Steve Pavlina：Do it Now!

多年前我上大学时，曾给自己设定了一个颇具挑战性的目标：用三个学期的时间修完通常需要四年才能完成的全部课程。在这篇文章中，我将详细阐述为实现这一目标，我所运用的种种时间管理技巧。要达成这个目标，我得每学期修30-40个学分，而一般学生每学期只修12-15个学分。

很显然，要想成功，我必须把时间管理得非常好。于是，我开始博览时间管理方面的书籍，并将所学付诸实践。最终，我在三个学期内就获得了计算机科学和数学两个理学学士学位，期间既没有参加暑期课程，还保证了每天7-8小时的睡眠时间，料理日常杂务，享受社交生活，坚持每天晨练30分钟。

在最后一学期，我甚至在修37个学分的高年级计算机和数学课的同时，担任每周40小时的全职游戏程序员，还兼任了当地 ACM 分会的副主席。同学们算了一下，得出结论说我每周得有250个小时。我以3.9的平均绩点毕业，还获得了那一年度计算机科学专业最优秀学生的特别奖。

事后，我的一位教授告诉我，当他们意识到我取得的成绩时，评选获奖人就变得十分容易了。我并非天赋异禀，这还是我头一回尝试如此大胆的事情。我既没有任何私人导师的帮助，也不知道有谁做过类似的事，甚至记不得有人鼓励过我。事实上，当我跟大多数人谈起这个想法时，他们的反应都是极力反对。

这完全是我为自己做的决定。如果你想更好地了解我当时的人生状态，以及我为何会萌生如此疯狂的念头，不妨读读《生命的意义：序言（ [The Meaning of Life:Intro](https%3A%2F%2Fstevepavlina.com%2Fblog%2F2005%2F06%2Fthe-meaning-of-life-intro%2F)）》（译注：

作者的另一篇文章，讲述他因盗窃而被UCLA退学，而后洗心革面重新考上大学，为了追回失去的时间，他用三个学期的时间获得了大学双学位），那里有完整的背景故事，以及我这么做的更多原因。为了多选课，我每学期都得费尽口舌说服计算机系主任批准我的申请。

我的同学们常常以为我要么是在作弊，要么是有个孪生兄弟，要么就是精神不太正常（最后一点几乎每周都有人这样说我，也许这话不无道理）。大多数时候，我对自己正在做的事守口如瓶，但如果有人问起我修了多少学分，我也不会否认。我可能是全校唯一一个需要两页纸来打印课表的学生，所以如果有人逼问，我大可轻松证明自己所言不虚，但我很少这么做。

·1给你讲这些，并非为了炫耀，而是想勾起你的好奇心，了解我是如何做到的。我之所以成功，是因为运用了一些鲜为人知的时间管理理念，尽管当时（1992-93年）通过书籍和音频节目就能轻松获得这些理念。我在大学期间养成的时间管理习惯，对我后来创业帮助良多。

我想把这些经验分享给你，希望你也能从中受益。得益于这些习惯，我不仅提前几年完成了学业，还在最后一学期兼职游戏程序员时，赚到了约3万美元的创业资金（主要来自版税）。闲话少说，下面就来说说我在时间管理方面的心得体会吧：

成功的第一步是明确自己的目标。在我曾经训练过的一个跆拳道馆里，墙上有一个巨大的标语，上面写着：“你的目标是成为一名黑带。”这句话时刻提醒着每个学员，他们正在经历如此艰苦的训练是为了什么。当你为自己工作时，很容易一整天呆在办公桌前却毫无收获。

这种情况通常发生在你对自己的目标缺乏清晰认识的时候。当你恢复意识的那一刻，问问自己：“我到底想要达成什么？”你必须尽可能清楚地了解自己的目标。把目标具体化，并写下来。你的目标必须非常明确，甚至让一个局外人也能客观地评判你是否已经达成了每一个目标。

如果连目标都无法明确，你又怎能知道自己何时才能抵达终点？

我发现，90天，也就是一个季度，是确立和实现具体目标的黄金时期。在这段时间里，如果你设定了明确的目标，就能做出巨大的改变，而且这种改变是可以衡量的。花点时间停下来，写下从现在起90天后你想要的生活蓝图。你的月收入会是多少？你想要的体重是多少？你希望与什么样的朋友相伴？你的事业会发展到什么阶段？你梦想中的感情状态是怎样的？你期待中的网站会是什么样子？

正如自动驾驶的飞机需要不断修正方向以保持在航线上一样，你也必须定期重新设定自己的目标。每天早上，通过重读你清晰写下的目标，与之重新建立联系。将目标贴在墙上，尤其是你的财务目标。多年前（90年代中期），我在公寓里到处张贴标语，每个房间都写着“月入5000美元”。

那是我当时的月度业务收入目标。因为我明确知道自己想要什么，所以在几周内就实现了这个目标。我持续设定具体的收入目标，即使偶尔遇到挫折，也发现这个过程非常有效。这不仅仅是因为它帮助我专注于自己的目标，更重要的是，它让我轻松地忽略那些与目标无关的事情。

例如，如果你设定了月入1万美元的目标，这可以帮助你停止做那些只能赚到5000美元的事情。

如果你还没有明确自己的目标，那就把这作为你的第一个目标吧。在生活中不清楚自己想要什么，是一种巨大的时间浪费。很多人在“我不知道该做什么”的状态中徘徊太久了。他们等待外部力量为他们指明方向，却没有意识到，清晰的认识来自于自己的创造。宇宙在等待你，而不是反过来，它会一直等到你最终下定决心。

等待目标自动明晰，就像一个雕塑家呆呆地望着一块大理石，期待雕像自己从石头中显现出来。不要指望目标会自动清晰——拿起凿子，开始行动吧！

明确目标和规划路径是有区别的。一架典型的商业飞机90%的时间都偏离航线，但它几乎总能到达目的地，因为它清楚自己的目标，并在途中不断修正方向。你无法提前知道通往目标的确切路径。我认为，制定计划的真正目的只是为了让自己相信，总有一条路可以到达目标。

我们都听说过，80%的新企业在头五年就失败了，但更有趣的统计数据是，几乎所有成功的企业，都不是按照最初的计划成功的。如果你研究那些从商业计划起步的成功企业，就会发现，他们最初的计划往往惨败，只有尝试其他方法才取得了成功。正如人们常说，没有一个商业计划能在与市场接触后幸存下来。

我想将其概括为：没有一个计划能在与现实世界碰撞后安然无恙。

著名作家和商业顾问史蒂芬·柯维常用“选择时刻的正确”这个表达。这意味着，你不应该在不清楚自己目标的情况下盲目地遵循计划。假设你很好地执行了计划——到目前为止一切顺利——但突然出现了一个意外的机会。你是坚持原计划，错过这个机会，还是抓住机会，哪怕这会打乱你的计划？

这时你必须停下来，重新审视自己的目标，决定哪种选择更好。任何计划都不应该被盲目执行。一旦你获得了可能推翻计划的新信息，就必须在选择的时刻坚持正确。有时，你可以通过利用意外出现的捷径，更快地达成目标。而有时，你应该坚持原计划，避免被那些偏离目标的小诱惑所干扰。

