It's a common problem these days: switching between browser tabs and apps on your phone, checking social media and messages and email, thinking about the million things you have to do but putting them off…

在現(xiàn)在這個(gè)時(shí)代，人們的生活普遍存在一個(gè)問(wèn)題：他們一拿起手機(jī)，就不停地瀏覽不同的網(wǎng)頁(yè)、玩不同的app，頻繁地查看社交軟件、信息、郵件，腦子里裝滿無(wú)數(shù)要做的事情卻不停地拖延……

Anything but staying focused on one task at a time.

做了那么多事情，就是做不到在一個(gè)時(shí)間點(diǎn)專注于一件事上。

And it's hard to break out of the mental habit of switching, being distracted, letting the monkey mind jump from one shiny thing to the next.

而且，人們的注意力總是一再被各種會(huì)引人注意的東西所分散；想打破這種不停跳躍的思維習(xí)慣，更是難上加難。

So how do you train your mind to stay more focused? It's possible to get better at focusing, but I don't recommend expecting to be focused anywhere close to 100 percent of the time. Not even 80 percent, and perhaps not 50 percent. Just more than now, which is more than enough to see big differences in effectiveness in your day.

那么，我們應(yīng)該怎樣訓(xùn)練自己變得更專注呢？這當(dāng)然是可以做到的，但是切忌妄想讓你變得任何時(shí)候都能全神貫注，80% 的時(shí)間里也是做不到的，甚至 50 %也不太可能。我們需要的僅僅是讓自己變得比當(dāng)下更好，而這已經(jīng)足以見到每天效率上明顯的變化。

Recently I took on a coaching client, and his biggest area for improvement is focus. So I gave him a plan, and I'm going to share it with you here.

最近，我開始為一名客戶進(jìn)行指導(dǎo)，他最需要改善的就是專注力。于是我給了他一個(gè)計(jì)劃方案，在這里分享給大家一起學(xué)習(xí)。

- 01 -

Start with the Why

從“為何要提升專注力”說(shuō)起

Why should you care about this? It's best to give this a moment's thought before diving into any plan, because when things get uncomfortable, you have to know your Why. Otherwise you'll crumble at the first urge to switch.

為什么應(yīng)該關(guān)注“為什么”呢？你最好在開始訓(xùn)練前想一下這個(gè)問(wèn)題。這是因?yàn)?/span>：當(dāng)你遇到麻煩的時(shí)候，你必須知道為什么要堅(jiān)持做下去，否則你會(huì)在剛開始分心的時(shí)候就放棄了。

This is important because constant switching and distraction leads to your time being frittered away, so that the day goes by and you've barely done anything important. You've procrastinated on the big tasks to take care of the little ones, and worse yet, squandered the day in distractions. Your life is too precious to waste, so you want to use your days better.

這一點(diǎn)非常重要，因?yàn)椴粩嗵S的思維和注意力分散會(huì)讓你的時(shí)間在不經(jīng)意間流逝，以至于一天過(guò)去了，要緊的事情卻都沒有做到。你為了做好小任務(wù)，卻把更加關(guān)鍵的任務(wù)拖延掉，甚至在分心狀態(tài)中浪費(fèi)掉了一整天的時(shí)間。生命是很寶貴的，不能隨意浪費(fèi)，所以我們當(dāng)然想要更好地利用我們的每一天。

Staying focused on one task at a time, at least for some of the day, will help you get the important things done: writing, programming, studying, taking care of finances, creating of any kind, and so on. Those things tend to get pushed back, but staying on task will increase your effectiveness with the most important things by leaps and bounds.

你要一個(gè)時(shí)間只專注于單一任務(wù)，如果無(wú)法一整天這么做，也至少要在一天的部分時(shí)間這么做，這樣就可以幫助你完成那些重要的事情，比如說(shuō)寫文章、編程、學(xué)習(xí)、處理財(cái)務(wù)、創(chuàng)作等等。這些事情是很容易被拖延的，但是專注于一個(gè)任務(wù)，能夠讓你很大程度上提升做重要事情的效率。

If you're feeling stressed out by all you have to do, unhappy with your lack of focus… then this one skill will help you turn that around in a big way.

