甩掉拖延症，只需四步！| Four questions to help you overcome procrastination

CHINADAILYClick to follow us

Procrastination is like a voice in your head giving you several seemingly valid reasons to avoid doing something. Usually it's tough to summon a counterargument to overcome it. 

拖延症就像存在于你脑海里的声音，总能给你不做事情的借口，而且，要鼓起勇气战胜拖延，也不是一件容易事儿。

So instead of shouting over that voice telling you to put something off until later, why not ask it a question? Asking the right questions can help give you practical solutions when you feel stuck. It can heighten the sense of urgency and spur you to action. 

那么，与其对着这个声音咆哮，为什么不反问它问题呢？在你遇到困难的时候，提出正确的问题可以为你提供切实可行的解决方案，可以增强你的紧迫感、激励你采取行动。

Here are four questions to keep in your back pocket the next time you hear that voice telling you to slack off and delay.

下次你再听到那个让你“拖延”的声音的时候，记得抛出这四个问题！

01

What one thing 

can I do to get started?

我能先开始做哪件事？

Sometimes we're faced with projects so big and overwhelming that we don't know where to start. Complexity often leads to paralysis. But according to research by Dr Tim Pychyl, getting started is the hardest part. Once you actually begin working on a task, it doesn't feel as bad or complicated as you imagined it would. 

有时，我们所面临的工作十分庞杂，无从下手，而工作越复杂我们也就越难以开始。Tim Pychyl博士的研究中表明开始是最难的部分，而一旦你开始做了，事实反而没有你预想的那么复杂和难以接受。

What's more, even if you don't finish the job in one sitting, you'll feel a lot more in control once you get a chunk of it done. This optimism gives you the momentum you need to unlimitedly see it through.

更重要的是，即使你没有一次性完成这项工作，完成大部分工作也能提升你对工作的控制感。 这种乐观精神能为你提供不竭动力。

By asking yourself what you can do to take that first meaningful step, you can begin mentally breaking up the project into smaller sub-tasks, then pick the simplest one to start on. Once you begin focusing just on that, you'll likely have more motivation to keep going.

“我能先开始做哪件事？”这一步意义重大，你的内心已经将大任务划分成小任务，并以最简单的一个作为起点。一旦工作真正开始，那么继续工作就更有动力了。

What are my 

three biggest priorities today?

今天最重要的三件事是什么？

02

We procrastinate not just because we want to avoid doing something unpleasant but because we're overwhelmed by so much other work. Frivolous requests and distractions prevent us from focusing on what really matters — especially the tasks that are important but not immediately so.

我们之所以拖延，不仅因为我们不想做令自己不快的事情，也因为事情太多，把我们压垮了。我们常常会因为那些无聊、分心的事情，尤其是看似重要但并不着急的事情无法专注于真正要紧的事。

So each morning, get your priorities straight. Ask yourself which three tasks you need to nail today. Block out the first few hours of your day to focusing exclusively on those. Only when they're done should you move on to your other work.

所以，每天清晨列出你所有要做的事情，选出三个最重要的、今天必须要做的事情。把最开始的几个小时留给这些任务，只有做完才能继续做其他事情。

03

How can I make this easier?

怎样能再简单点呢？

Many of us believe that succeeding at something demands hard work — and it often does. But sometimes that belief gets in the way of finding simple solutions to big challenges. There's no shame in making something difficult easier for yourself to complete.

许多人认为成功需要刻苦努力，通常也确实如此。但有时候，找寻捷径战胜困难的挑战也十分可取，而且一点也不丢人。

For instance, you might not have time to workout for an hour every day. So rather than skipping the gym completely, start by exercising for just 10 minutes each day. Sure, at first that may feel like a waste of time. But something is better than nothing, and it adds up. 

例如，你可能没有时间每天健身一小时，但是比起完全不去健身房，不如从每天运动10分钟开始吧！当然，起初你可能觉得这只是浪费时间，但做总比不做好，你总能受益。

If you can't go out for a run, just do spot jogging or a few pushups at home. The key is to commit to the easier alternative and stick with it regularly.

如果你无法在户外跑步，那就在家原地慢跑、做几个俯卧撑吧~小事也贵在坚持哦！

Habit-building expert S.J. Scott says the easiest way to build a new habit is to start really small: "You want to commit to something so easy that it's impossible to miss a day," he writes on his blog. Once you become consistent, you'll find it far easier to increase the duration.

习惯养成专家S.J. Scott认为，养成一个新习惯最简单的方式就是从很小的事情做起。他在博客上写道，“坚持容易的事情，完全有可能每天坚持。”一旦形成习惯，就更容易长期坚持了。

What will go wrong

if I don't do this now?

如果现在不做，有什么后果呢？

04

Ask yourself how you might lose out or suffer the consequences if you delay any further. And don't focus just on the immediate impact. Strongly remind yourself of the long-term fallout that comes from habitual procrastination, from limited career growth, not enough money, deteriorating health, or damaged relationships.

扪心自问，如果你拖着不做这件事，你将面临怎样的后果？不要只看当下的影响，时刻提醒自己多关注习惯性拖延症可能会带来的问题——升职受阻？赚不到钱？危害健康？影响关系？

Sure, that may sound drastic. But it can be an effective way to remove the psychological roadblock. If a dose of fear can get you back on track with your goals, isn't it worth utilizing?

这听起来好像很严重，但却可以有效突破心理障碍。如果这些担忧可以让你走向目标正轨，何乐而不为呢？

The truth is, all successful people have a tendency to procrastinate. The key is what steps you take to start getting things done. And sometimes that's all about asking the right questions.

事实上，成功人士也有拖延的倾向，关键在于你从哪一步开始。有时，摆脱拖延症就是从问对问题开始的！

英文来源 Source: Lifehacker

编辑 Editors: 张曦 Zhang Xi, 李岚燕 Li Lanyan (intern)

Say 'NO' to procrastination!

You may also like

Click the QR code to follow us

Read English News every day!

长按二维码关注我们