对目标要坚定，但对计划要灵活。

我认为，明确的目标远比明确的计划更加重要。在大学期间，我的终极目标非常清晰——仅用三个学期完成学业，但我的计划却一直在变化。每一天，我都会接到新的作业、项目或考试的通知，我必须适应这个不断变化的学习环境。如果我试图为每个学期制定一个长期计划，它可能在24小时内就会失去意义。

与其使用一些复杂的组织系统，我坚持使用纸和笔列出一份待办事项清单。我唯一的组织工具就是一个记事本，上面记录了所有的作业和截止日期。我不会费心提前安排日程或确定优先级。我只需浏览这个清单，选择最紧迫且符合我当前可用时间的项目。然后专注完成它，并在清单上划掉。

如果我有一篇需要10小时才能完成的学期论文，我会一气呵成，而不是将其分解为多个小任务。我通常集中精力在周末来完成大型项目。我会一大早去图书馆做必要的研究，然后回到宿舍继续工作，直到最终的文稿从打印机中吐出来。如果中途需要休息，我就休息一下。

不管教授给这个项目规定的工作量有多大，也不管允许的完成时间有多长。一旦开始着手一项任务，我就会一直专注于它，直到100%完成并准备好提交。

这个简单的方法为我节省了大量时间。首先，它让我能够全神贯注于每一项任务，在工作时保持高效。任务切换会导致大量时间浪费，因为你必须为每个新任务重新进入状态。单一专注法可以最大限度地减少任务切换带来的时间损失。事实上，如果可能的话，我会将同一学科的作业集中处理，在转换到其他学科之前一次性完成。

比如，我会一口气做完所有的数学作业，然后再去完成编程作业，接着是通识教育作业。通过这种方式，我可以让大脑长时间处于数学模式、编程模式、写作模式或艺术模式。其次，我相信这个习惯有助于我保持放松和平和，因为我的脑海中不会塞满待办事项。我始终只专注于眼前的一件事，可以忘记其他与此无关的事情。

大多数人似乎天生就害怕失败，但失败其实是你最好的朋友。成功人士往往也经历过大量失败，因为他们尝试了很多次。伟大的棒球运动员贝比·鲁斯同时保持着本垒打记录和三振记录。那些取得最多成就的人，也往往遭遇最多失败。失败没有错，也无需感到羞耻。不去尝试才是唯一的遗憾。

所以，不要因尝试提高生产力而感到害怕。有时，判断某件事是否可行的最快方法，就是直接投入去做。你总能在过程中进行调整。这是一种“准备-行动-调整”的方法，出人意料的是，它比更常见的“准备-瞄准-行动”方法要有效得多。原因在于，在你“行动”一次后，你就有了实际数据来调整“瞄准”的方向。

太多人陷入了计划和思考的泥潭，却迟迟无法付诸行动。你放弃了多少潜在的好主意，就是因为你陷入了“分析瘫痪”的状态(即准备-瞄准-瞄准-瞄准-瞄准-瞄准……)？

在大学期间，我尝试了很多自认为可能节省时间的疯狂想法。我不断学习时间管理的知识并应用到实践中，但也设计了一些原创的点子。我大部分自创的想法都以失败告终，但有些却奏效了。我愿意一次又一次地经历失败，因为有可能意外发现一些能让我得到额外提升的东西。

要明白，失败不是成功的对立面，而是成功不可或缺的一部分。一旦你成功了，没人会记得你曾经失败过。微软并非比尔·盖茨和保罗·艾伦的第一个商业项目。谁还记得他们最初的Traf-o-Data公司是个失败的案例？演员金·凯瑞年轻时曾在许多舞台上被观众嘘下台。

我们之所以有电灯，是因为托马斯·爱迪生在一万次失败的实验后仍然坚持不懈。如果“失败”这个词对你来说是个禁忌，那就重新定义它：要么成功，要么获得学习经验。

放下对失败的恐惧，会让你受益匪浅。如果你对实现某个目标充满热情，但是却担心可能无法达成，请勇敢地去做吧。即使尝试失败，你也能从中学到宝贵的经验，下次就能做得更好。如果你观察当今商界的成功人士，就会发现他们中的许多人在最终取得成功之前，都经历过一系列惨痛的失败，我自己也不例外。

我相信大多数人都会认同，那些早期的失败经历是他们日后成功的重要因素。我给创业者的建议是，着手推出产品或设计服务，而不要太在意它们能否成为爆款。它们很可能不会一炮而红。但你从实践中学到的东西，会比你仅仅通过思考学到的多很多。

W. 克莱门特·斯通建立了一个价值数亿美元的保险帝国。他要求所有员工在每个工作日开始前反复背诵“立即行动！”这个短语。每当你感到懒惰的倾向占据上风时，请想一想你应该做的事情，并停下来大声说：“立即行动！立即行动！立即行动！”我经常将这段文字设置为屏幕保护。

拖延事情会付出巨大代价，因为你会在脑海中一次又一次地回想到它们，这可能会增加大量的时间成本。思考和计划固然重要，但行动更加关键。我们得到的报酬是基于成果而非想法或计划。在面临选择时，勇敢地采取行动，抱着必胜的信念。实际上，成功与否往往就在这一念之间。

养成尽快做决定的习惯是绝对必要的。无论决定有多大或多重要，我几乎都采用60秒规则。一旦掌握了做决定的所有数据，我就启动计时器，只给自己60秒的时间做出坚定的决定。必要时我甚至会抛硬币。在大学时，我负担不起浪费时间去思考作业或担心什么时候去做。

我只是选择一项任务，然后开始着手完成。而现在，当我需要决定下一篇要写的文章时，我也只是选个主题就开始写作。我相信这就是为什么我从不经历写作瓶颈的原因。写作瓶颈意味着你陷入了思考写什么的状态，而不是真正在写作。我不会浪费时间去想写作，因为我忙于写作。

这可能就是我能够轻松写出数百篇原创文章的原因。我写的每篇文章都会催生至少两篇以上的新想法，所以我的创意清单只会随着时间的推移而增加。我无法想象自己有朝一日会耗尽原创内容。

人们经常在没有任何优势可言的情况下推迟做决定。通常，拖延决策只会带来负面后果，所以即使面临模棱两可的局面，也要咬紧牙关做出决定。如果事后证明这是错误的决定，你很快就会意识到。许多人可能花费超过60秒的时间来决定晚餐吃什么。如果我无法决定吃什么，我就会抓起一个苹果或几根香蕉开始吃，有时在我想清楚自己真正想吃什么之前，水果就已经吃饱了。

所以我的大脑知道，如果它想要水果以外的东西，最好快点决定。如果你能加快做决定的速度，就可以将剩余时间用于行动。

一项研究表明，世界上最优秀的管理者往往对模棱两可有极高的容忍度。

换句话说，他们能够根据不完整和/或相互矛盾的数据大胆行动。如今，许多行业的发展步伐如此之快，以至于当你拥有完美的数据来做出任何决定时，机会可能已经悄然流逝。在没有数据可供参考的情况下，要依靠自己的个人经验和直觉。如果一个决定可以立即做出，那就在它出现的时候就做决定。

