TED演讲如何掌控你的自由时间

HowtoManageYourFreeTimeWhenpeoplefindoutIwriteabouttimemanagement,Theyassumetwothings.OneisthatI'malwaysontime,andI'mnot.Ihavefoursmallchildren,andIwouldliketoblamethemformyoccasionaltardiness,butsometimesit'sjustnottheirfault.Iwasoncelatetomyownspeechontimemanagement.Weallhadtojusttakeamomenttogetherandsavorthatirony.ThesecondthingtheyassumeisthatIhavelotsoftipsandtricksforsavingbitsoftimehereandthere.SometimesI'llhearfrommagazinesthataredoingastoryalongtheselines,generallyonhowtohelptheirreadersfindanextrahourintheday.Andtheideaisthatwe'llshavebitsoftimeoffeverydayactivities,additup,andwe'llhavetimeforthegoodstuff.Iquestiontheentirepremiseofthispiece,butI'malwaysinterestedinhearingwhatthey'vecomeupwithbeforetheycallme.Someofmyfavorites:doingerrandswhereyouonlyhavetomakeright-handturns、Beingextremelyjudiciousinmicrowaveusage:itsaysthreetothree-and-a-halfminutesonthepackage,we'retotallygettinginonthebottomsideofthat.Andmypersonalfavorite,whichmakessenseonsomelevel,istoDVRyourfavoriteshowssoyoucanfast-forwardthroughthecommercials.Thatway,yousaveeightminuteseveryhalfhour,sointhecourseoftwohoursofwatchingTV,youfind32minutestoexercise.Whichistrue.Youknowanotherwaytofind32minutestoexerciseDon'twatchtwohoursofTVaday,rightAnyway,theideaiswe'll,savebitsoftimehereandthere,additup,wewillfinallygettoeverythingwewanttodo.Butafterstudyinghowsuccessfulpeoplespendtheirtimeandlookingattheirscheduleshourbyhour,Ithinkthisideahasitcompletelybackward.Wedon'tbuildtheliveswewantbysavingtime.Webuildtheliveswewant,andthentimesavesitself.Here'swhatImean.Irecentlydidatimediaryprojectlookingat1,001daysinthelivesofextremelybusywomen.Theyhaddemandingjobs,sometimestheirownbusinesses,kidstocarefor,maybeparentstocarefor,communitycommitments...busy,busypeople.Ihadthemkeeptrackoftheirtimeforaweek,soIcouldadduphowmuchtheyworkedandslept,andIinterviewedthemabouttheirstrategies,formybook.OneofthewomenwhosetimelogIstudied...shegoesoutonaWednesdaynightforsomething.Shecomeshometofindthatherwaterheaterhasbroken,andthereisnowwateralloverherbasement.Ifyou'veeverhadanythinglikethishappentoyou,youknowitisahugelydamaging,frightening,soppingmess.Soshe'sdealingwiththeimmediateaftermaththatnight,nextdayshe'sgotplumberscomingin,dayafterthat,professionalcleaningcrewdealingwiththeruinedcarpet.Allthisisbeingrecordedonhertimelog.Windsuptakingsevenhoursofherweek.Sevenhours.That'slikefindinganextrahourintheday.ButI'msureifyouhadaskedheratthestartoftheweek,"Couldyoufindsevenhourstotrainforatriathlon""Couldyoudindsevenhourstomentorsevenworthypeople"I'msureshewould'vesaidwhatmostofuswould'vesaid,whichis,"No...can'tyouseehowbusyIam"Yetwhenshehadtofindsevenhoursbecausethereiswateralloverherbasement,shefoundsevenhours.Andwhatthisshowsusisthattimeishighlyelastic.Wecannotmakemoretime,buttimewillstretchtoaccommodatewhatwechoosetoputintoit.Andsothekeytotimemanagementistreatingourprioritiesastheequivalentofthatbrokenwaterheater.Togetatthis,IliketouselanguagefromoneofthebusiestpeopleIeverinterviewed.Bybusy,Imeanshewasrunningasmallbusinesswith12peopleonthepayroll,shehadsixchildreninhersparetime.Iwasgettingintouchwithhertosetupaninterviewonhowshe"haditall"...thatphrase.IrememberitwasaThursdaymorning,andshewasnotavailabletospeakwithme.Ofcourse,rightButthereasonshewasunavailabletospeakwithmeisthatshewasoutforahike,becauseitwasabeautifulspringmorning,andshewantedtogoforahike.Soofcoursethismakesmeevenmoreintrigued,andwhenIfinallydocatchupwithher,sheexplainsitlikethis.Shesays,"ListenLaura,everythingIdo,everyminuteIspend,ismychoice."Andratherthansay,"Idon'thavetimetodox,yorz,"she'dsay,"Idon'tdox,yorzbecauseit'snotapriority.""Idon'thavetime,"oftenmeans"It'snotapriority."Ifyouthinkaboutit,that'sreallymoreaccuratelanguage.IcouldtellyouIdon'thavetimetodusttodustmyblinds,butthat'snottrue.Ifyouofferedtopayme$100,000todustmyblinds,Iwouldgettoitprettyquickly.Sincethatisnotgoingtohappen,Icanacknowledgethisisnotamatteroflackingtime,it'sthatIdon'twanttodoit.Usingthislanguageremindsusthattimeisachoice.Andgranted,theremaybehorribleconsequencesformakingdifferentchoices,Iwillgiveyouthat.Butwearesmartpeople,andcertainlyoverthelongrun,wehavethepowertofillourliveswiththethingsthatdeservetobethere.SohowdowedothatHowdowetreatourprioritiesastheequivalentofthatbrokenwaterheaterWell,firstweneedtofigureoutwhattheyare.Iwanttogiveyoutwostrategiesforthinkingaboutthis.Thefirst,ontheprofessionalside:I'msuremanypeoplecominguptotheendoftheyeararegivingorgettingannualperformancereviews.Youlookbackoveryoursuccessesovertheyear,your"opportunitiesforgrowth."Andthisservesitspurpose,butIfindit'smoreeffectivetodothislookingforward.SoIwantyoutopretendit'stheendofnextyear.You'regivingyourselfaperformancereview（绩效评估）,andithasbeenanabsolutelyamazingyearforyouprofessionally.Writenextyear'sreview:What3-5thingswouldmakeitagreatyearforyouprofessionally.Soyoucanwritenextyear'sperformancereviewnow.Andyoucandothisforyourpersonallife,too.I'msuremanyofyou,likeme,comeDecember,getcardsthatcontainthesefoldedupsheetsofcoloredpaper,onwhichwrittenwhatisknownasthefamilyholidayletter.Bitofawretchedgenreofliterature,really,goingonabouthowamazingeveryoneinthehouseholdis,orevenmorescintillating,howbusyeveryoneinthehouseholdis.Buttheselettersserveapurpose,whichisthattheytellyourfriendsandfamilywhatyoudidinyourpersonallifethatmatteredtoyouovertheyear.Sothisyear'skindofdone,butIwantyoutopretendit'stheendofnextyear,andithasbeenanabsolutelyamazingyearforyouandthepeopleyoucareabout.Writethefamilyholldayletter:WhatthreetofivethingsdidyoudothatmadeitsoamazingSoyoucanwritenextyear'sfamilyholidayletternow.Don'tsendit.Please,don'tsendit.Butyoucanwriteit.Andnow,betweentheperformancereviewandthefamilyholidayletter,wehavealistofsixtotengoalswecanworkoninthenextyear.Andnowweneedtobreakthesedownintodoablesteps.Somaybeyouwanttowriteafamilyhistory.First,youcanreadsomeotherfamilyhistories,getasenseforthestyle.Thenmaybethinkaboutthequestionsyouwanttoaskyourrelatives,setupappointmentstointerviewthem.Ormaybeyouwanttorunayouneedtofindaraceandsignup,figureoutatrainingplan,anddigthoseshoesoutofthebackofthecloset.Andthen...thisiskey...wetreatourprioritiesastheequivalentofthatbrokenwaterheater,byputtingthemintoourschedulesfirst.Wedothisbythinkingthroughourweeksbeforeweareinthem,IfindareallygoodtimetodothisisFridayafternoons.Fridayafternooniswhataneconomistmightcalla"lowopportunitycost"time.MostofusarenotsittingthereonFridayafternoonssaying,"Iamexcitedtomakeprogresstowardmypersonalandprofessionalprioritiesrightnow."Butwearewillingtothinkaboutwhatthoseshouldbe.SotakealittlebitoftimeFridayafternoon,makeyourselfathree-categoryprioritylist:career,relationships,self.Makingathree-categorylistremindsusthatthereshouldbesomethinginallthreecategories.Career,wethinkabout;relationships,self...notsomuch.Butanyway,justashortlist,twotothreeitemsineach.Thenlookoutoverthewholeofthenextweek,andseewhereyoucanplanthemyouplantheminisuptoyou.Iknowthisisgoingtobemorecomplicatedforsomepeoplethanothers.Imean,somepeople'slivesarejustharderthanothers.Itisnotgoingtobeeasytofindtimetotakethatpoetryclassifyouarecaringformultiplechildrenonyourown.Igetthat.AndIdon'twanttominimizeanyone'sstruggle.ButIdothinkthatthenumbersIamabouttotellyouareempowering.Thereare168hoursinaweek.Twenty-fourtimessevenis168hours.Thatisalotoftime.Ifyouareworkingafull-timejob,so40hoursaweek,sleepingeighthoursanight,so56hoursaweek...thatleaves72hoursforotherthings.Thatisalotoftime.Yousayyou'reworking50hoursaweek,maybeamainjobandasidehustle.Well,thatleaves62hoursforotherthings.Yousayyou'reworking60hours.Well,thatleaves52hoursforotherthings.Yousayyou'reworkingmorethan60hours.Well,areyousureTherewasonceastudycomparingpeople'sestimatedworkweekswithtimediaries.Theyfoundthatpeopleclaiming75-plus-hourworkweekswereoffbyabout25hours.Youcanguessinwhichdirection,rightAnyway,in168hoursaweek,Ithinkwecanfindtimeforwhatmatterstoyou.Ifyouwanttospendmoretimewithyourkids,youwanttostudymoreforatestyou'retaking,youwanttoexerciseforthreehoursandvolunteerfortwo,youcan.Andthat'sevenifyou'reworkingwaymorethanfull-timehours.Sowehaveplentyoftime,whichisgreat,becauseguesswhatWedon'tevenneedthatmuchtimetodoamazingthings.Butwhenmostofushavebitsoftime,whatdowedoPulloutthephone,rightStartdeletingemails.Otherwise,we'reputteringaroundthehouseorwatchingTV.Butsmallmomentscanhavegreatpower.Youcanuseyourbitsoftimeforbitsofjoy.Maybeit'schoosingtoreadsomethingwonderfulonthebusonthewaytowork.IknowwhenIhadajobthatrequiredtwobusridesandasubwayrideeverymorning,Iusedtogotothelibraryonweekendstogetstufftoread.Itmadethewholeexperiencealmost,almost,enjoyable.Breaksatworkcanbeusedformeditatingorpraying.Iffamilydinnerisoutbecauseofyourcrazyworkschedule,maybefamilybreakfastcouldbeagoodsubstitute.It'saboutlookingatthewholeofone'stimeandseeingwherethegoodstuffcango.Itrulybelievethis,thereistime.Evenifwearebusy,wehavetimeforwhatmatters.Andwhenwefocusonwhatmatters,wecanbuildtheliveswewantinthetimewe'vegot.