導讀：我們每天甚至每周都會感覺我們的工作效率在下降，但如果你的產出效率在持續下降，可能是因為你在浪費時間而非專注於手頭的重要工作。
每天讀一篇 美語脫口說
We all have days, or even weeks, on the job whenour productivity declines. But if your output hasbeen steadily diminishing, it could be becauseyou're wasting time rather than focusing on keytasks at hand. If that's the case, the sooner youcurb that behavior, the less likely it'll be tocompromise your job. Here are a few steps you cantake to stop wasting time at work–and start doingyour job more efficiently.
我們每天甚至每周都會感覺我們的工作效率在下降，但如果你的產出效率在持續下降，可能是因為你在浪費時間而非專注於手頭的重要工作。如果是這樣的原因，你的工作效率會越來越低。這有一些建議可以使你在工作中減少時間的浪費，使你的工作更有效率。
1. Lock yourself in quiet spaces
1、置身於安靜的工作場所
It's easy to get distracted at the office when you're surrounded by chatty colleagues and sideconversations that are far more interesting than the work you're supposed to be doing. But ifyou let yourself get sucked into those discussions, you're likely to fall behind and incur yourboss's wrath as a result. If you can't tear yourself away from the folks around you long enoughto stop wasting time, remove the temptation by regularly setting up shop in a quieter spot inthe office, like the corner conference room most folks forget about. You might even ask yourmanager for permission to use his or her office if your boss doesn't use it all that much.
當你在辦公室周圍的同事都在閒聊時，你很容易就分心了。聊天可比做你應該做的工作有意思多了。但是如果你放任自己置身於這樣的閒聊，你很可能沉迷於其中最終導致你的老闆生氣。如果你無法將自己抽離出來停止浪費時間，暫時離開一會兒給自己一個找一個安靜的地方，比如說大家都忘記的角落裡的會議室。你甚至可以得到你的經理的許可使用他的辦公室如果他並不是經常用。
2. Turn off your cellphone
2、關掉手機
A quick text message here and there during the workday might seem innocent enough, but abrief back-and-forth can quickly turn into a full-fledged conversation–one that takes you awayfrom more important tasks. If you're eager to stop wasting time at the office, silence yourcellphone. Give family members and close friends a way to reach you in an emergency (such asby calling your office's landline), and turn on that phone only during designated breaks.
在工作日發一條短訊似乎不算太過，但一個簡短來回信息很快就會進入完全聊天模式——讓你錯過一個重要任務。當你不想在辦公室繼續浪費時間，那就遠離你的手機。給你的親人和朋友一個緊急聯繫方式（比如辦公室的座機），然後在指定的間歇時間使用手機。
3. Organize your calendar
3、創建日曆
It's easy to inadvertently waste time when you don't have a preset schedule outlining your daysat work. But if you're guilty of not maximizing your time at the office, it'll help to create a dailycalendar with blocks of time for various tasks. For example, if you give yourself from 4 p.m. to5 p.m. to write up your weekly data analysis report, you'll be less likely to waste time duringthat period knowing that you only have an hour allocated to that task.
當你沒有一個預先設定的時間表來安排你的工作日時，很容易不經意地浪費時間。但是，如果你內疚於沒能把辦公室的時間最大化利用起來，那麼創建一個有時間段的每日日曆可以幫助你減輕這種愧疚感。例如，如果你把下午4點到下午5點的時間留給自己寫每周數據分析報告，那麼在這段時間內，你就不太可能浪費時間，因為你知道只有一個小時分配給該任務。
4. Organize your space
4、整理辦公空間
A messy workspace can make you downright inefficient even when you're trying to do better. If your desk is full of clutter, carve out some time to get it organized. Shred papers you don'tneed, file essential documents in some sort of order, and make your supplies moreaccessible. The less time you spend navigating the disaster zone that is your workspace, themore time you'll free up to actually do your job.
即使你想做得更好，但凌亂的工作環境會讓你效率低下。如果你的辦公桌堆滿了雜物，那就擠出點時間把它整理一下。撕碎你不需要的文件，把重要的文件按一定的順序歸檔，讓你的物品更容易拿到。你花在「災難區」(也就是你的工作區)時間越少，你就會有更多的時間來真正做你的工作。
5. Build in breaks
5、建立休息時間
Sometimes we waste time at work by talking to colleagues, checking text messages, or surfingthe internet because our minds need a break from the constant grind. If that sounds like you, then you're better off scheduling some breaks during the day but powering through otherwise. For example, you might carve out 20 minutes in the morning or afternoon to chat withcoworkers or look at your favorite websites. This way, you'll get that need out of your systemso you can then go back to concentrating.
有時候我們在工作中浪費時間在和同事聊天，查看簡訊，或者上網這些事上，因為我們的大腦需要在不斷的苦差事（工作）中得到休息。如果這聽起來像你（的情況），那麼你最好安排一些休息時間，但也要堅持下去。例如，你可以抽出20分鐘在早上或下午與同事聊天或瀏覽你最喜歡的網站。這樣，你就可以把這種需要從你的系統中釋放出來，這樣你就可以重新集中注意力。
The more time you waste at work, the more your manager and peers are apt to take notice– and that's a good way to hurt your reputation and put your job at risk. Instead, clean up youract and keep searching for ways to be more efficient. Doing so might also spare you themisery of having to burn the midnight oil when deadlines loom and your work just hasn'tgotten done.
你在工作中浪費的時間越多，你的經理和同事就越容易被注意到——這是一個傷害你聲譽和使你的工作處於危險中的好方法。相反，清理你的行為，繼續尋找更有效的方法。這樣做也可以讓你省去在最後期限臨近而你的工作還沒有完成時不得不在午夜加班的痛苦。