如果你无法立即做出决定，就留出一段时间来考虑各种选择并做出决定。将大部分时间投入到行动中，而不是决策上。犹豫不决的状态是一个重大的时间浪费。如果可以避免，不要在这种状态下花费超过60秒的时间。做出坚定、即时的决定，从不确定转向确定，再到行动。

让世界告诉你什么时候做错了，你很快就会积累足够的经验来做出准确、明智的决定。

摆脱所有浪费你时间的东西。大量使用垃圾桶。运用“有疑问，扔掉它”的原则。取消无用的杂志订阅。如果你有一本杂志超过两个月了还没读，就扔掉它；它可能不值得一读。要意识到，如果某样东西耗费你的时间，它就不是免费的。在注册任何新的免费服务或订阅之前，问问自己这会在时间上花费你多少成本。每一项活动都有机会成本。问问自己，“这项活动值得我为它牺牲的东西吗？”

在大学里，我对时间的管理可谓是毫不留情。我曾经告诉一位教授，我决定不做他布置的一个计算机科学项目，因为我觉得这不是对我时间利用的最大化。这个项目需要10-20个小时的单调乏味的苦工，不会教给我任何我还不知道的东西。而且，这个项目在那门课中只占我总成绩的10%，由于我之前一直在那门课中取得优异成绩，唯一真正的负面影响就是我最终会得到A-而不是A。

我告诉教授，我觉得这是一个公平的权衡，我会接受A-的成绩。我没有试图与他协商特殊待遇。

所以我在这门课的正式成绩是A-，但我个人给自己打了个A+，因为我把那10-20个小时用在了更有意义的事情上。

问问自己这个问题：“如果让我重新来过，以我现在的认知，我还会开始这个项目、关系、职业等吗？”如果你的答案是否定的，那就尽快退出。这叫做零基思维。我知道很多人有一个限制性信念，“凡事都要坚持到底。”他们花了多年时间爬上梯子，却在到达顶端时意识到梯子靠在错误的建筑上。

记住，失败是你的朋友。

所以如果你过去做出的某个决定不再产生对你有利的结果，那请果断地抛弃它，这样你就可以继续前进，做更好的事情。毕生致力于追求一个不再激励你的目标，这没有任何荣誉可言。在面临选择时，应该坚持另一种正确。你必须不断重新评估当前的处境，准确决定下一步该做什么。

如果你今天不会重新做出过去的决定，那么无论你过去决定了什么，在很大程度上都已经无关紧要了。

与其看一个小时的电视节目，不如录下来，快进跳过广告，45分钟就能看完。不要花半个小时打一封冗长的电子邮件，而是用10分钟的电话就能达到同样的效果。把你的事情集中在一起，一次性完成。

在第二学期和第三学期之间的夏天，我在校园对面找到了一套公寓，比我在校内的宿舍离工程楼稍微近一点。所以我从宿舍搬出来，住进了那套公寓，这每天都为我节省了一些步行/骑车的时间。我还从与两个室友合住的双人宿舍搬到了一个更小的单人工作室公寓。这个新公寓的效率要高得多。例如，我可以一边做编程作业，一边做饭，因为我的书桌离炉子只有几步之遥。

对于那些希望提高效率的人来说，尝试减少浪费时间的习惯是一个常见的起点，但我认为这是一个错误。优化个人习惯应该放在后面。目标明确必须放在第一位。如果你没有明确的目标，那么你试图养成更高效的习惯和打破低效习惯的努力只会半途而废。你没有足够强烈的理由来充分利用时间，所以当事情变得艰难时，你很容易放弃。

你需要一个宏大、有吸引力的目标来保持动力。把一项任务缩短15分钟的原因是，你有强烈的动力把这15分钟用在更有意义的事情上。

例如，你可能有一个还算喜欢的职业，但它很可能没有足够的吸引力让你真正在意在这里或那里节省15分钟，即便你可能因此每天都能节省出来几个小时。但是，如果你花时间培养一种深入灵魂的使命感，你就会自然而然地有动力更好地利用时间。如果你把生活的最高层次（目标、意义、精神信仰）安排好，较低层次（习惯、做法、行动）就会趋向于自我优化。

80-20原则也被称为帕累托原则，它指出一项任务的20%努力会产生80%的价值。这也意味着一项任务的80%只产生20%的价值。在大学里，我严格地遵循这一原则。有些周我会逃掉多达40%的课，因为坐在教室听讲往往不是我学习的最有效方式。我已经说过，如果我认为一项作业不值得我花时间，我会直接拒绝去做。

有一门数学课我只上过两次，因为我从教科书上学习的速度比听讲快得多。我只出现在期中考试和期末考试。我会在每节课开始时探头进去交作业，然后在每节课结束时再进去记下下一次的作业。我实际上在那门课上得了最高分，但老师可能根本不知道我是谁。其他学生按部就班，没有意识到他们可以自己制定规则。

找出你生活中属于关键20%的部分，并将精力集中在那里。要绝对果断地拒绝把时间花在根本不可能给你最佳收益的地方。而要把时间投入到有可能获得丰厚回报的地方。

要想工作得高效，你需要拥有不被打扰的时间段，让你能够专心致志地完成有价值的工作。当你确信不会被打断时，你的工作效率会高得多。当你坐下来专注于一项特别紧张的任务时，要为这项任务划分出一段时间，在这段时间里你不会做任何其他事情。根据我的经验，一个时间块至少需要90分钟，这样才能达到最佳效果。

你可能需要与生活中的其他人协商，以创造这些不受干扰的时间段。如有必要，提前警告他人在某段时间内不要打扰你。必要时可以威胁使用暴力手段。在学校里，当我需要工作时，我会锁上卧室的门，这样我的室友就知道不要打扰我。虽然两居室宿舍套间中的每个卧室都是为两个人设计的(每个套间四个人)，但我多付了一点钱，独享一个卧室。

这样我就总是有自己的私人空间可以工作。当我有时间社交时，我会敞开房门，有时会和其中一个室友一起玩电脑游戏。如果你碰巧在一个干扰很多的环境中工作，而它正负面影响着你的工作效率，那么请不惜一切代价改变那个环境。有些人告诉我，给他们的老板提供这篇文章的副本，有助于说服他/她采取措施减少不必要的干扰。

虽然对某些人来说，为一项任务划分出一段特定的时间很有帮助，但我发现我在长时间、开放式的不受干扰的时间段内工作效果最好。我经常为一项任务分配开始时间，但通常不设定具体的完成时间。只要有可能，我就让自己尽可能长时间地坚持一项任务，直到最终屈服于饥饿或其他身体需求。

我经常连续6个多小时专注于一个项目而不休息。虽然经常休息通常被认为可以提高工作效率，但我觉得这个建议可能是工业时代对积极性不高的工人进行研究的产物，并不太适用于高度积极、有目标驱动的创造性工作。我发现，最好是保持动力，直到几乎无法继续，而不是把任务切成小块，因为这样可能会在过程中屈服于干扰。

心流状态，即你完全沉浸在一项任务中，失去了所有时间感，需要大约15分钟才能进入。每次你被打断，可能需要再花15分钟才能回到那种状态。一旦进入心流状态，就要不惜一切代价守护它。在这种状态下，你将完成大量工作，并与任务建立起完全的联系。当我处于这种状态时，我没有过去或未来的感觉。我只是感觉自己与工作融为一体。

