I』ve been focusing on the topic of reflection in the past few lessons.
最近這幾講,我一直在講「反思」這個話題。
We』ve talked about how to translate an idea into action, and the three questions of reflection which bring meaning to the action.
在前面兩講中,我談到了:如何將想法轉化為行動,以及反思的3個問句。
Remember: ideas and chores cannot be managed. Only action can be managed. We must therefore, translate ideas into actions and the way we translate them is through those three questions.
想法和雜事,是不可以被管理的,我們能夠管理的只有行動,通過反思的那3個問句,我們就可以把它們轉化為行動。
At Yixiaoneng, we call this reflection 「clarification」 because that is what we are doing – we are clarifying the task by bringing meaning to it – making it purposeful.
上面說的「反思」,在易效能的理念中,我們也常把它稱為「明確意義」。
Today I want to talk about a phrase that you should learn to remember: meaning first, method second.
那麼今天這一講,我要給大家分享的一個理念就是:先有意義,再有條理!
Many people make lists. That is nothing new. But what most people include in the lists are chores.
很多人都會列清單,但在易效能看來,大家所列出來的往往都是雜事。
The thing that most people do not do and will help you stand apart from others is classifying and arrangingchores into meaningful contexts and lists.
把雜事進行分類和整理,從本質上來講是不太可能實現的。
Think of a list as the trunk of your car. You can throw things into the trunk and over time you will be left with a very messy car trunk. This is how most people arrange their lists. Without a system of organizing the trunk, it will be very difficult to retrieve items from the trunk or even to remember that they are there to be used. Sometimes you』ll even go and buy another tool that is already in your trunk, simply because you didn’t remember it was there. That is the inefficiency that comes from most lists.
這就好比你要整理非常雜亂的汽車後備箱,有車的人都知道,這真是一件痛苦的事,因為大多數人整理不好。
Why does this happen?
這是為什麼呢?
Because most of us only know how to classify but not 「clarify meaning」, in the lists.
因為我們大多數人只懂分類,不懂「明確意義」,所以大家的整理就僅限於把東西歸歸位。
Today I’m going to teach you the correct and effective way to manage lists: meaning first, method second.
那麼今天教給大家這個正確,並行之有效的整理方式:先有意義,再有條理。
What is meaning and method?
什麼是意義和條理呢?
Meaning usually means screening.
意義,通常指的就是篩選。
Method usually means classification.
條理,通常指的就是分類;
When we are doing things during the normal course of our day, our mind is constantly generating new ideas. If we don’t record those ideas very quickly, we will forget them forever. However, there is a second problem: we can not spend too much time on the new idea, or else we』ll lose focus and never complete what we are currently doing. We will never live in the moment. Can you see the problem?
當我們在做事情的時候,腦子突然蹦出新的想法,我們要非常快速地把它記錄下來,不能花太多時間在新想法上,只有這樣我們才能活在當下。
Since we are occupied and currently completing a task, we can only sacrifice very little of our mental energy to do something with that new idea that comes out of your mind. Imagine we only have 1% of our total mental energy to do something with the task. In other words, you must quickly and easily transfer that task somewhere else and focus on it later when we can devote more energy to it.
我們只能把1%的精力,用來做收集。
When we have time to sort out these "chores lists", we will find a few things:
等我們有時間來整理自己的「雜事清單」時,我們就會發現:
First, that we need to deal with some urgent things as soon as possible;
有些事情可能是眼下緊急的,我們需要儘快處理;
Second, that we must complete some important things by a certain deadline;
有些事情非常重要,我們在某年某月某日之前一定要完成;
Third, that some ideas are not worth pursuing and should be deleted.
有些事情不重要,我們可以把它刪掉了;
And fourth, that some things that we have not thought through enough can be put into the "future / maybe" listtemporarily...
有些事情我們還沒有考慮清楚,暫時放入「將來/也許」清單吧.
We clarify the tasks by deleting things we shouldn’t do; reserve things temporarily that need more reflection; and scheduling other items in a calendar or putting them into a situation list.
對事務明確意義就是要:刪除不需要做的;暫時保留還需要醞釀的;待辦的就放入日曆和情境清單中。
This clarification requires a trade-off – you cannot complete all tasks so if you choose to complete some task you must not do others.
明確意義意味著我們要進行選擇與取捨。
Management master Peter Drucker said: 80% of tasks should be delegated. Only 20% of tasks are important and specific enough that you should do them yourself.
管理學大師德魯克講:80%的事情不需要做,或者不需要自己做。
Now, there are tasks that important but non-urgent. There is no specific time that these tasks should be completed, but can be best and most efficiently completed in specific contexts. For instance: removingthe weeds in a doorstep, traveling in a hot air balloon,etc. These tasks have no sense of importance or urgency.
同時,還有大量的事情是我們暫時還拿不定主意要不要做,或者在等待時機做的,例如:有時間就除除家門口的雜草,有機會就去坐坐熱氣球等等,這些都是可做可不做,又不緊急的事。
Other tasks are favors or promises for others that don’t have deadlines. These need to be placed into your situational lists.
沒有截止時間的承諾,那些需要根據你的時間、空間和精力去做的事務,就統一放入情境清單。
So is it so critical to have meaning before method?
為什麼要先有意義,再有條理呢?
Because, in life, you will be endlessly bombarded with more and more tasks. You will never have enough time to complete all tasks, just the ones you deem important enough.
因為人活一生,事情是做不完的,我們只能做重要的事。
So we need to think about, assess our tasks, retain the important ones and delete the unimportant. And we should defer or save the items that are not currently important.
所以我們需要對每件事進行思考和評估,在明確做它的意義之後,把那些不重要的刪除;把暫時沒時間做的擱置。
When you do this, you are left with the items that need to be completed.
剩下的事情就是必須要做的。
Then, we classify chores that need to be completed into agenda items and situation items.
這時我們再把這一項裡的事務進行更嚴格的分類,分為日程事務和情境事務。
Agenda items are ready to be acted on as is. Situation items need to completed at a certain time or place – what we call a context.
日程性的事務一定是少的,而情境性的事務一定是多的。
The situation affairs need to be subdivided further into contexts like: at home, office, outside, on the beside computer...
情境性的事務還要進行進一步細分,比如分為:在家、辦公室、外出、電腦旁、等待.
Only in this way can we produce the specific list to use in a specific situation.
這樣當我們處在具體的某個情境的時候,才能做到快速地調出清單,並進行處理。
It’s much easier to pull up the right list for the situation when it is recorded in a special software like Omnifocus.
當然如果大家是靠紙筆記錄,沒有用很專業的軟體,要快速調出自己的情境清單怕是不容易。
Let’s say you aren’t that busy and you have a relatively normal and relaxing lifestyle:
但是如果你每天的事情並不多,你的生活已經很有規律,例如:
You walk the dog, cook and look after your child everyday. If this is the case, then you might only have a small number of lists.
你每天要做的事情只是溜溜狗、做做飯,看看孩子,那麼這一系列的技術你都用不上了;
If you were a senior in a company and have many subordinates and employees, and your primary function is to patrol the company, meeting seldom, then you probably don’t need those time management techniques.
而如果你是某公司的高層,你大量的事情都可以委託給下屬,你每天的工作只是去公司溜達溜達,偶爾開個會,那麼你可能也不太需要這些時間管理技術。
However, if you were in a company in the start-up or growth phase, or if you are highly involved in the day to day operation of the company, then this system will be very helpful.
但如果你是一個正處在創業期或者成長期的公司,亦或者你是某公司的中堅力量,在職場中你每天有大量的事務要處理,那麼,我們的這套系統對你來說就會非常非常有用。
Remember: meaning first, method second! Don’t rush to execute your tasks immediately. Prioritize and classify first.
今天這一講,我給大家分享的是:要先有意義,再有條理!不要急於動手直接去做整理了。
-END-
本文內容出自易效能時間管理培訓機構的創始人葉武濱在【喜馬拉雅FM】APP上開設的專輯節目《葉武濱時間管理·易效能®濃縮三年300多場課程精華》(又名《時間管理100講》)第152講。
歡迎大家「訂閱」本專輯,學習時間管理&練習英語聽力,妥妥的高效能學習!
點擊文末左下方的【閱讀原文】也可收聽本內容音頻版,純正的美式發音,英語學習好幫手!