如果你覺得要做的事情讓自己壓力山大，又對(duì)自己的專注力的不足感到很不滿意，那么接下來(lái)我要介紹的這個(gè)技巧會(huì)很大程度上幫助到你。

- 02 -

The Method

提升專注力的方法

It's fairly simple:

其實(shí)很簡(jiǎn)單：

1. Pick an MIT. First thing in the morning, before you get on your phone or online, think about what you need to do. What would make the biggest difference in your life, your work? If you have several, it doesn't matter… just randomly choose one for now. You can get to the others later. Don't waste your time in indecision, the point is to practice with one task. This one task you choose for today is your one Most Important Task (MIT).

1. 選一個(gè) MIT（Most Important Task，最重要的任務(wù)）：當(dāng)你早上醒來(lái)后，先別急著玩手機(jī)刷微博；你要做的第一件事情，就是思考一下自己需要做什么。想一下，什么事情會(huì)讓你的工作和生活發(fā)生最大的改善呢？如果你的答案不止一個(gè)，沒有關(guān)系，先隨便選一個(gè)，其他的可以之后再考慮。不要浪費(fèi)時(shí)間在做選擇上；關(guān)鍵在于要先用一項(xiàng)任務(wù)來(lái)練習(xí)專注。而你今天選擇的這項(xiàng)任務(wù)，就是你的 MIT。

2. Do a 15-minute focus session. As soon as you start working for the day (maybe after getting ready, eating, yoga/meditation/workout, whatever), clear away all browser tabs, applications, and anything you don't need for your MIT for today. Start a timer for 15 minutes.

2. 進(jìn)行為時(shí)15分鐘的專注力練習(xí)：準(zhǔn)備上班、吃完早飯、做完瑜伽、冥想、鍛煉等事情之后，你一開始一天的工作，就要關(guān)掉所有的網(wǎng)頁(yè)、應(yīng)用和其他與今日 MIT 無(wú)關(guān)的東西，然后開始計(jì)時(shí) 15 分鐘。

3. You only have two choices. For these 15 minutes, you can not switch to anything else (no checking email, messages, social media, doing other work tasks, cleaning your desk, etc.). You can only a) work on your MIT, or b) sit there and do nothing. Those are your only options. Watch your urges to switch, but don't follow them.

3. 只給自己兩個(gè)選擇：在這 15 分鐘里，你不可以去做其他任何事（不準(zhǔn)查看郵件、看微信、刷微博、收拾桌子等），只允許做兩件事：要么專注于 MIT，要么坐著什么也不干。觀察一下你自己坐不住的時(shí)候的樣子，但必須關(guān)注自己不能越界。

4. Report to an accountability partner. My coaching client is going to succeed in large part because he has me to keep him accountable. Find a partner who will keep you accountable. Create an online spreadsheet or use an accountability app that they can see (he introduced me to Commit to 3, for example). After your focus session each day, check in that you did it.

4. 向一位“監(jiān)督搭檔”匯報(bào)：我現(xiàn)在帶的這個(gè)客戶之所以會(huì)成功，很大程度上是因?yàn)樗椅冶O(jiān)督他執(zhí)行練習(xí)。你需要找到一個(gè)愿意監(jiān)督你的搭檔，創(chuàng)建一個(gè)電子版的表格或者用一個(gè)方便搭檔監(jiān)督的任務(wù)執(zhí)行記錄應(yīng)用（比如 Commit to 3 —— 這款 app 還是這個(gè)客戶介紹給我的）。當(dāng)你每天完成專注力練習(xí)以后，記得打卡。

That's it! One focus session a day for at least two weeks. If you do great, add a second focus session each day, with a 10-minute break in between sessions. If you have any trouble at all, stick to one session a day for the first month before adding a second.

就這么多內(nèi)容，然后就 OK 啦！每天做一次專注力練習(xí)，持續(xù)至少兩周。如果你做得很好，每天加多一次，兩次之間休息 10 分鐘。如果你做得不是很理想也沒關(guān)系，先每天一次堅(jiān)持一個(gè)月，看看效果如加多一次。

After six weeks to two months, you should be fairly good at doing two 15-minute focus sessions, and you can add a third. Then a fourth when that gets easy. Stop there for awhile, and then add another session in the afternoon.