虽然有时我会经历工作膨胀至填满所有可支配时间的问题（即帕金森定律），但我经常发现这样是值得的。例如，当我在我的网站上做优化工作时，我经常会在工作中想到新的优化idea，而且我通常会立即实施这些新想法。我发现，在构思的那一刻就付诸行动，比安排在以后完成更有效率。

在这段宝贵的时间段内，除了眼前的活动外，什么都不要做。不要查看电子邮件、在线论坛或浏览网页。如果你有这种诱惑，那就在工作时拔掉互联网连接。关掉手机，或者干脆拒绝接听。在开始之前先上厕所，确保一段时间内不会感到饥饿。在整个时间段里，不要离开你的椅子，也不要和任何人交谈。

决定你应该做什么，然后除此之外什么都不做。如果你恰好管理着其他人，定期问他们的头号任务是什么，并确保他们除此之外什么都不做。如果你看到有人在回复电子邮件，那应该是那个人在那个特定时间应该做的最重要的事情。如果不是，那么相对而言，那个人只是在浪费时间。

如果你需要休息，就真正地休息，不要做其他事情。如果你觉得需要休息和恢复，就不要在休息时半工半休。查看电子邮件或浏览网页不是休息。当你休息时，闭上眼睛做一些深呼吸，听一些轻松的音乐放空一会儿，小睡20分钟，或者吃一些新鲜水果。休息到你觉得能够再次进行有成效的工作为止。

当你需要休息时，就休息。当你应该工作时，就工作。要么以100%的专注度工作，要么就完全不工作。想休息多长时间都完全没问题。只是不要让你的休息时间蔓延到工作时间。

在某些领域，新知识的增长速度如此之快，以至于你所了解的关于自己工作的一切可能都在变得过时。唯一的解决办法就是尽可能快速地吸收新知识。我现在在业务中使用的许多技能，五年前甚至还不存在。据我所知，跟上时代的最佳方式就是尽可能地多任务处理，通过阅读和听音频节目来学习。

看电视时，可以在广告时间阅读计算机杂志。如果你是男性，可以在刮胡子的时候阅读。我使用电动剃须刀，每天刮胡子大约需要2-3分钟，我会在这段时间里阅读。这样每周可以多读大约两篇文章，一年下来就是100篇额外的文章。养成这个习惯真的很容易。只需要拿几本杂志，或者打印出一些你平时没时间读的文章，放在浴室里。

每次出门时，至少带上一篇折叠好的文章。如果你不得不排队等候，比如在邮局或杂货店，就拿出文章来阅读。你会惊讶于在其他非脑力活动期间阅读，可以吸收多少额外的知识。

只要有机会，就听教育音频节目。开车时，始终在听音频节目。节省时间的最佳方式之一，就是直接向已经掌握你想要掌握的技能的人学习。音频节目通常包含比在大学课堂上学到的更实用的内容。尽管有市场营销或商业学位的人是由大学教授教导的，但你可以向在现实世界中学到知识的百万富翁和亿万富翁学习这些学科。

每个人都不一样，所以适合你的方法可能与适合其他人的方法大不相同。你可能在早上或深夜工作效率最高。要充分利用自己的优势，找到弥补弱点的方法。尝试一下边工作边听音乐。我发现古典音乐和新世纪音乐，尤其是莫扎特的作品，对网页开发工作非常有帮助。

但对于大多数日常任务，听快节奏的电子舞曲能让我的工作速度快很多。我不太清楚原因，但听着非常快的音乐时，我的工作效率是不听音乐时的两倍。另一方面，有人声的音乐会降低我的工作效率，因为太容易分散注意力。当我真的需要深度专注时，我会选择不听音乐。

你可以亲自做个简单的实验，看看某些形式的音乐是否能提高你的工作效率。对我来说，差别非常明显。

每当你想出一个增加工作效率的新点子时，都要进行测试，看看它会产生什么效果。除非你真的尝试过，否则不要轻易否定任何想法。部分成功比彻底失败更常见，所以每一次新的实验都会帮助你改进时间管理的做法。持续进行实验的练习本身也会帮助你养成更高效的习惯。

“热情”一词来源于希腊语entheos，字面意思是“内在的神”。我真的很喜欢这个定义。如果你对如何利用时间没有满腔的热情，那么我怀疑你是否有可能掌握时间管理的艺术。追求真正能激发你的事物。不要追逐金钱，要追逐你的激情。如果你对工作不感兴趣，那么你就是在浪费生命。

换个别的事情做吧。考虑一个全新的职业。如果你目前的职业已经变得乏味，不要自责。记住，失败是你的朋友。倾听你内心的声音，转向一些能再次激发你的事物。最大的时间浪费就是做一些不能让你快乐的事情。你的工作应该为你的生活服务，而不是相反。

如果你和大多数人一样，你可以不时地激励自己，但随后你会陷入困境，生产力下降到一个较低的水平，你会发现很难继续一个项目。当你的动力水平很高时，开始一个新项目有多容易？一旦你的热情消退，继续下去有多困难？由于大多数人或多或少都有消极情绪，如果你不积极培养热情这一资源，你就会随着时间的推移自然而然地失去积极的能量。

我不相信强迫自己能去做一些我真的不想做的事情。如果我没有动力，那么让自己坐下来高效地工作几乎是不可能的，工作几乎是痛苦的。但是，当你充满动力时，工作就像玩一样。

在大学期间，我可负担不起让自己的热情消退，否则我就完了。我很快意识到，我需要有意识地每天努力增强自己的热情。我总是随身携带随身听（那时还没有便携式MP3播放器），在从一个教室走到另一个教室的时候，我会听时间管理和励志的磁带。我也会在每天早上慢跑的时候听。

我几乎每小时都通过增强热情来保持高度的积极性。尽管别人告诉我，我肯定会失败，但这些磁带的影响更大，因为我从不会超过几个小时就重新投入进去。

如果你的热情水平很高，你就能更有效率地工作，甚至享受工作中通常乏味的部分。我一直认为，每当我想要将业务提升到一个新的水平时，我必须首先将思想提升到一个新的高度。当你的想法改变时，你的行动就会改变，你的结果也会随之而来。除非你天生是一个亢奋的人，否则你的热情需要每天得到增强。

我建议每天至少花15分钟听励志磁带或阅读鼓舞人心的书籍或文章。每当我停止这样做时，我发现自我怀疑总是会卷土重来，我的工作效率也会下降。不断地用积极的材料来滋养你的思想，真的能够无限地保持你的热情，这真是太神奇了。如果你进行多任务处理，你就可以获得这种好处，而不需要投入任何额外的时间。

在大学最后一个学期的夏天（1993年），我成为了一名乳蛋素食者，我注意到我的精力有了明显的提高，尤其是我的注意力。四年后（1997年），我成为了一名完全的素食主义者（不吃任何动物产品），这带来了更大的提升。关于我为什么做出这个改变的详细信息，请参阅文章《为什么要吃素？》。

你吃的东西会对你的工作效率产生深远的影响。动物性食品比植物性食品需要更多的时间和精力来消化，当你的身体必须将额外的精力转移到消化上时，这意味着你可用于高效脑力工作的精力就更少了。实际上，在消化含有动物性产品的餐点时，你的工作会显得更加困难，你也更容易屈服于干扰。

