Wouldn’t it be great to have more time? With a few extra hours a week, you could finally accomplish those goals that have been on your list for so long … but your life just seems to get busier and busier.
“要是時間再多點兒該多好!”——你是不是這樣感嘆過呢？的確，每星期如果能多出幾個小時，或許那些一直想做，但沒做的事情就都可以完成了！不過你的生活似乎會變得愈來愈繁忙。
It doesn’t have to be that way. You can find time to reach your goals – in fact, you already have enough time, you just might not realize it.
其實不用這麼累！即使一天只有24個小時，你依然可以實現自己的目標。事實上，你擁有的時間已經夠了，只是你自己沒有意識到而已。
Here are nine powerful ways to find more time, starting now:
以下九個有用的小妙招，能幫你有效找到“更多”的時間。就從現在開始吧！
 商用英文搶時妙招1. Track Your Time for Several Days先連續幾天記錄自己的時間用途
Where does your time really go? If you’re not sure, then keep track of your time for a few days. Record what you’re doing in 15 minute intervals. You may want to focus particularly on trouble-spots: times of day when you tend to procrastinate.
你的時間，到底都用在哪兒了?假如你不確定答案，那就試著連續記錄幾天，找出自己真正的時間分配。每隔15分鐘就記錄一下自己在做的事情。很快你就能發現自己在什麼地方特別容易浪費時間——也就是你的拖延症又發作啦！
Look for any time sinks – tasks or activities that are taking up a lot more time than you thought. Can you cut down the amount of time you spend on these – or cut them out of your day altogether?
找出那些耗時的陷阱，那些讓你實際花費的時間比自訂時間多更多的事。你能把它們佔用的時間縮小嗎?或者乾脆徹底摒棄?
商用英文搶時妙招2. Break Your Goal into Little Chunks把目標拆分成小塊
If you have a huge goal like “run a marathon” or “write a book”, you’re obviously not going to accomplish it overnight: it’s going to take months or even years of effort. Big goals can be daunting – but by breaking them into little chunks, you make it much easier to get started and to keep going.
假如你的目標很遠大，比方“跑馬拉松”、“寫一本書”這種，不可能一夜之間就能實現而需要數月數年才能完成的事，你可以試著把它們分成小塊，這樣就更容易一步一步實現，而不會讓你退縮！
Spend a few minutes writing down the next five small steps that you need to take to move towards your goal. These might be steps like “find a good training plan” or “buy new trainers” or “go for a 15-minute jog today” if you want to run a marathon next year.
花幾分鐘時間來列出為了達到這個目標而需要做的5件事。比方說如果你的目標是馬拉松，你可以寫上：“找到一個合適的訓練計畫”、“買一雙新跑鞋”、“每天堅持慢跑15分鐘”等等，為明年實現馬拉松的目標而努力。
商用英文搶時妙招3. Realize That Even 10 Minutes is Enough 短短十分鐘也能做很多事
It’s often easy to put off working on a goal because you don’t have enough time. Sure, you might have 10 minutes to spare – but you think you need a whole hour or two. Even 10 minutes, though, is enough to make some progress towards your goal.
我們很容易因為時間不夠而推遲目標的達成。撥出10分鐘來的確不難，但你可能覺得自己需要整整一、兩小時。其實，哪怕是10分鐘，也足夠幫助你慢慢實現計畫了。
Find little tasks that you can fit into 10 minutes … you’ll be surprised how much they’ll add up over a week or a month! If you’re working on a book, you could spend 10 minutes brainstorming topics, adding to your plan, or even writing a new paragraph of the content.
找出那些你能在10分鐘內完成的任務，日復一日，你會驚訝地發現，原來一週一月累積完成的事情可以有這麼多！就拿寫書來講，每天都花10分鐘找找靈感、設計寫作計畫、或者乾脆寫上一段，將會非常可觀。
商用英文搶時妙招4. Block Out a Whole Afternoon or Weekend for Your Goal 為目標挪出一整個下午或週末
Of course, it’s not easy to accomplish your whole goal in daily 10-minute increments: if you want to run a marathon, for instance, you’ll need to train for longer than 10 minutes at a time. This is when a diary or calendar becomes a vital tool to help you towards your goal.
