已完成工作 任務清單不如成就清單

Writing a “done” list instead of a to-do list, and leaving your problem-solving to when you are tired are two of the productivity tips in a new book, Brainhack.

列出一個“已完成工作”清單，而不是待辦清單，同時把解決問題的任務留到你感覺疲勞的時候，這是新書《Brainhack》提出的兩條提高工作效率的建議。

Neil Pavitt, the author, says a to-do list often turns into a “what you haven’t done” list, leaving you feeling stressed and demotivated. He suggests keeping a “done list” — a journal of your biggest achievements, which will remind you of your successes and motivate you.

該書作者尼爾•帕維特(Neil Pavitt)表示，待辦清單往往會變成“未完成”清單，讓你備感壓力和消沉。他認爲，列出一個“已完成”清單，記錄你取得的最重要成就，將讓你想起自己的成功併產生動力。

“Get a nice paper diary and only put down things that are really of value to you, whether inside or outside of work,” Mr Pavitt says. He makes three entries a week and reappraises it every couple of months to give himself a boost.

帕維特表示：“準備一個漂亮的日記本，只記下對你來說真正有價值的事情，不管是工作外還是工作內。”他每週列三條，每隔兩個月進行重新評估來激勵自己。

A hack that may work for some is to save creative thinking for when you are tired. “If you have to be focused and analytical you need to be fresh, but if you want to come up with creative ideas, late at night or when you have just woken up are useful times.”

有一個怪招可能對一些人管用：把創造性思考留到身體感到疲倦時。“如果你必須集中注意力和分析問題，你需要頭腦清醒，但如果你希望迸發創造性想法，深夜或者你剛睡醒時是有用的時機。”

Mr Pavitt says that because your brain is in a different state, it operates in a less rational way. “Your mind will wander more and therefore you’ll be far more likely to create new connections and come up with unexpected ideas.”

帕維特表示，由於你的大腦處於一種不同狀態，它的運轉方式不那麼理性。“你的思路將更多地遊蕩，因此你更有可能建立新的連接，冒出意想不到的創意。”

Just keep a pad to hand to jot down ideas before you forget them, he adds.

他補充稱，只是需要在手邊準備一個筆記本記下這些想法，以免忘記。

Morning, McKinsey-style

麥肯錫(McKinsey)風格的早晨

A compulsive checking of emails as soon as he woke was a productivity-destroying habit for Manish Chopra, a partner at McKinsey, the management consultancy. He dropped the habit as part of an overhaul of his morning routine.

對於管理諮詢機構麥肯錫合夥人曼尼什•喬普拉(Manish Chopra)而言，早晨一醒來就強迫性地查看電郵是一種破壞生產率的習慣。作爲改變晨間作息的一部分，他放棄了這種習慣。

Where previously he felt stressed, he says he now feels energetic and enjoys a greater sense of purpose.

他表示，以前這個時候他會感覺壓力極大，如今他卻覺得精力充沛，並且懷有更強的使命感。

The first thing Mr Chopra aims to do after waking at between 5am and 6am, is up to an hour’s meditation.

在清晨5點至6點醒來後，喬普拉爭取做的頭一件事是長達一小時的冥想。

Ideally, he then exercises for 20 to 30 minutes on a treadmill before eating breakfast and spending time with his family. During his first two waking hours, he finds 10 minutes to plan his day. He does this before opening his laptop and becoming embroiled in emails. He also writes down on an index card the five things he would like to get done, keeping it in his pocket for reference. At 7am he will start on work emails and phone calls.

在理想情況下，接着他會在跑步機上鍛鍊20至30分鐘，然後與家人一起吃早餐。在他醒來的頭兩個小時內，他用10分鐘爲當天做計劃。他是在打開筆記本電腦、被電郵淹沒之前做這些的。他還會在索引卡上記下自己希望完成的5件事，把它放到口袋裏以備參考。早晨7點，他開始處理工作郵件和電話。

Under his old routine, he would not have woken up before 7am and would not have meditated or exercised. By shifting his day so he gets up and winds down earlier, he has made time to fit these in.

根據過去的作息，他不會在早晨7點以前醒來，也不會冥想和鍛鍊。但在改變作息後，他每天更早起牀也更早結束工作，合理利用了時間。

Checking emails in bed or rushing to get dressed will not set you up for the day in the best way, says Benjamin Spall, co-founder of My Morning Routine, an online collection of interviews with successful people about their morning habits.

彙集與成功人士探討晨間習慣的訪談的網站My Morning Routine聯合創始人本雅明•斯帕爾(Benjamin Spall)表示，在牀上查看電郵或急急忙忙穿衣服，不會讓你以最佳狀態爲一天做好準備。

Mr Spall recommends spending quality time with family, or working on a personal project that you enjoy, to make the morning a time that you will look forward to.

斯帕爾建議與家人共享天倫之樂，或者投入你喜歡的個人項目，讓清晨變成你期待的一段時光。

Blockages in the stream

溪流中的阻塞

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, on how past success can block future innovation: “Spotify could never have started life in the US, the record labels are too big,” he told students at HEC Paris business school last week.

PayPal聯合創始人彼得•蒂爾(Peter Thiel)最近向法國巴黎高等商學院(HEC Paris)的學生談到過去的成功可能阻礙未來創新：“Spotify永遠不可能在美國誕生，美國的唱片公司太大了。”