所以，如果你发现自己在午餐后很难集中精力进行脑力密集型工作，罪魁祸首很可能就是你的饮食。甚至连本杰明·富兰克林也把午餐时少食作为提高工作效率的一个重要因素。当他的同事们下午昏昏欲睡时，他却可以在一天剩下的时间里继续高效地工作。

规律的锻炼对保持旺盛的精力和清醒的头脑同样必要。在大学期间，我每天早晨都会在吃早餐之前先跑步30分钟。当然，我也会在跑步时同时听励志和教育录音带。这种每日的自我调节让我保持了良好的身体状态，并帮助我维持了理想的体重。

此外，我的课程安排让我每天在校园里穿梭往返，参加所有的课程，因此我通常不得不背着装满课本的20-30磅重的背包。

所以，尽管我在教室里度过了大部分的工作日，但我仍然得到了大量的日常锻炼。

如果你想掌握时间管理的艺术，磨练你最好的时间管理工具——你的身体，是很有意义的。通过饮食和锻炼，你可以建立持续专注努力的能力，这样即使是最困难的工作也会变得更容易。

如果你目前发现自己超重，不妨去当地的健身房或体育用品商店，找一个（或两个）与你身上多余脂肪重量相当的哑铃。拿起它，带着它走一会儿。要意识到这就是你每天随身携带的东西。想象一下，如果你能永久地放下这个重量，一切会变得多么轻松和容易。为了训练目的而携带一些额外的重量是一回事，但如果这个重量是以身体脂肪的形式存在，那么你就永远无法放下它。

享受训练带来的好处吧。下定决心减掉那些多余的肥肉，让自己享受拥有更高效身体所带来的终生好处。

如果你的生活完全失衡，我认为要长期保持高效、健康和快乐是不容易的。要在一个领域出类拔萃，你不能让其他领域落后，拖你的后腿。大学期间，我努力每周休息一整天，过自己的生活。我锻炼身体，参加派对，参加俱乐部会议，玩电脑游戏和台球，在最后一个学期甚至还有时间去拉斯维加斯度假。

“死亡行军”项目结束时的高离职率是由于缺乏平衡导致的。以牺牲生活中其他所有领域为代价，只专注于你的主要工作，从长远来看只会伤害你自己。要通过关注生活的方方面面来保持平衡。在事业成长的同时，一定要确保你的个人生活也在成长。

我在三个学期内完成大学学业最大的遗憾可能就是在这段时间里我从来没有女朋友。虽然我有很多好朋友（男性和女性），参加了俱乐部，每周都享受有趣的社交活动，但除了这一切，我没有足够的时间去追求一段亲密关系。我记得有一次，一个我认识的女孩明显对我感兴趣，想和我发展关系，她开始想方设法和我单独相处，但我不能上钩，因为我当时真的没有时间约会。

那时的我不会成为一个很好的男朋友。

如果让我重新来过，我想如果我把大学时光延长到四到五个学期，给自己时间交女朋友，我的大学经历会更好。有一个人可以分享我的生活，更不用说亲密关系的所有其他好处，那会很棒。至少毕业后我有足够的时间约会。几个月后，我有了一个稳定的女朋友，四年后我们结婚了。我和她其实是同时在同一所大学读书，但我们在那里从未碰巧相遇，尽管后来发现我们有一些共同的熟人。

我相信时间管理的主要目标是赋予你力量，让你的生活变得像你想要的那样丰富多彩。通过明确你想要什么，然后培养一系列习惯，让你能够有效地实现你的目标，你将享受到比其他方式更丰富、更充实的生活。当我十多年后回顾我的大学时代时，我对整个经历感到感激。我设定了一个巨大的延伸目标，并在追求这个目标的过程中作为一个人有了巨大的成长。那是我生命中最美好的时光之一。

如果你希望提高工作效率，那就带着改善生活的方方面面的意图去做吧。掌握时间管理的原因是要把你的美好生活转变成非凡的生活。时间管理不是关于自我牺牲、自我否定和做更多你不喜欢的事情。它是关于拥抱更多你已经热爱的事物。

November 28,2005 When going to college many years ago,I decided to challenge myself by setting a goal to see if I could graduate in only three semesters,

taking the same classes that people would normally take over a four-year period. This article explains in detail all the time management techniques I used to successfully pull this off. In order to accomplish this goal,

I determined I’d have to take 30-40 units per semester,when the average student took 12-15 units. It became immediately obvious that I’d have to manage my time extremely well if I wanted to pull this off. I began reading everything I could find on time management and putting what I learned into practice. I accomplished my goal by graduating with two Bachelor of Science degrees (computer science and mathematics) in just three semesters without attending summer school. I slept seven to eight hours a night,

took care of my routine chores (shopping,cooking,etc),had a social life,and exercised for 30 minutes every morning. In my final semester,

I even held a full time job (40 hours a week) as a game programmer and served as the Vice Chair of the local Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) chapter while taking 37 units of mostly senior-level computer science and math courses. My classmates would add up all the hours they expected each task to take and concluded that my weeks must have consisted of about 250 hours. I graduated with a 3.9 GPA and also received a special award given to the top computer science student each year. One of my professors later told me that they had an easy time selecting the award recipient once it became clear to them what I was doing. I wasn’t considered a gifted child,

and this was the first time I had ever done anything like this. I didn’t have any personal mentors helping me,I didn’t know of anyone who’d done anything like this before,

and I can’t recall a single person encouraging me to do it. In fact,most people were highly discouraging of the idea when I told them about it. This was simply something I decided to do for myself. If you want a better understanding of where I was at this time in my life and why I decided to attempt such a crazy thing,

you might enjoy reading [The Meaning of Life:Intro](http%3A%2F%2Fstevepavlina.com%2Fblog%2F2005%2F06%2Fthe-meaning-of-life-intro%2F) ,

which includes the full background story and more details about my motivation for doing this. It took a lot of convincing to get the computer science department chair to approve my extra units every semester,

and my classmates often assumed I was either cheating or that I had a twin or that I was just mentally unstable (I get accused of that last one pretty much every week,

so maybe there’s some truth to it). Most of the time I kept quiet about what I was doing,but if someone asked me how many units I was taking,

I didn’t deny it. I was perhaps the only student at the university with a two-page class schedule,so it was easy to prove I was telling the truth if anyone pressed me,

but rarely did I ever do so. I didn’t tell you this story to impress you but rather to make you curious as to how I did it. I pulled this off by applying time management concepts that most people simply didn’t know but that were readily available in books and audio programs at the time (1992-93). The time management habits I learned in college have served me very well in building my business,

so I want to share them with you in the hopes that you’ll find them equally valuable. They allowed me to shave years off my schooling while also giving me about $30,

000 to start my business (all earned in my final semester as a game programmer,mostly from royalties). Without further ado,

here’s the best of what I’ve learned about mastering time management:

The first step is to know exactly what you want. In a Tae Kwon Do studio where I used to train,there’s a huge sign on the wall that says,

“Your goal is to become a black belt.” This helps remind each student why s/he is going through such difficult training. When you work for yourself,

it’s easy to spend a whole day at your desk and accomplish nothing of value. This almost always happens when you aren’t really clear about what it is you’re trying to do. In the moments when you regain your awareness,

ask yourself,“What exactly is it that I’m trying to accomplish here?” You must know your destination with as much clarity as possible. Make your goals specific,

and put them in writing. Your goals must be so clear that it would be possible for a stranger to look at your situation objectively and give you an absolute “yes” or “no” response as to whether you’ve accomplished each goal or not. If you cannot define your destination precisely,

how will you know when you’ve arrived?

