“時間管理”是一個常常掛在學(xué)習(xí)者嘴邊的詞。

Time management is the process of planning and controlling how much time to spend on specific activities.
時間管理，指的是計劃與控制要在某個事情上花多少時間的過程。

Good time management allows an individual to complete more in a shorter period of time, lowers the amount of stress, and leads to career success.
良好的時間管理讓人事半功倍，幫人舒緩壓力，走上職業(yè)成功之路。

簡而言之，管理好時間能讓你高效工作，幫你減壓，最終走上人生巔峰。

不少人被人安利過“重要性四象限”、“番茄鐘”之類的工具，但還是沒有掌握一套系統(tǒng)的方法論。

面對堆成山的reading、接踵而至的工作，通宵“趕due”的學(xué)生和白領(lǐng)比以往任何時候都需要時間管理。

頂級科學(xué)期刊《自然》在它的網(wǎng)站“職業(yè)生涯”專欄發(fā)表了一篇文章，介紹了科學(xué)家們常用的6種時間管理方式。

Scientists are often passionate about their research, and frequently work long hours. However, it is not necessary to become a workaholic to be a good scientist. If you attempt to accomplish too many tasks simultaneously, the most likely outcome is that you will be overwhelmed in the forlorn hope of ‘catching up’.
科學(xué)家們經(jīng)常熱衷于他們的研究，而且經(jīng)常工作很長時間。然而，要成為一個優(yōu)秀的科學(xué)家，其實沒有必要成為一個工作狂。如果你試圖同時完成過多的任務(wù)，最有可能的結(jié)果是，明明完成不了，但為了“趕上進(jìn)度”，你自己就先垮掉。

The amount and quality of what you achieve are crucially dependent on how effectively you manage your time. Here is some advice on how to better manage your time as a scientist, based on our experience as scientists and supervisors.
你所能取得的成就，其數(shù)量和質(zhì)量的關(guān)鍵，就在于你怎樣有效地管理你的時間。下面這些建議，基于我們作為科學(xué)家和導(dǎo)師的經(jīng)驗，可以告訴你科學(xué)家們怎樣更有效地管理時間。

制定計劃
Make a plan

There are many components that need to be drawn together to achieve success in a project. You want to deliver good science while simultaneously helping your manager, completing your training, coping with all the administration and dealing with the many other distractions you face.
為了在一個項目中取得成功，需要完成很多“子任務(wù)”。你想做好科研，同時也要幫你的導(dǎo)師干活，你要完成自己的培訓(xùn)，還得應(yīng)付所有的行政管理事務(wù)，處理你面臨的許多其他干擾。

Sometimes it is difficult not to feel overwhelmed. The best way to achieve success and preserve your sanity is to make a plan. This starts as a list of all the tasks that are either desirable or vital for accomplishing your goals. Write them down, don’t just rely on your memory: it’s not as good as you think it is.
有時候真的很難不垮掉。通往成功和保持理智的最好方法就是制定計劃。一開始就要列一個清單，寫出所有完成你的目標(biāo)所需要的或者至關(guān)重要的任務(wù)。把它們寫下來，不要只依賴你的記憶：你的記性通常沒你想的那么好。

Next comes the crucial step of prioritizing. Highlight tasks on your list to signify their urgency. This allows you to identify at a glance the tasks that you need to focus on. Consider how crucial these items are to your career and the success of your organization, and when they need to be completed — not how enjoyable or easy they will be. Focus only on one item at a time: the others can wait their turn. You will need to update and review your list regularly, but don’t deny yourself the pleasure of putting your pen through items that you have completed.
接下來的這一重要步驟，就是排列任務(wù)優(yōu)先級。把列表中的任務(wù)涂上高亮，表示其緊迫性。這就讓你可以一目了然地確定需要特別關(guān)注的任務(wù)。要考慮到這些事項對你的職業(yè)生涯和組織的成功有多重要，以及什么時候需要完成這些事項——不要按照任務(wù)的愉快度和容易度來排列。一段時間內(nèi)只做一件事：其他事項也要按順序來。同時，你還需要定期更新和復(fù)盤你的任務(wù)優(yōu)先表，完成一項劃掉一項，讓自己享受這種快感。

當(dāng)心分心
Beware of distractions

Take a long, hard look at your relationship with e-mail and social media. Although they are vital to everyday communication, they can claim much more attention than they deserve. Consider shutting them off completely as you work on a task that requires your full attention.
認(rèn)真觀察一下你和電子郵件還有社交媒體的關(guān)系。盡管它們對日常交流至關(guān)重要，但它們還是會占用很多不該被分散的注意力。在你做一項需要全神貫注的事時，不妨把它們?nèi)筷P(guān)掉。

學(xué)會拒絕
Learn to say ‘no’

