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如何专注一件事,克制每一件事都想做的冲动

2016-10-30 Milena Rangelov NativeStudy


How can I stop from wanting to learn everything and focus on one thing?

答 / Milena

译 / NativeS.


NativeStudy精选编辑的第62篇Quora。Quora是海外版的知乎原型,这里你会感受到老外爆棚的智商、更多的世界资讯、与精辟见解。未经授权,不得转载。


读前提示:以下中文仅为提要,英文原文中还有很多“内涵”和潜在语境,建议亲自读完原文。


Answer:

First, I really love this question and firmly believe it resonates with many of us. Most of us are not the specialists (amazing in only one thing), but multipotential. We have multiple interests, we change what we do by a season and we are ultimately curious about many subjects. It is not the problem to be solved, but the gift to be nourished.

  • 我非常喜欢这个问题,而且坚定的相信它会引发我们许多人的共鸣。我们大多数人都不是某一领域的专家,相反,我们有许多兴趣,我们不断的改变,对许多领域充满好奇。这并非需要解决的问题,而是需要滋养的天分。


However…

  • 然后...


Being distracted, jumping from one thing to another, being busy and not productive, juggling many tasks without being able to focus on one at hand, always lacking time, these became paradigms of today. And it feels terrible. We are wasting time and lacking time all at once. But fear not, here are some ideas on how to introduce more focus and clarity, especially with multiple interests:

  • 分心,从一件事跳到另一件事,忙忙碌碌,效率低下,在多重任务之间不断切换,总是没有时间,这些都成为了今天人们的典型特征。这很糟糕。我们既浪费时间,又缺乏时间。不过不用担心,这并非绝症,有一些方法可以帮助我们对症下药:


Write 25, choose 5. Create the list of 25 things you would like to have and choose 5 that are your absolute favorites. Cross other 20 from your list and don’t look into them again. These are just distractions.

  • 写下25件你喜欢的事,然后再从中选取5件你最喜欢的事。把另外20件事情丢进垃圾桶,它们只会造成分心。


Organize your life by projects and themes. Choose one thing and turn it into a project. One month of coding every day. Or 100-day challenge with writing every day. Set a measurable, quantifiable goal and work towards it. Try similar approach. Create some structure. Work a little by little on a regular basis. Play. Try different things. Let yourself explore. Keep what you like.

  • 通过项目来管理你的生活。把你选择要做的事情当作一个项目。例如花一个月时间专门编程;或者是开启一个写作100天的挑战。设定一个可衡量,可量化的目标,然后勇往直前。


Whenever you say ‘Yes’, ask yourself ‘What should I say ‘No’ to, in order to make this happen?” It is simple, yet powerful because we often forget that we have the limited energy and number of hours in a day. If you want to add a new course on coding into your day, where exactly do you plan to put it? Do you plan to wake up one hour earlier every morning to make it happen? Or to skip going out on Friday night? Or do you plan to cut on your Facebook or Netflix time? It is easier than ever to overcommit with so many shiny things out there. This question brings us back to the reality. If you want to add something new, something else has to go. Are you ready to do that?

  • 当你决定要做一件事的时候,问问你自己,为了完成这件事,需要对多少件其他事说不。这个方法虽简单但非常有效,因为我们常常忘了我们的时间和精力总是有限的。如果你想要将新的编程课放入日程表,该放在哪呢?你是打算每天早起1小时来完成它?还是打算放弃周五夜晚的聚会?或者打算削减花在Facebook或Netflix上的时间?人们都非常容易对自己做出过多的承诺,这一方法将我们带回现实。如果你打算开始一些新的项目,总会一些其他事情需要放弃。


Treat your time like you would treat your money. Cal Newport, the author of Deep Work, gave an awesome example. Everybody is wasting tons of time on Facebook. Imagine if we had to pay $5 a month for Facebook. How many people would find it worth $5? I bet a lot would quit. That is because we are aware that our money is a limited resource and that we’d better invest it into something that brings the value in our life. Yet, we are so tempted by the shiny, new objects that we end up wasting our time on things that could potentially bring us something good. And we get distracted, lost and spread ourselves too thin. Treat your time like the money: invest into the things of value, based on your goals in life.

