Procrastination, the habit of putting tasks off to the last possible minute, can be a major problem in both your career and your personal life. Side effects include missed opportunities, 1）frenzied work hours, stress, 2）resentment, and guilt. It takes deliberate strategies to avoid becoming our own worst enemy by procrastinating on our intended actions. Here are some tips, all based on research that will keep you one step ahead of procrastination. 　　 　　拖延，即習(xí)慣性地把任務(wù)拖到最后一分鐘，可能是你職業(yè)生涯和個人生活的重大問題。其帶來的負(fù)面影響包括錯失良機(jī)、瘋狂趕工、承受重壓、自怨自責(zé)。拖延本打算做的事情，會使自己成為自己最強(qiáng)勁的敵人，要避免這種情況，我們需要采取一些有意識的策略。以下一些基于研究的秘訣，將有助于你戰(zhàn)勝拖延這個壞習(xí)慣。 　　   　　1. Time travel: How to counteract the 3）irrationality of human nature. 　　 　　1. 時間旅行：如何應(yīng)對人性中的非理性。 　　 　　As Piers Steel makes clear in 4）temporal motivation theory and Dan Gilbert shows in his work on affective forecasting, we are not merely irrational but predictably so. We 5）discount future rewards as less important than a task at hand, particularly if it's a more pleasant activity, and we really aren't very good at predicting how we'll feel in the future. 　　 　　根據(jù)皮爾斯·斯蒂爾的時間動機(jī)理論以及丹·吉爾伯特有關(guān)情感預(yù)測的著作，我們不僅對當(dāng)下的事物具有非理性，也傾向于非理性。我們低估未來任務(wù)的回報，認(rèn)為其沒有手頭上的任務(wù)重要，如果當(dāng)前進(jìn)行著一件更令人愉快的事情時，情況更是如此。我們的確不善于預(yù)測自己未來的感受。 　　 　　“Time travel” can help here. That is, we need to use 6）concrete mental images of the future more often and more accurately, to represent the future as though it were happening in the present. For example, a person who is procrastinating on saving for retirement might imagine as vividly as possible living on his or her potential retirement savings. To make a future image like this more concrete and accurate, it may be important to set out some numbers for a budget and take into account the reality of the need for, and increasing expense of, health care in old age. Planning shouldn't be an abstract notion of “doing it tomorrow.” Think about the task in the real 7）context of the day, and think carefully about how these tasks make you feel. 　　 　　在這種情況下，“時間旅行”可以幫得上忙。也就是說，我們需要更頻繁、更準(zhǔn)確地用對未來的具體臆想來代表真實(shí)的未來，就好像未來發(fā)生在眼前一樣。例如，對于一個遲遲不為退休生活儲蓄的人來說，他可以盡可能生動地去想象自己依靠可以存到的退休金而生活的情景。要讓諸如此類的未來畫面更具體、更準(zhǔn)確，重要的是要開始做出預(yù)算，并考慮到現(xiàn)實(shí)的需要以及晚年日益增長的醫(yī)療開支。規(guī)劃不應(yīng)該是一個“明天再做”的抽象概念。想想現(xiàn)實(shí)情境中一天的任務(wù)，并仔細(xì)想想這些任務(wù)讓你感覺如何。   　　 　　2. Don't give in to feeling good: Short-term gain, longterm pain. 　　 　　2. 不要屈服于感覺良好：短期收益可能帶來長期痛苦。 　　 　　When self-regulation fails, it's often because shortterm emotional repair takes 8）precedence over our longterm goals. For example, a task at hand makes us feel anxious or 9）overwhelmed, so we “give in to feel good,”seeking immediate emotional relief, and we walk away, leaving the task for tomorrow. 　　 　　通常，當(dāng)長遠(yuǎn)目標(biāo)被短期的情感修復(fù)占了上風(fēng)時，我們的自律便宣告失敗。例如，當(dāng)手頭上的任務(wù)使我們感到焦慮或不堪重負(fù)時，我們便“屈服于感覺良好”，開始尋求即時的情感安慰，于是我們?nèi)鍪植还�，把任�?wù)留給明天。 　　 　　Here's where emotional intelligence is so important to procrastinating less. Learn to recognize that we can have negative emotions without 10）acting on them. 11）Stay put for a minute—don't walk away. Don't give in to “I'll feel more like it tomorrow.”12）Acknowledge the negative emotions, but get started anyway. Progress on a goal provides the motivation for another step forward. Just get started; the negative emotions will pass. 　　 　　這里證明了要想對付拖延，情商非常重要。要學(xué)會認(rèn)識到：可以有負(fù)面情緒，但不能受制于它。停下來一分鐘——不要走開。不要屈從于“我更想明天再做這事情。”承認(rèn)消極情緒的存在，但無論如何要著手去做。離目標(biāo)越來越近會為你不斷向前提供動力。只管著手去做吧；負(fù)面情緒終會離你而去。 　　   　　3. Reduce uncertainty and 13）distractions. 　　 　　3. 減少猶豫和干擾。 　　 　　1Planning is one thing; action is another. In fact, what can make a task 14）aversive to us when we're simply making an intention or planning is how meaningful a goal is. The less meaningful the goal, the less likely we'll want to do the task. However, when it's time to act, aversive tasks—those we're most likely to procrastinate on—are those for which we're uncertain how to proceed. We're most likely to procrastinate on tasks that lack structure. 　　 　　規(guī)劃是一回事，行動卻是另一回事。事實(shí)上，當(dāng)我們有某個初步打算或規(guī)劃時，一想到目標(biāo)意義之重大，便頓感厭惡。如果目標(biāo)的意義越小，動力也越小。然而，當(dāng)必須行動起來的時候，那些我們厭惡的任務(wù)——也是最有可能被拖延的——正是我們無從下手的工作。我們最有可能拖延那些缺乏條理的任務(wù)。 　　 　　This means that in addition to making your task concrete, it's important to reduce the uncertainty about how to proceed—and, when it's time to act, to reduce available distractions as well. Shut off your e-mail, isolate yourself as much as you can, and make sure the environment around you is working to strengthen your 15）willpower and focus, not to 16）undermine your efforts. Speaking of willpower… 　　 　　這意味著除了將你的任務(wù)具體化以外，減少有關(guān)如何進(jìn)展的不確定性因素也非常重要——并且，在該行動的時候，減少可能使你分心事物出現(xiàn)。關(guān)掉你的電子信箱，盡可能地把自己隔開，并確保周 圍的環(huán)境能加強(qiáng)你的意志力和注意力，而不是摧毀你的努力。說到意志力…… 　　   　　4. Willpower: How to make the most of the willpower muscle. 　　 　　4. 意志力：如何最大限度地利用意志力。 　　 　　A great deal of recent research clearly indicates that willpower is like a muscle. You can exhaust it more quickly than you might imagine and, when you do, you lose your ability to self-regulate your behavior. One immediate method to strengthen your resolve in order to keep you on task is to remind yourself of your values. This process of 17）self-affirmation 18）bolsters our 19）flagging reserves of willpower. 　　 　　許多新近的研究明確表明，意志力就像肌肉。你可以比你想象的更迅速地消耗掉意志力，沒有意志力，就失去了自我調(diào)節(jié)行為的能力。加強(qiáng)決心從而使你堅(jiān)持行動的其中一個直接方法就是認(rèn)清自己的價值。在這種自我肯定的過程中，增強(qiáng)自己逐漸變?nèi)醯囊庵玖Α?http://www.oriental01.com/