Set Rituals to Get Things Done(习惯成自然)
现在时间-对照三严三实查摆问题
Set Rituals to Get Things Done
Most of
us struggle with doing things regularly that we
might really want to do
or that we should do:
things like working out frequently, getting eight
hours of sleep a
night, keeping up with a
torrent of emails or simply having a moment to
think
reflectively or strategically.
Author and consultant Tony Schwartz, in a
piece for Harvard Business Review,
says the
way to make some of these things happen in our
lives is to turn them into
rituals, “highly
specific behaviors, done at precise times, so they
eventually become
automatic and no longer
require conscious will or discipline,” he says,
like brushing
your teeth or washing your face
twice a day. These actions are so automatic that
most
of us rarely think about them. “The
counterintuitive secret to getting things done is
to
make them more automatic, so they require
less energy.”
Schwartz describes some rituals
that have made a difference in his life. He sets a
specific bedtime every night, even when
traveling, to make sure he gets enough sleep.
He works out as soon as he wakes up, even if
he initially doesn’t feel like doing it. He
begins his work day by focusing first on
whatever he decided the night before is the
most important task he should do that day.
Then, after 90 minutes, he takes a break to
refuel, such as getting something to eat or
taking a short walk.
Of course, those of us
with kids, especially younger children, know that
setting a
precise ritual at a certain time
doesn’t always work. Exercising first thing in the
morning might be thwarted by an early-bird
infant, or setting a specific bedtime might
be
stymied if your child’s sleep is erratic too.
But I like the idea of prioritizing and
scheduling a task and seeking to do the
action
daily so it just becomes automatic. Some authors I
know, for instance, write
1,000 words a day,
every day, even if the prose isn’t polished, just
to maintain the act
of putting words on a
page. Others set specific times, daily, to check
or respond to
emails. And before I had
children, I used to always work out first thing in
the morning;
I am now struggling with finding
the right time in my ever-changing schedule to fit
workouts in regularly, which is why I find
pieces like Schwartz’ helpful.
Laura
Vanderkam, another time-management pro, has a
similar, but more
forgiving suggestion, in a
recent piece for BNET: trying to ritualize an
activity but
aim to do it just twice a week,
which is better than nothing. To fit in workouts,
she
writes:
“You may not be able to slip
away from your desk during lunch every day, but
you could do it twice. You may want to relax
and watch TV on weekday evenings
after a
grueling commute, but you could skip one show on
Tuesday and one on
Thursday. That’s much
easier to get your head around than doing
something every
day. Over time, it will become
a habit, and if you enjoy your twice-a-week
commitment enough, you may decide to scale it
up.”
Readers, have you set any rituals, like
working out at a specific time or a set
bedtime or a weekly call with friends? What
are they?
1. torrent n. a large amount
of water that moves very quickly in one direction
The storm turned the stream into a
raging torrent.
torrents of rain
The rain came down in torrents.
: a large
amount of something that is released suddenly —
usually + of
He responded with a
torrent of criticismabuse.
The company
receives torrents of e-mail every day.
work out: to perform athletic exercises in
order to improve your health or physical
fitness
She works out at the gym
twice a week.
counterintuitive
[ˌkauntərinˈtju:itiv] adj. formal
:
different from what you would expect : not
agreeing with what seems right or
natural
It may seem counterintuitive, but we do
burn calories when we are sleeping.
counterintuitive results
thwart
[θwɔ:t] v.
: to prevent (someone) from doing
something or to stop (something) from happening
She did all she could to thwart his
plans.
The army thwarted the attempt at
a coup.
— often used as (be) thwarted
The plot was thwarted.
He was
thwarted in his evil plans.
thwarted
ambitionhopes
stymie [ˈstaɪmi:] v. to
stop (someone) from doing something or to stop
(something)
from happening
The bad
weather has stymied [=thwarted] the police in
their investigations.
Progress on the
project has been stymied by lack of money.
prioritize [praiˈɔritaiz] v. to organize
(things) so that the most important thing
is
done or dealt with first
It's always
difficult to prioritize work, school, and family.
If you want to do your job efficiently,
you have to learn to prioritize.
schedule
[ˈskɛdʒul, -uəl, ˈskɛdʒəl] v. to plan (something)
at a certain time
We scheduled a
meeting for next week.
I need to schedule a
doctor's appointment.
grueling
[ˈɡruəlɪŋ, ˈɡrulɪŋ] adj. very difficult :
requiring great effort
a
grueling race
His schedule is grueling.
slip away: to leave a place without being
noticed
They slipped away from the
party right after dinner.
skip v. to not
do (something that is usual or expected)
He skipped the meeting. [=he didn't go to the
meeting]
I skipped breakfast, and now
I'm really hungry.
(chiefly US) They got
in trouble for skipping schoolclass.
commute [kəˈmjut] v. to travel regularly to
and from a place and especially
between where
you live and where you work
He commutes
to work every day by train.
She commutes
400 miles a week.
scale up
scale up (something) or scale (something) up
: to increase the size, amount, or extent of
(something)
The company hopes to scale
up production soon.