  • 要像对待金钱一般对待你的时间。卡尔,《Deep Work》的作者,举了一个非常棒的例子。所有人都在Facebook上浪费了太多时间,设想如果每个月需要为Facebook付出5美金,有多少人愿意花这笔钱?我打赌大多数人都不愿意。这是因为每个人都知道金钱是有限的资源,我们需要将它投入在能给我们生活带来价值的地方。然而,我们却总是会被那些自以为会给生活带来价值,却往往以浪费时间而告终的事情吸引,最终导致我们分心,迷失。请将对待金钱一样来对待时间,基于你的生活目标,将时间投入到有价值的地方。


What is your favorite taste of “shit sandwich”? This one could easily be my favorite and the credit goes to Liz Gilbert. She says that what you should do in life should not be determined by what you like the most, but based on what kind of shit sandwich are you mostly OK with. In other words, each endeavor has a great side (the one we usually notice first and brag about on social media), and the inevitable shit sandwich (downside, we don’t talk about as much). I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to deal with glorious sides just fine. The bigger question is how can you deal with the shit sandwich. For example, it is awesome to be a writer, to inspire and empower people. But first you will have to deal with tons of rejections and inevitable crickets when you publish something new. And no one knows how long is it gonna last. Will you be able to handle that? Think about the shit sandwich related to any endeavor and ask yourself whether it’s worth it. A lot of things, as you’ll find out, won’t be worth it. Some will. Pursue those.

  • 你最愿意为哪一件事承担背后的付出?这是我最喜欢的一条建议,来自丽兹·吉尔伯特。她说生活中你最应该去做什么不是由这件事所能带来的成就决定,而是由这件事背后所需要的付出决定的。换言之,每一次奋斗都有好的那一面(就是我们会第一时间分享在社交平台上的东西),也会有坏的一面(我们基本不太提前的)。最大的挑战不在于你如何对待成就,而在于你如何承受付出。例如,成为一个作家,去鼓舞人们,给读者力量,是非常棒的一件事。但首先你得考虑的是不断的被拒绝,你的作品得不到认可,没人知道这会持续多久,你是否能承受住这一切?放弃那些你无法承受的,坚守那些你不离不弃的。


Let yourself be bored. The important reason for jumping from one thing to another is boredom. We start something, it is cool and fun, then it gets boring, then we give up, start something new, and eventually end up with fingers in many pies. It is the tendency of today to cure the boredom with TV, social media, different forms of entertainment and endless new projects. Yet, boredom doesn’t have to be bad. When we become bored it usually means it’s hard and we cannot figure it out at once. That’s when learning and growth are happening. That is when you really push yourself to be creative and persistent. You can do things you don’t feel like doing. You can do boring things. There is a huge value in persisting.

  • 保持“枯燥”。我们之所以会不断的切换兴趣的一个重要原因就是枯燥。新接触一件事时往往是有趣的,随之它变得枯燥,乏味,我们就想放弃,再开始新的事情,最终拣了芝麻,丢了西瓜。今天,我们通过追剧,刷朋友圈,各种不同的娱乐来避免乏味的生活,然而,枯燥却并不是一件坏事。当你做一件事做到枯燥,无聊,毫无新鲜感的时候,这正是突破和成长的时候,这正是推动你自己去革新,去创造,去坚守的时候。真正的伟大往往都是从无数平凡无聊枯燥的事情中诞生的。


In short, yes, it is great to have many interests. But at a certain point, you’ll have to choose which ones to focus on. I hope these ideas will make some tough choices easier and motivate you to focus rather than spray.

  • 总而言是,有很多兴趣是好事。但在某一个时间段,你需要选择如何专注。希望这些建议和方法可以帮助大家更容易选择,更专注。


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