Take a stand on being more productive
I』ve just realised that there is something wrong with my new office chair. It’s a swanky piece of furniture called 「Freedom by Humanscale」 and comes with 「advanced armrests」 and an ingenious way of matching its 「recline tension」 to my weight.
我剛剛意識到我的新辦公椅似乎有點不太對勁。這是由Humanscale公司設計的一款名為「自由」(Freedom)的時髦家具，不光配有「高級扶手」，還能以一種獨特的方式自行調節靠背的「後仰程度」，使其與我的體重匹配。
The problem is that it is so comfortable there is no incentive ever to get out of it. I』ve just worked out that I spend 12 hours a day sitting down, making the average person – who passes only nine on their bottom – look quite active.
問題在於，這把椅子過於舒適，以至於我從來不會產生要從椅子上起來的想法。我剛剛算出自己每天有12個小時都是坐著度過的，和我相比，其他每天只坐9個小時的普通人顯得非常活躍。
Yet until last week this sedentary working life was low on my list of things to worry about, much lower, say, than the fact that I forgot to put my dental hygienist appointment in my diary. But then I read a Harvard Business Review blog post saying that sitting is the new smoking. It makes you fat and then it kills you.
但是直到上周，這種久坐的工作方式在我的關注列表中的排名還很靠後，遠不如忘記在日程表中錄入與牙科保健醫師的預約令我緊張。但隨後我在《哈佛商業評論》(Harvard Business Review)的網站上讀到了一篇文章，文中指出久坐的危害堪比吸菸，可能導致肥胖，進而危及生命。
The author, Nilofer Merchant, has solved the problem by holding walking meetings – she makes her business associates pound the streets with her. Every week she covers between 20 and 30 miles, which leaves her full of joy and creativity. If 「you want to get out of the box thinking, you need to literally get out of the box」, she says.
這篇文章的作者尼洛弗爾•麥錢特(Nilofer Merchant)通過召開步行會議的方式解決了久坐問題——她讓公司同事和自己一起壓馬路。她每周的步行距離長達20至30英裡，這讓她心情愉快，並且充滿創意。麥錢特表示，「如果想要打破思維定勢，就需要實實在在地打破常規。」
If one ignores the cheesiness of this, it’s rather a good scheme. Walking and talking is something that even the stupidest person can manage. Indeed, it is easier to talk when you walk, especially if what you are saying is sensitive. And the person you are talking to might even be paying attention, as it is hard to check emails while striding along. The snag is that it only works with two people: you can’t take a whole team for a walk along city streets unless you』ve got megaphones to be heard over the roar of traffic and are prepared to push other pedestrians off the pavement.
如果忽略不計這種說法有多麼俗氣，它其實是個很不錯的方案。邊走邊聊這種事即使是最笨的人都能做到。事實上，當你走在路上時更容易與人交談，這在談論的話題較為敏感時體現得尤為明顯。而對方甚至有可能真的在用心聽你講話，因為一邊壓馬路一邊查收郵件的難度很大。但這種方式的缺點在於只適用於兩人之間的交流：你不可能將整個團隊都帶到市區街道上散步，除非你配備了音量足以蓋過嘈雜車流的擴音器，並且做好了將其他行人擠下人行道的準備。
Even though the walking meeting is a good idea, it doesn’t solve my main problem with the sedentary life. What concerns me is not fatness and imminent death. It is that my brain and willpower are weakened by long spells in the chair. I can’t believe it’s just me: I suspect advances in office furniture are the main reason productivity stubbornly fails to improve. With everyone sitting so comfortably, there is never any great rush to get things done.
步行會議雖然是一個好主意，但不能化解久坐式生活給我帶來的主要困擾。我並不擔心肥胖或者死期將近。我害怕的是長期坐在舒適的椅子裡或讓我的智力以及意志力減退。我無法相信只有我一個人有這樣的恐懼：我懷疑辦公家具的升級換代是導致勞動生產率遲遲不能進一步提高的主要原因。由於每個人都舒舒服服地坐在椅子上，沒有人會雷厲風行地急著把事辦完。
If sitting is the new smoking, the answer is not to cut down by having meetings walking or standing, but to quit sitting altogether, and conduct all work from a vertical position.
如果久坐的危害真的堪比吸菸，那麼解決之道不應是通過步行或站著開會縮短坐下的時間，而應是在辦公場所徹底停止使用椅子，所有工作都站著處理。
Indeed, standing desks are selling like hot cakes in the US – in an attempt to counteract the effect that actual hot cakes have had on the nation’s waistline. Also popular are 「elevator desks」 at which you can either stand or sit, and treadmill desks for walking while you work.
目前站式寫字檯在美國的熱銷程度堪比剛剛出爐的新鮮蛋糕——因為人們想要藉此抵消實實在在的新鮮蛋糕對於這個國家腰圍尺寸的影響。同樣大受歡迎的還有「升降式寫字檯」，這種家具可以滿足站式和坐式辦公的雙重需要;帶跑步機的寫字檯，用戶能夠一邊健步走一邊工作。
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（編輯：何瑩瑩）