What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at your desk? For many of us, checking email or listening to voice mail is practically automatic. In many ways, these are among the worst ways to start a day. Both activities hijack our focus and put us in a reactive mode, where other people’s priorities take center stage. They are the equivalent of entering a kitchen and looking for a spill to clean or a pot to scrub.

當(dāng)你來(lái)到辦公桌面前，第一件事做什么?對(duì)于我們大多數(shù)人來(lái)說(shuō)，看郵件或者聽(tīng)語(yǔ)音信息幾乎是自動(dòng)的。從某些層面來(lái)講，這些大致是開(kāi)啟新的一天最糟糕的方式。這些動(dòng)作分散我們的注意力，并且把我們扯進(jìn)一種反動(dòng)的模式當(dāng)中，而此時(shí)別人采取的優(yōu)先措施就占據(jù)了優(yōu)勢(shì)。這就相當(dāng)于走進(jìn)一間廚房，找一把勺子或者一個(gè)壺來(lái)當(dāng)抹布擦。

A better approach is to begin your day with a brief planning session. An intellectual mise-en-place. Bourdain envisions the perfect execution before starting his dish. Here’s the corollary for the enterprising business professional. Ask yourself this question the moment you sit at your desk: The day is over and I am leaving the office with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. What have I achieved?

一個(gè)更好的方法是以一種有簡(jiǎn)要計(jì)劃的方式來(lái)開(kāi)啟新的一天。一個(gè)腦力勞動(dòng)者的準(zhǔn)備工作。布爾登想象著在他開(kāi)始烹飪自己的餐點(diǎn)前有一個(gè)完美的準(zhǔn)備。下面是推廣到上進(jìn)的商務(wù)人士。當(dāng)你坐到辦公桌面前的時(shí)候，對(duì)自己這么說(shuō)：今天就這么過(guò)完了，我?guī)е鴺O大的滿足感離開(kāi)這個(gè)辦公室。我完成了什么工作?

This exercise is usually effective at helping people distinguish between tasks that simply feel urgent from those that are truly important. Use it to determine the activities you want to focus your energy on.

這一系列動(dòng)作旨在幫助人們從簡(jiǎn)單且不那么重要的任務(wù)中抽離出來(lái)通常很有效。用這種方法來(lái)決定哪些是你想要花精力集中做的事。

Then—and this is important—create a plan of attack by breaking down complex tasks into specific actions.

然后——當(dāng)然這個(gè)也很重要——制定一個(gè)施行計(jì)劃將任務(wù)分解成明確的行動(dòng)。

Productivity guru David Allen recommends starting each item on your list with a verb, which is useful because it makes your intentions concrete. For example, instead of listing “Monday’s presentation,” identify every action item that creating Monday’s presentation will involve. You may end up with: collect sales figures, draft slides, and incorporate images into deck.

效率大師大衛(wèi)?艾倫推薦用一個(gè)動(dòng)詞開(kāi)頭來(lái)記錄每天的的事情，這樣很有用，因?yàn)樗梢宰屇愕挠?jì)劃具體起來(lái)。比方說(shuō)，不寫(xiě)“禮拜一的報(bào)告”，而是標(biāo)明做禮拜一的報(bào)告涉及到的每個(gè)步驟。最后你可能是這樣寫(xiě)的：搜集銷售術(shù)語(yǔ)，制作幻燈片，把照片放到展板上。

Studies show that when it comes to goals, the more specific you are about what you’re trying to achieve, the better your chances of success. Having each step mapped out in advance will also minimize complex thinking later in the day and make procrastination less likely.

研究標(biāo)明，涉及到目標(biāo)實(shí)現(xiàn)時(shí)，你越是明確自己試圖要達(dá)到的目標(biāo)，就越有機(jī)會(huì)成功。事先把每一步都想好，還能減少后續(xù)復(fù)雜的思考，也能緩解拖延。

Finally, prioritize your list. When possible, start your day with tasks that require the most mental energy. Research indicates that we have less willpower as the day progresses, which is why it’s best to tackle challenging items – particularly those requiring focus and mental agility – early on.

最后，分清主次。如果可能的話，用最耗費(fèi)腦力的事情來(lái)開(kāi)啟一天的工作。研究表明一天當(dāng)中，隨著時(shí)間的推移，我們的精力越來(lái)越差，這也是為什么最好盡早處理那些有挑戰(zhàn)的工作，特別是那些要集中注意力，腦子要轉(zhuǎn)得快的工作。

The entire exercise can take you less than 10 minutes. Yet it’s a practice that yields significant dividends throughout your day.

整個(gè)過(guò)程要不到10分鐘。然而卻是一個(gè)讓你一天有所建樹(shù)的的過(guò)程。

By starting each morning with a mini-planning session, you frontload important decisions to a time when your mind is fresh. You’ll also notice that having a list of concrete action items (rather than a broad list of goals) is especially valuable later in the day, when fatigue sets in and complex thinking is harder to achieve.

用一個(gè)個(gè)小小的計(jì)劃來(lái)為每一天拉開(kāi)序幕，當(dāng)你的大腦清醒時(shí)，一次性理清重要的事情。你還會(huì)注意到有一份明確的行動(dòng)計(jì)劃(而不是泛泛的目標(biāo)清單)后續(xù)在一天中，當(dāng)倦意來(lái)襲，復(fù)雜的思考難以做到的時(shí)候會(huì)格外有用。

Now, no longer do you have to pause and think through each step. Instead, like a master chef, you can devote your full attention to the execution.

現(xiàn)在，再也不用一邊做一邊停下來(lái)想下一步該做什么了。取而代之，像主廚一樣，你可以把你的全部注意力都集中到執(zhí)行上面去。