Many business leaders put a lot of their success down to simply saying ‘no’. That is, they prioritize their efforts in the few areas that really matter and have the courage to say no to everything else. Those asking for your involvement would be more disappointed if you unwisely agreed to do something, but then failed to deliver. Be realistic with yourself, and honest with others.
許多商業(yè)領(lǐng)袖把他們的成功簡單地歸結(jié)為：說“不”。也就是說，他們把自己的精力放在少數(shù)真正重要的領(lǐng)域，并且還有勇氣拒絕其他任何事情。如果你盲目答應(yīng)了別人什么事情，但又沒能做好，這些人估計會比你一開始不答應(yīng)他們要更失望。對自己要現(xiàn)實，對他人要誠實。

Saying no is much more difficult if you are, or perceive yourself to be, low down in the hierarchy of your organization. Nevertheless, it’s important to be honest and to look after your health. Sharing your prioritized list with your supervisor will also help with any potentially difficult discussions around not being able to deliver or take on additional work.
如果你在組織的層級中處于較低的位置，或者認(rèn)為自己處于較低的位置，那么拒絕別人就困難得多。但不管怎樣，誠實對人并且關(guān)照自己的健康才是重要的。把你的任務(wù)優(yōu)先計劃共享給你的導(dǎo)師，就算有不能承接或者完成不了的額外工作，你們之間的談話也會變簡單。

適當(dāng)休息
Give yourself a break

Taking breaks is good for your brain. Don’t be hard on yourself: you will actually perform better if you take breaks and cultivate a life outside science. This might seem counter-intuitive with all those tasks on your list, but solutions to apparently intractable problems can come from a refreshed brain — and a brain that can keep things in perspective.
適當(dāng)休息對你的大腦有好處。不要對自己太苛刻：如果你休息一下，培養(yǎng)一下科研之外的生活愛好，實際上你會表現(xiàn)得更好?？粗闱鍐紊系姆敝厝蝿?wù)，貌似休息并不符合常理，不過，面對明顯很難解決的問題，一個精力充沛的大腦才能給出解決方案——煥新的大腦才能幫你恰當(dāng)處理這些問題。

Try to avoid looking at your work e-mails when you are not working. They do not need to be answered until the next working day. The world will not collapse if you delay opening some e-mails.
不工作的時候盡量不要查看你的工作電子郵件，下一個工作日之前回復(fù)都不遲。這世界不會因為你晚點看郵件就崩塌。

忌騖高遠(yuǎn)
Don’t try to chase every great idea

The other side of permitting yourself time to explore alternative ideas, as well as the suggestions of managers and colleagues, is that you are left with a lengthening list of new directions to investigate. Try to distinguish between things that would be nice to have and things that are crucial to the delivery of your project, or PhD, on time.
花時間探索新想法、聽取導(dǎo)師和同事的建議的一個副作用就是——你的任務(wù)清單會多出過多方向。你需要把“好點子”和“對完成項目與學(xué)位至關(guān)重要的事情”區(qū)分開來。

計劃迭代
Update your plan

Your plan and priority list will need to be regularly updated, particularly when things are not going well. Don’t panic if your experiments or initiatives fail: instead, redraft your plan and aim to offload all other distracting tasks as you devote more time to a resolution. Work with your supervisor to formulate an updated list of priorities: your mentor can bring their experience and wisdom to the problem, as well as reassurance to you.
你的計劃和優(yōu)先事項清單需要定期更新，尤其是當(dāng)事情進(jìn)展不順利的時候。如果你的實驗或計劃失敗了，不要慌：相反，你應(yīng)該重新制定你的計劃，目標(biāo)是把所有其他分散注意力的任務(wù)都取消掉，進(jìn)而全身心地解決一個重要問題。跟你的導(dǎo)師商量，一起制定一份最新的優(yōu)先事項清單：導(dǎo)師的經(jīng)驗和智慧能幫你解決問題，讓你安心些。

大多數(shù)人生只有三萬天左右，你可能已經(jīng)過完了七八千。Time is money, 剩下的財富你打算怎么花呢？

Succeeding against the odds and in the face of time pressure is one of the most valuable experiences you can offer to a future employer.
面對時間的緊迫，成功應(yīng)付困難，一定會為你接下來的工作提供最有價值的經(jīng)驗之一。

Notes

forlorn n 不大可能成功的；難以實現(xiàn)的
workaholic n 工作狂
desirable adj 想望的；可取的；值得擁有的
prioritize v 按重要性排列；劃分優(yōu)先順序
deny v 節(jié)制；克制；戒絕
claim v 奪走；占用
intractable adj 很難對付（或處理）的；難駕馭的；
perspective n 客觀判斷力；權(quán)衡輕重的能力
odd n 不利條件；掣肘的事情

編輯：左卓
實習(xí)編輯：陳月華
來源：Nature; corporate finance institute
BGM：Opus 37 - Dustin O'Halloran