a main waypoint for those fleeing the fight, new arrivals are in constant need of comfort and shelter.
乌克兰中部的第聂伯罗是人们逃离战乱路上的重要停留处，刚到达此地的人总是急需舒适的庇护所。
Set your sights on completing a document first, rather than starting out with the goal of crafting a complete strategy. Whatever you do, resist the urge of the overly concrete, like sharpening pencils.
所以，要先着眼于完成一份文件，而不是一上来就制定一个完整的策略。无论你做什么，都要抵制住过于具体的冲动，比如削铅笔。
set your sights on sth/on doing sth 以……为目标；决心做到某事
【例】She's set her sights on getting into Harvard.
她决心要上哈佛大学。
【拓展】sight相关的一些表达：
1. come into sight 出现在视线中
【例】A bicycle came into sight on the main road.
大路上出现了一辆自行车。
2. in the sight of sb 以某人的观点来看；在某人看来
【例】We are all equal in the sight of God.
在上帝眼里我们都是平等的。
Procrastination lies between logic and emotion, between ambition and achievement. Bridging that gap can be difficult, even when you know full-well that if you do, the dreaded task will no longer lurk at the back of your mind like an unwanted squatter.
拖延横亘于逻辑和情感之间，也横亘于雄心和成就之间。即便你很清楚如果不拖延，可怕的任务就不会再像不受欢迎的霸占者一样潜伏在你的大脑深处，但要弥合这种差距可能还是会比较困难。
bridge the gap (between A and B) 消除（A和B之间的）隔阂
【例】to bridge the gap between the old and the young 弥合老人与年轻人的代沟
lurk v.
1. 埋伏；潜伏
【例】A crocodile was lurking just below the surface.
有条鳄鱼就潜伏在水面下。
2. （在网络聊天室）潜水，隐身
【例】I usually lurk and browse posts, but rarely take part in the discussion.
我通常都是潜水和看帖，很少参与讨论。
Quick progress is difficult but rewarding, offering a high that is undiscoverable to those who leave things till the very end. Putting something off doesn't make it go away. That trivial truth is worth repeating.
快速取得进展很难，但回报很高，这样做所提供的快感是那些把事情留到最后一刻的人无法发现的。拖延并不能解决问题。这个浅薄的真理值得反复强调。
ratchet sth up 推动……上涨
【例】Overuse of credit cards has ratcheted up consumer debt.
滥用信用卡使消费债务逐渐增加。
Just ask the central bankers who kept delaying interest-rate rises even as economists warned of rising inflation. Now they must ratchet rates up further and faster, at the risk of provoking a recession.
问问央行官员就知道了，他们在经济学家警告通胀会上升的情况下仍在推迟加息。导致他们现在必须冒着引发经济衰退的风险，进一步加快上调利率。
ratchet sth up 推动……上涨
【例】Overuse of credit cards has ratcheted up consumer debt.
滥用信用卡使消费债务逐渐增加。
Most**** workplace decisions are not nearly**** as**** consequential but firms can still suffer**** material**** losses**** if**** employees put off tasks and decisions.**** So**** if**** that**** email arrives first thing in**** the morning,**** read**** it**** and reply--even if**** that**** means leaving your**** bed unmade****.****
尽管大多数工作场所的决策没有那么重要，但如果员工在完成任务和做决定上拖延，公司仍然可能遭受重大损失。所以，如果早上第一件事就是收到邮件，那就看一下，回复了吧----即使你会因此没时间铺床。
课后练习
David Allen advised people to ____.
A. deal with emails in a timely manner
B. store the documents in a secure place
C. ignore the unimportant notices
D. keep the desk clean and well-organized
To get things finished, it may be helpful to ____.
A. ask colleagues to do the difficult parts of the job
B. divide the job into more concrete tasks
C. start by doing the easy parts of the job
D. make a comprehensive and detailed plan
According to the text, overcoming procrastination can ____.
A. improve the logical reasoning of brain
B. foster a sense of responsibility to work
C. ease the mental burden of unfinished tasks
D. bring the opportunity for career advancement
The example of central bankers who delay interest-rate rises shows that ____.
A. putting things off can cause undesirable consequences
B. procrastination is a widespread phenomenon
C. prioritizing tasks can improve work efficiency
D. speed matters most in workplace decision-making