練習(xí)持續(xù)六周到兩個(gè)月后，你應(yīng)該就能輕松完成一天兩次為時(shí) 15 分鐘的專注力練習(xí)了。這時(shí)候你就可以增加到三次，甚至四次。然后在那個(gè)階段停留一段時(shí)間，再考慮在下午也增加練習(xí)。

- 03 -

Some Important Tips

6項(xiàng)重要提示

With that simple method in mind, I have a few key ideas to share:

記住這個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的方法后，我還需要提醒你一些重要的注意事項(xiàng)：

1. Turn off your Internet. Like disconnect from wifi or turn off your router, or use an Internet blocker. Turn off your phone. Close your browser and all applications you don't need. This is the ideal method. If you need the Internet for your MIT, then close all tabs but the one or two that you need for the task, and don't let yourself open anything else.

1. 切斷網(wǎng)絡(luò)：比如關(guān)掉 wifi、路由器或者使用網(wǎng)絡(luò)屏蔽裝備。把手機(jī)、網(wǎng)頁(yè)以及所有不需要的應(yīng)用都統(tǒng)統(tǒng)關(guān)掉。這是最理想的情況。但是如果你一定需要用網(wǎng)絡(luò)來(lái)做MIT，那么你就要關(guān)掉做任務(wù)必需以外的網(wǎng)頁(yè)，然后控制自己不去打開任何無(wú)關(guān)頁(yè)面。

2. If you turn off the Internet, keep a pencil and paper nearby. If you have an idea, a task you need to remember, anything you want to look up… jot it on the paper. You can get to those later. Don't allow yourself to switch.

2. 網(wǎng)絡(luò)切斷后，記得放一只筆和一張紙?jiān)谂赃叄?/span>這樣，當(dāng)你有任何想法、需要記得做的任務(wù)、或者有任何想查找的資料，就先記在紙上。你可以在練習(xí)完后才去做那些事情，但不允許在過(guò)程中有任何的分心。

3. Don't allow yourself to rationalize putting off the session. It's easy to say, "I'll get to it in a bit," but then you're putting it off until late morning, and then the afternoon, and finally you're doing it at 8pm just to say you did it. This defeats the purpose of the practice. Watch your rationalizations, and don't fall for them.

3. 不準(zhǔn)找任何理由來(lái)拖延練習(xí)時(shí)間：說(shuō)自己“等會(huì)兒再做”都是欺騙自己的，因?yàn)槟阒粫?huì)從早上拖到中午，再從中午拖到下午，然后為了向自己交差了事，而拖到了晚上 8 點(diǎn)鐘才勉強(qiáng)去做。如果這樣，就喪失練習(xí)的意義了。你必須和拖延癥做斗爭(zhēng)，不能屈服！

4. That said, don't aim for being perfect. There are some days when you just can't do it — for me, it's when I travel or have guests. If something big has come up where you don't have time, don't stress about missing a day. Get back on it as soon as you can. Worrying about keeping a streak going is counterproductive.

4. 但記得，也不要過(guò)分追求完美：練習(xí)總會(huì)有做不好的時(shí)候。比如：當(dāng)我出差或者見客戶的時(shí)候，我就會(huì)容易分心。如果有什么大事情讓你沒有時(shí)間做練習(xí)，千萬(wàn)不要因?yàn)殄e(cuò)過(guò)了一天的練習(xí)而緊張。一旦有空的時(shí)候再回來(lái)做就可以了。即使做不到每天不間斷練習(xí)也不要擔(dān)心，因?yàn)檫^(guò)于擔(dān)心只會(huì)有反效果。

5. Adjust session lengths. If 15 minutes is too long, just do 10 minutes. If that's too long, do 5 minutes.

5. 調(diào)整練習(xí)時(shí)長(zhǎng)：如果 15 分鐘對(duì)你來(lái)講太長(zhǎng)，就做 10 分鐘。如果還是不行，那就 5 分鐘。

6. Increase your number of sessions as slowly as you can. There's no rush to do more. Focus on building a solid foundation.

6. 盡可能慢地去增加每天練習(xí)的次數(shù)：沒有必要著急做更多。磨刀不誤砍柴工，打好基礎(chǔ)才是最重要的。

OK, you have the method. Now get on the practice!

OK，相信你現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)明白怎么做了，快行動(dòng)起來(lái)吧！