The key period I’ve found useful for defining and working on specific goals is ninety days,or the length of one season. In that period of time,

you can make dramatic and measurable changes if you set crystal clear goals. Take a moment to stop and write down a snapshot description of how you want your life to be ninety days from now. What will your monthly income be?

How much will you weigh?Who will your friends be?Where will you be in your career?What will your relationship be like?

What will your web site look like?Be specific. Absolute clarity will give you the edge that will keep you on course.

Just as an airplane on autopilot must make constant corrections to stay on course,you must periodically retarget your goals. Reconnect with your clear,

written goals by re-reading them every morning. Post them on your walls,especially your financial goals. Years ago (during the mid-90s),

I went around my apartment putting up signs in every room that said “$5,000 / month.” That was my monthly business income goal at the time. Because I knew exactly what I wanted,

I achieved that goal within a few weeks. I continued setting specific income goals,even amidst occasional setbacks,and I found this process very effective. It wasn’t just that it helped me focus on what I wanted — perhaps even more important is that it made it easy for me to disregard those things that weren’t on the path to my goal. For example,

if you set a goal to earn $10,000/month,this can help you stop doing those things that will only earn you $5000/month.

If you aren’t yet at the point of clarity,then make that your first goal. It’s a big waste of time to go through life being unclear about what you want. Most people wallow way too long in the state of “I don’t know what to do.” They wait for some external force to provide them with clarity,

never realizing that clarity is self-created. The universe is waiting on you,not the other way around,and it’s going to keep waiting until you finally make up your mind. Waiting for clarity is like being a sculptor staring at a piece of marble,

waiting for the statue within to cast off the unneeded pieces. Do not wait for clarity to spontaneously materialize — grab a chisel and get busy!

There’s a key difference between knowing your destination and knowing the path you will take to get there. A typical commercial airplane is off course 90% of the time,

yet it almost always arrives at its destination because it knows exactly where it’s going and makes constant corrections along the way. You cannot know the exact path to your goal in advance. I believe that the real purpose of planning is simply so that you remain convinced that a possible path exists. We’ve all heard the statistic that 80% of new businesses fail in their first five years,

but a far more interesting statistic is that nearly all of the businesses that succeeded did not do so in the original way they had intended. If you look at successful businesses that started with business plans,

you will commonly find that their original plans failed miserably and that they only succeeded by trying something else. It is said that no business plan survives contact with the marketplace. I like to generalize this to say that no plan survives contact with the real world.

[Stephen Covey](http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Fredirect%3Ftag%3Ddexteritysoft-20%26path%3Dsearch-handle-url%2Findex%253Dbooks%2526field-author%253DCovey%25252C%252520Stephen)

often uses the expression,“integrity in the moment of choice.” What that means is that you should not follow your plans blindly without conscious awareness of your goals. For instance,let’s say you’re following your plans nicely — so far so good — and then an unforeseen opportunity arises. Do you stick to your original plan,

thereby missing the opportunity,or do you stop and go after the opportunity,thereby throwing yourself off schedule?This is where you have to stop and reconnect with your goals to decide which is the better course. No plan should be followed blindly. As soon as you gain new knowledge that could invalidate the plan,

you must exercise integrity in the moment of choice. Sometimes you can reach your goals faster by taking advantage of shortcuts that arise unexpectedly. Other times you should stick to your original plans and avoid minor distractions that would take you further from your goals. Be tight on your goals but flexible on your plans.

I believe that having a clear goal is far more important than having a clear plan. In school I was very clear about my end goal — graduate college in only three semesters — but my plans were in a constant state of flux. Every day I would be informed of new assignments,

projects,or tests,and I had to adapt to this ever-changing sea of activity. If I tried to make a long-term plan for each semester,

it would have been rendered useless within 24 hours.

Instead of using some elaborate organizing system,I stuck with a very basic pen and paper to-do list. My only organizing tool was a notepad where I wrote down all my assignments and their deadlines. I didn’t worry about doing any advance scheduling or prioritizing. I would simply scan the list to select the most pressing item which fit the time I had available. Then I’d complete it,

and cross it off the list.

If I had a 10-hour term paper to write,I would do the whole thing at once instead of breaking it into smaller tasks. I’d usually do large projects on weekends. I’d go to the library in the morning,

do the necessary research,and then go back to my dorm room and continue working until the final text was rolling off my printer. If I needed to take a break,

I would take a break. It didn’t matter how big the project was supposed to be or how many weeks the professor allowed for it. Once I began an assignment,

I would stay with it until it was 100% complete and ready to be turned in.

This simple practice saved me a significant amount of time. First,it allowed me to concentrate deeply on each assignment and to work very efficiently while I worked. A lot of time is lost in task switching because you have to re-load the context for each new task. Single handling minimizes time lost in task switching. In fact,

when possible I would batch up my assignments within a certain subject area and then do them all at once before switching subjects. So I’d do all my math homework in a row until it was all done. Then I’d do all my programming assignments. Then I’d do my general education homework. In this manner I would put my brain into math-mode,

programming-mode,writing-mode,or art-mode and remain in that single mode for as long as possible. Secondly,I believe this habit helped me remain relaxed and unstressed because my mind wasn’t cluttered with so many to-do items. It was always just one thing at a time. I could forget about anything that was outside the current context.

Most people seem to have an innate fear of failure,but failure is really your best friend. People who succeed also fail a great deal because they make a lot of attempts. The great baseball player Babe Ruth held the homerun record and the strikeout record at the same time. Those who have the most successes also have the most failures. There is nothing wrong or shameful in failing. The only regret lies in never making the attempt. So don’t be afraid to experiment in your attempts to increase productivity. Sometimes the quickest way to find out if something will work is to jump right in and do it. You can always make adjustments along the way. It’s the ready-fire-aim approach,

and surprisingly,it works a lot better than the more common ready-aim-fire approach. The reason is that after you’ve “fired” once,

you have some actual data with which to adjust your aim. Too many people get bogged down in planning and thinking and never get to the point of action. How many potentially great ideas have you passed up because you got stuck in the state of analysis paralysis (i.e. ready-aim-aim-aim-aim-aim…)?

During college I tried a lot of crazy ideas that I thought might save me time. I continued reading time management material and applying what I learned,

but I also devised some original ideas. Most of my own ideas were flops,but some of them worked. I was willing to fail again and again for the off chance I might stumble upon something that gave me an extra boost.

Understand that failure is not the opposite of success. Failure is an essential part of success. Once you succeed,no one will remember your failures anyway. Microsoft wasn’t Bill Gates’ and Paul Allen’s first business venture. Who remembers that their original Traf-o-Data business was a flop?