當然，每天只花10分鐘對你的遠大抱負來說，肯定不夠~如：想跑馬拉松，10分鐘的練習時間肯定不夠。所以你還可以利用日記/日曆等有效工具，來説明你實現目標。
Look ahead a few weeks, and see whether you can block out a whole Saturday afternoon – or even a whole weekend – to spend on your goal. Mark that time now in your diary or calendar, and don’t let any social events or chores creep into that space.
把日曆往後翻，看看未來的哪個週六下午可以徹底空出來——要是能空出一整個週末那就更好啦。接下來，把這幾天做上標記，以確保它不會被任何其他活動侵佔。
商用英文搶時妙招5. Get Help from Others 尋求別人幫助
You don’t have to pursue your goal all on your own. Even if you don’t know anyone who can help you in a direct way, with advice or even useful equipment, you can get people to help you free up some time.
實現目標並不意味著得踽踽獨行。即使你的朋友沒法直接給你幫助、建議或相關物質援助，你也依舊可以從他們那裡得到免費的偶爾援助。
If you have kids, for instance, how about swapping childcare with a friend? That way, you could have a few extra hours each week to focus on your goal.
如果你有孩子，你朋友也有孩子，那不如來和朋友輪流照顧孩子?這樣的話，你就可以每週都空出幾個小時，來專注於自己的目標啦！
商用英文搶時妙招6. Use Your Lunch Break 妥善利用午休時間
If you’re in the habit of grabbing lunch at your desk, start using your lunch break to work on your goal. You might not be able to spend the whole hour – but you could at least take 30 minutes to go for a brisk walk, or to do a little extra work on your book.
如果你的午餐通常都在辦公桌前解決，那麼這段時間便可拿來利用。沒必要把中午的一整個小時都耗上，你只需要挪出半小時去散散步或者寫作之類。
Don’t feel guilty about taking a proper break, either (even if your colleagues don’t tend to). As well as feeling good about making progress toward your goal, you’ll get a much-needed rest from your work – leaving you more able to focus on your work during the afternoon.
同樣，也不要因為“我把時間花在休息上了” 而覺得內疚，即使你的同事都不休息，你也沒必要這樣自責。因為要快樂地達成目標，你需要偶爾休息一下，這樣才能保證下午的工作效率滿滿。
商用英文搶時妙招7. Use Your Commute 利用上下班的路上時間
If you normally drive to work, how about listening to an audio book on your journey? Pick something that ties in with your goal.
假如平時你習慣開車去上班，不如邊開車邊聽聽有聲讀物?你可以選擇一些跟自己的目標相關的書本。
If your goal relates to exercise, can you walk, jog, or cycle to work? This obviously isn’t practical for everyone – but even if you have a long journey, you could get off the train (or park your car) further from the office and walk the rest of the way.
如果你的目標是體育鍛煉方面的，何不如試著走路/慢跑/騎車上班?雖然這方法未必適合每一個人，不過即使是離家很遠的上班族，也可以提早一站下地鐵(或把車停在離公司一定距離以外)，然後下車走完全程。
商用英文搶時妙招8. Set Your Alarm 20 Minutes Early 每天早起20分鐘
By getting up just a little earlier, you can make time for your goal before all the busyness of the day has begun. That might mean 20 minutes of exercising or writing, perhaps before the rest of your family is awake.
早點起床，這樣能給你在奔忙的一天開始之前，贏得額外的20分鐘為目標而奮鬥。無論是鍛煉20分鐘、寫作20分鐘，或是僅僅為了求得寧靜，而比全家人早起的那20分鐘。
If you’re worried about being too tired, try going to bed earlier. Most of us don’t accomplish anything much in the 20 minutes before bed – whereas when we’re refreshed in the morning, we can get a surprising amount done.
擔心自己起太早，會犯睏?那就早點睡覺。因為，我們睡前的20分鐘基本上都是被浪費掉的，而早上起來的那段時間，精力充沛足以讓你極高效地完成目標。
商用英文搶時妙招9. Get Better at Saying “No”試著學會拒絕
One big reason why most of us don’t have enough time for our goals is because we say “yes” too often. We take on commitments that aren’t a good fit for our true aims and dreams. If this sounds like you, then get better at saying “no”.
我們總覺得時間不夠，很大程度上是因為我們太容易答應別人的請求了。而那些事，未必對我們實現自己的目標有説明。深有同感?那麼，試著學會拒絕，說“不”吧。
來源：滬江英語 http://yingyu.xdf.cn/
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