【IT168 技术文章】

    There are a few assumptions that I want to make right off the bat：

    The time management problem is not limited to IT professionals by any means. But IT professionals have a bigger challenge since technologies and the skills required to compete in the marketplace change rapidly.

    市场快速变化，新技术和工具的不断涌现，因此时间管理往往对IT人员来将更加重要。

    It is a myth that you can manage time. You can only manage yourself.

    你能够管理住时间是神话，你仅仅能够管理住你自己。

    What you really need to focus on is “leverage” — how to get the most out of your time rather than how many “things” you can get done within a specified time.

    你专注的应该是平衡，你应该关注如何在你的时间范围外获取更多的东西而不是关注在特定的时间里面你能够完成多少事情。

    No， I am not going to talk about how best to use your “To Do” lists or how to get the best digital organizer in town. I know you will figure that out yourself. I want to talk about the thinking and approach that comes before all these techniques and tactics.

    Before Making Commitments

    The genesis of time management problems is the commitments you make to others.

    Before you make another promise today， just think about all the other promises that you have already made and see if you are stretching yourself too thin.

    在你今天做一个新的承诺时候，你应该首先看下你已经完成的所有承诺是否已经让自己用尽全力而疲惫不堪。

    For instance， your manager may say something like “Can you take a look at this proposal by this evening and give me your comments？” That particular task may take only two hours and it may seem like a request easy to fulfill.

    However， if you look at all the deliverables that were due today （based on promises made yesterday or last week）， this may still be a stretch on your time. If that is the case， you may need to negotiate and re-prioritize to set the right expectations on this or the other deliverables.

    The Promise to Yourself

    While you are stretching on your job， things are falling through the cracks in your personal life. The biggest excuse？ “No time.”

    For example： You want to read one good book a month， but a few months pass by and you have not completed a single book. The reason？ Project deadlines， go-live， travel， etc.

    当你致力于我们工作的时候，有些事情正通过这些缝隙在我们个人生活中成为泡影。而最大的藉口就是没时间。比如你准备花一个月时间读一本好书，而一个月之后你可能只读了这本书的很小的一个章节。

    I want to argue that the real reason is different. I believe that the biggest reason why you slip on your personal projects is that you don‘t really care about the promises you make to yourself. I have seen people making such promises， breaking them and justifying with statements like “You know what， nobody in my position could have made it work. With so many things that were happening in the project， I didn’t even have time to think about reading.”

    这种情况原因很多，而真正最大的原因是我们并没有真正关注我们给自己的承诺。

    Well， if you want to find an excuse， I can guarantee you that you can find one and if you think hard， you can find a few.

    Unfortunately， life won‘t reward people with the best excuses. Results are what matters.

    如果要找藉口的话可能有很多，但不幸的是生活关注的是结果，而并不会给非常好的的藉口设置任何的奖励。

    Knowing that a promise to yourself may not always work， why not start making promises to others and requesting their help to hold you accountable？

    The Important Question

    I have always believed in the importance of asking the right questions more than looking for the right answers. Every time， we have a task at hand， the most important question is “How can I get this done？” and we scramble to find the answers.

    能够问一个正确的问题往往比找寻一个正确的答案更为重要。每时每刻，我们手上都可能有一个任务，而我们经常任务的最重要的问题就是如何把任务完成。

    I think the question is wrong. The right question should be “What is the right configuration of all my resources to execute this task in the most optimal fashion？”

    但这并不是最重要的问题，钪匾奈侍馐俏颐侨绾纬浞值呐渲梦颐强梢岳玫乃？a href="http://www.csai.cn/incsearch/search.asp？key=%D7%CA%D4%B4" target='_blank'>资源，以一种最优的方式来完成任务，而不仅仅是完成任务本身。

    In the first question， there is an inherent temptation to find an answer that involves you as the doer of the task. In the second question， you are opening up for help from resources other than yourself. There is a world of difference in the two questions and， of course， in the answers.

    Think Leverage

    If there is one keyword in your mind， that word should be “leverage.” There are enough resources out there that can help you make your work and life easier. What is common among all these resources is that you need to invest first before you get a return.

    It seems logical but it‘s hard to put into practice. Invest in resources （i.e.， relationships） for the long haul and keep configuring these resources for projects with a win-win approach to get the highest leverage.

    我们头脑里面最关键的词就应该是平衡。有太多的资源可以使我们的工作和生活变得更加容易，而一个普遍法则就是在你想获得回报前你需要提前进行投资，努力涉猎你任务将会对你工作和生活有价值的所有资源。

    这道理上将很简单，但却很难付诸于实践，首先对资源的投资必须是一个长期努力的结果和回报，同时你还需要计划对这些资源进行高效的配置和平衡。

    Building Future Capacity

    As you progress in your career， your job responsibilities will change and you will need new skills to excel in your roles. While you are very busy with sharpening your skills that are required to flawlessly execute on your current job， it is extremely important to carve out time to acquire the necessary skills required for your future roles. In essence， you need to invest in building your future capacity.

    当你的职业生涯取得进步的时候，你的工作职责将会改变而且你需要新的超过你当前角色的技能。而在你磨练当前岗位或角色技能的时候你可能更需要花时间来学习＆锻炼你未来岗位或角色所需要用到的技能。简而言之，你需要对你的将来能力提前投资。

    In summary， rather than trying to check off more items on your “To Do” list， start thinking about getting higher leverage from every hour of your life.

    根据上文我个人的总结为时间管理的最高境界并不是关注重要而紧急的事情，而是关注重要而非紧急的事情。关注重要而紧急的事情是局眼于现在，关注重要而不紧急事情则是为未来投资。