The actor Jim Carey was booed off many a stage while a young comedian. We have electric light bulbs because Thomas Edison refused to give up even after 10,

000 failed experiments. If the word “failure” is anathema to you,then reframe it:You either succeed, or you have a learning experience.

Letting go of the fear of failure will serve you well. If you’re excited about achieving a particular goal,but you’re afraid you might not be able to pull it off,

jump on it and do it anyway. Even if you fail in your attempt,you’ll learn something valuable and can make a better attempt next time. If you look at people who are successful in business today,

you will commonly see that many of them had a string of dismal failures before finally hitting on something that worked,

myself included. And I think most of these people will agree that those early failure experiences were an essential contributing factor in their future successes. My advice to anyone starting a new business is to begin pumping out products or devising services and don’t worry much about whether they’ll be hits. They probably won’t be. But you’ll learn a lot more by doing than you ever will by thinking.

W. Clement Stone,who built an insurance empire worth hundreds of millions dollars,would make all his employees recite the phrase,“Do it now!

” again and again at the start of each workday. Whenever you feel the tendency towards laziness taking over and you remember something you should be doing,

stop and say out loud,“Do it now!Do it now!Do it now!” I often set this text as my screensaver. There is a tremendous cost in putting things off because you will mentally revisit them again and again,

which can add up to an enormous amount of wasted time. Thinking and planning are important,but action is far more important. You don’t get paid for your thoughts and plans — you only get paid for your results. When in doubt,

act boldly,as if it were impossible to fail. In essence,it is.

It is absolutely imperative that you develop the habit of making decisions as soon as possible. I use a 60-second rule for almost every decision I have to make,

no matter how big or important. Once I have all the data to make a decision,I start a timer and give myself only 60 seconds to make a firm decision. I’ll even flip a coin if I have to. When I was in college,

I couldn’t afford to waste time thinking about assignments or worrying about when to do them. I simply picked one and went to work on it. And today when I need to decide which article to write next,

I just pick a topic and begin writing. I believe this is why I never experience writer’s block. Writer’s block means you’re stuck in the state of thinking about what to write instead of actually writing. I don’t waste time thinking about writing because I’m too busy writing. This is probably why I’ve been able to write hundreds of original articles very easily. Every article I write spawns ideas for at least two more,

so my ideas list only increases over time. I cannot imagine ever running out of original content.

Too often people delay making decisions when there is no advantage to be found in that delay. Usually delaying a decision will only have negative consequences,

so even if you’re faced with ambiguity,just bite the bullet and make a decision. If it turns out to be the wrong one,you’ll know it soon enough. Many people probably spend more than 60 seconds just deciding what they’ll eat for dinner. If I can’t decide what to eat,

I just grab an apple or a couple bananas and start eating,and sometimes I’m full of fruit before I figure out what I really would like to eat. So my brain knows that if it wants something other than fruit,

it had better decide quickly. If you can speed up the pace of making decisions,you can spend the rest of your time on action.

One study showed that the best managers in the world tend to have an extremely high tolerance for ambiguity. In other words,

they are able to act boldly on partial and/or conflicting data. Many industries today have accelerated to such a rapid pace that by the time you have perfect data with which to make any decision,

the opportunity is probably long gone. Where you have no data to fall back on,rely on your own personal experience and intuition. If a decision can be made right away,

make the decision as soon as it comes up. If you can’t make a decision right away,set aside a time where you will consider the options and make the decision. Pour the bulk of your time into action,

not deciding. The state of indecision is a major time waster. Don’t spend more than 60 seconds in that state if you can avoid it. Make a firm,

immediate decision,and move from uncertainty to certainty to action. Let the world tell you when you’re wrong,and you’ll soon build enough experience to make accurate,intelligent decisions.

Get rid of everything that wastes your time. Use the trash can liberally. Apply the rule,“When in doubt,throw it out.” Cancel useless magazine subscriptions. If you have a magazine that is more than two months old and you still haven’t read it,

throw it away;it’s probably not worth reading. Realize that nothing is free if it costs you time. Before you sign up for any new free service or subscription,

ask how much it will cost you in terms of time. Every activity has an opportunity cost. Ask,“Is this activity worth what I am sacrificing for it?

”

In college I was downright brutal when it came to triage. I once told a professor that I decided not to do one of his assigned computer science projects because I felt it wasn’t a good use of my time. The project required about 10-20 hours of tedious gruntwork that wasn’t going to teach me anything I didn’t already know. Also,

this project was only worth 10% of my grade in that class,and since I was previously acing the class anyway,the only real negative consequence would be that I’d end up with an A- in the course instead of an A. I told the professor I felt that was a fair trade-off and that I would accept the A-. I didn’t try to negotiate with him for special treatment. So my official grade in the class was an A-,

but I personally gave myself an A+ for putting those 10-20 hours to much better use.

Ask yourself this question:“Would I have ever gotten started with this project,relationship,career,etc. if I had to do it all over again,knowing what I now know?

” If your answer is no,then get out as soon as possible. This is called zero-based thinking. I know a lot of people that have a limiting belief that says,

“Always finish what you start.” They spend years climbing ladders only to realize when they reach the top that the ladder was leaning against the wrong building. Remember that failure is your friend. So if a certain decision you’ve made in the past is no longer producing results that serve you,

then be ruthless and dump it,so you can move onto something better. There is no honor in dedicating your life to the pursuit of a goal which no longer inspires you. This is another situation where you must practice integrity in the moment of choice. You must constantly re-assess your present situation to accurately decide what to do next. Whatever you’ve decided in the past is largely irrelevant if you would not renew that decision today.

Instead of watching a one-hour TV show, tape it and watch it in 45 minutes by fast-forwarding through the commercials. Don’t spend a half hour typing a lengthy email when you could accomplish the same thing with a 10-minute phone call. Batch your errands together and do them all at once.

During the summer between my second and third semesters,I found an apartment across the street from campus that was slightly closer to the engineering building than my on-campus dorm room. So I moved out of the dorms and into that apartment,

which saved me some walking/biking time every day. I was also moving from a two-bedroom dorm which I shared with two roommates into a smaller single-person studio apartment. This new apartment was much more efficient. For example,

I could work on programming assignments while cooking dinner because my desk was only a few steps from the stove.

Trying to cut out time-wasting habits is a common starting point for people who desire to become more efficient,but I think this is a mistake. Optimizing your personal habits should only come later. Clarity of purpose must come first. If you don’t have clarity,

then your attempts to install more efficient habits and to break inefficient habits will only fizzle. You won’t have a strong enough reason to put your time to good use,

so it will be easy to quit when things get tough. You need a big,attractive goal to stay motivated. The reason to shave 15 minutes off a task is that you’re overflowing with motivation to put that 15 minutes to better use.

For example,you might have a career you sort of like,but most likely it’s not so compelling that you’ll care enough about saving an extra 15 minutes here and there,

even if your total savings might amount to a few hours each day. But if you’ve taken the time to develop a sense of purpose that reaches deep into your soul,

you’ll be automatically motivated to put your time to better use. If you get the highest level of your life in order (purpose,

meaning,spiritual beliefs),the lower levels will tend to self-optimize (habits,practices,actions).

Also known as the Pareto Principle,the 80-20 rule states that 20% of a task’s effort accounts for 80% of the value of that task. This also means that 80% of a task only yields 20% of the value of that task. In college I was ruthless in my application of this principle. Some weeks I ditched as many as 40% of my classes because sitting through a lecture was often not the most effective way for me to learn. And I already noted that I would simply refuse to do an assignment if I determined it was not worth my time. There was one math class that I only showed up to twice because I could learn from the text book much more quickly than from the lectures. I only showed up for the midterm and final. I would pop my head in at the beginning of each class to drop off my homework and then again at the end of each class to write down the next assignment. I actually got the highest grade in that class,

but the teacher probably had no idea who I was. The other students were playing by the rules,not realizing they were free to make their own rules. Find out what parts of your life belong in the crucial 20%,

and focus your efforts there. Be absolutely ruthless in refusing to spend time where it simply cannot give you optimal results. Invest your time where it has the potential to pay off big.

To work effectively you need uninterrupted blocks of time in which you can complete meaningful work. When you know for certain that you won’t be interrupted,

your productivity is much,much higher. When you sit down to work on a particularly intense task,dedicate blocks of time to the task during which you will not do anything else. I’ve found that a minimum of 90 minutes is ideal for a single block.

You may need to negotiate with the other people in your life to create these uninterrupted blocks of time. If necessary,

warn others in advance not to interrupt you for a certain period of time. Threaten them with acts of violence if you must. In school I would lock my bedroom door when I needed to work,so my roommates would know not to disturb me. While each individual bedroom in the two-bedroom dorm suites was designed for two people (four people per suite),

I paid a bit extra to have a bedroom all to myself. This way I always had my own private room to work. When I had time to be social,

I’d leave the door open,sometimes playing computer games with one of my roommates. If you happen to work in a high interruption environment that’s negatively affecting your productivity,

change that environment at all costs. Some people have told me that giving their boss a copy of this article helped convince him/her to take steps to reduce unnecessary interruptions.

While for some people it’s helpful to block off a specific period of time for a task,I find that I work best with long,open-ended stretches of uninterrupted time. I’ll often allocate a starting time for a task but usually not a specific finishing time. Whenever possible I just allow myself to stick with a task as long as I can,

until I eventually succumb to hunger or other bodily needs. I will frequently work 6+ hours straight on a project without taking a break. While frequent breaks are often recommended to increase productivity,

I feel that suggestion may be an artifact of industrial age research on poorly motivated workers and not as applicable to high-motivation,

purpose-driven creative work. I find it’s best for me to maintain momentum until I can barely continue instead of chopping a task into smaller chunks where there’s a risk of succumbing to distractions along the way.

The state of flow,where you are totally absorbed in a task and lose all sense of time,takes about 15 minutes to enter. Every time you get interrupted,

it can take you another 15 minutes to get back to that state. Once you enter the state of flow,guard it with your life. That is the state in which you will go through enormous amounts of work and experience total connection with the task. When I’m in this state,

I have no sense of past or future. I simply feel like I’m one with my work.

While sometimes I suffer from the problem of the task expanding to fill the allotted time (aka Parkinson’s Law),I often find that it’s worth the risk. For example,

when I do optimization work on my web site,I’ll frequently think of new optimization ideas while I work,and I’ll usually go ahead and implement those new ideas immediately. I find it more efficient to act on those ideas at the moment of conception instead of scheduling them to be done at a later time.

During one of these sacred time blocks,do nothing but the activity that’s right in front of you. Don’t check email or online forums or do web surfing. If you have this temptation,

then unplug your Internet connection while you work. Turn off your phone,or simply refuse to answer it. Go to the bathroom before you start,

and make sure you won’t get hungry for a while. Don’t get out of your chair at all. Don’t talk to anyone during this time.

Decide what it is you should be doing,and then do nothing but that. If you happen to manage others,periodically ask them what their #1 task is,

and make sure they’re doing nothing but that. If you see someone answering email,then it should be the most important thing for that person to be doing at that particular time. If not,then relatively speaking,that person is just wasting time.

If you need a break,then take a real break and do nothing else. Don’t semi-work during a break if you feel you need rest and restoration. Checking email or web surfing is not a break. When you take a break,

close your eyes and do some deep breathing,listen to relaxing music and zone out for a while,take a 20-minute nap,or eat some fresh fruit. Rest until you feel capable of doing productive work again. When you need rest,

rest. When you should be working,work. Work with either 100% concentration,or don’t work at all. It’s perfectly fine to take as much down time as you want. Just don’t allow your down time to creep into your work time.

The amount of new knowledge in certain fields is increasing so rapidly that everything you know about your line of work is probably becoming obsolete. The only solution is to keep absorbing new knowledge as rapidly as possible. Many of the skills I use in my business today didn’t even exist five years ago. The best way I know to keep up is to multitask whenever possible by reading and listening to audio programs.

When watching TV,read a computer magazine during commercials. If you’re a male,read while shaving. I use an electric shaver and read during the 2-3 minutes it takes me to shave each day. This allows me to get through about two extra articles a week — that’s 100 extra articles a year. This habit is really easy to start. Just grab a couple magazines,

or print out some articles you wouldn’t otherwise have time to read,and put them in your bathroom. Whenever you go out,

carry at least one folded up article with you. If you ever have to wait in line,such as at the post office or the grocery store,

pull out the article and read it. You will be amazed at how much extra knowledge you can absorb just by reading during other non-mental activities.

Listen to educational audio programs whenever you can. When you drive your car,always be listening to an audio program. One of the best ways to save time is to learn directly from people who already have the skills you want to master. Audio programs often contain more practical material than what you would learn by taking classes at a university. Whereas people with degrees in marketing or business have been taught by college professors,

you can learn about these subjects from millionaires and billionaires who’ve learned what works in the real world.

Multitasking was perhaps the most important low-level skill that allowed me to go through college in three semesters. My average weekday involved about seven or eight hours of classes. But on Tuesdays during my final semester,

I had classes back to back from 9am until 10pm. Because I was taking about a dozen classes each semester,I would have several tests and projects due just about every week. I had no time to study outside of class because most of that time was used for my job. So I simply had to learn everything the first time it came up. If a teacher wrote out something on the board,

I would memorize it then and there;I couldn’t afford to learn things later and risk falling behind. During my slower classes,

I would do homework,work out algorithms for my programming job,or refine my schedule. You can probably find numerous opportunities for multitasking. Whenever you do something physical,such as driving,cooking,shopping,or walking,

keep your mind going by listening to audio tapes or reading.

The idea of multitasking may seem to contradict the previous piece of advice to work all the time you work. But whereas the previous tip refers to high intensity work where you must concentrate all your mental resources in order to do the best job you can,

this tip addresses low intensity work where you have plenty of capacity to do other things at the same time,like standing in line,cooking dinner,flying on a plane,

or walking from point A to point B. Multitasking shouldn’t be used where it will significantly degrade your performance on a crucial task,

but it should be intelligently used to take advantage of excess capacity. Take real breaks when you need them,but don’t waste time in a state of partial effort. It’s more efficient to cycle between working flat out and then resting completely.

Multitasking allows you to take your productivity to a new level. You might think it would be draining,but many people find it has the opposite effect. For me it was tremendously energizing to be getting so much done. The harder you work,

the greater your capacity for work,and the more restorative your rest will be.