The Unexpected Key to Boosting Your Productivity | The Way We Work, a TED series

I've always secretly wanted to be a machine.

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

我背地裡總是希望自己是一台機器。

I felt like if I was a machine,

我覺得，如果我是機器，

I'd never let things fall through the cracks,

我就永遠不會讓東西掉到 縫縫裡，我就不會健忘，

I wouldn't forget things,

且每次我都能準時做完 我必須做的每件事。

and I'd do everything I needed to do on time every time.

I knew there were people out there that were like this,

我知道真有的像這樣的人存在，

而我想知道，是怎麼辦到的。

and I wanted to know what makes them tick.

[The Way We Work]

〔我們的工作之道〕

So a few years ago, I started a newsletter called Super Organizers,

幾年前，我創辦了 《超級組織者》電子報，

where I profiled 50 of the top performers in a variety of fields.

我在電子報中介紹 五十位各領域的佼佼者。

I've talked to managers who track everything they do in a day

我和每十五分鐘就追蹤 每天做的每件事的經理談過，

in 15-minute increments.

我和用試算表記錄曾經 見過的每個人的投資者談過，

I've talked to investors

who keep spreadsheets of every single person they’ve ever met,

我和行事曆基本上 是全空的總裁談過，

and CEOs who keep their calendars basically empty

他們幾乎不開會。

and rarely ever do meetings, ever.

我自己也嘗試過許多密訣， 想讓我更接近我的理想。

I've also experimented with a lot of hacks myself

to try to get me closer to my ideal.

我在睡覺時用膠帶貼住嘴巴， 並盯著太陽燈增加我的能量。

I've taped my mouth shut while I'm sleeping

and stared at a sunlamp to increase my energy levels.

我視覺化想像有同理心的我，

I visualized my compassionate self

也試過各種保健食品 來改變我身體的化學。

and tried all sorts of supplements to hack my body chemistry.

我嘗試的方法中， 有些行得通，有些則不行，

Sometimes the things I try work, and sometimes they don’t.

有些就是很荒謬。

Sometimes they're just kind of ridiculous.

但我想和大家分享我所有 探索過程中學到的訣竅。

But I want to share with you the best trick I've learned

in all of my exploring.

The ideal of being a machine is actually a trap.

成為機器的理想其實是個陷阱。

It gets in the way of our productivity because it makes us blind

它會阻礙我們的生產力，因為它 讓我們看不見實際問題的根源。

to the roots of our actual problems.

We are not machines, we’re emotional beings.

我們不是機器， 我們是有情感的生物。

And learning to skillfully recognize and work with our emotions

學習如何技巧性地 辨識並處理我們的情緒

is the only way to actually be productive day-to-day.

是在日常中保持生產力的唯一方法。

Guilt, shame, fear,

通常我們的問題根源其實 是罪惡感、羞恥感、恐懼，

so often they're at the base of what's going on for us

我們卻不了解它們的影響。

in ways that we barely understand.

我們的生產力問題背後 並不只是需要新工具或系統，

What's underneath our productivity problems

isn't just a need for a new tool or system,

而是我們的情感生活有些狀況。

but something going on in our emotional lives.

若能意識到及觀察到 我們的情緒如何影響我們，

And being aware of and observing how our emotions can affect us

就能讓我們更有彈性和自由，

can open up a lot of flexibility and freedom

在本來可能會卡住的地方有所進展。

to make progress when we'd otherwise be stuck.

我發現，世界上最有生產力的人，

I found that the most productive people in the world,

最像機器的那些人，

the ones who are most machine-like, actually recognize this

其實都知道這一點， 且他們會做三件事來處理。

and they often do three things to work with it.

他們會意識到自己有問題了。

They're aware when they have a problem,

他們會去觀察怎麼回事， 不帶評斷，以了解狀況。

they observe what's going on without judgment

so they can understand it,

他們會持續實驗不同的系統或團隊、

and they keep experimenting with systems or teams,

mindsets and tools until it changes.

心態和工具，直到有所改變。

This might sound simple, and it is,

聽起來可能很簡單，的確是。

but it's actually very hard to do because at each stage we get blocked

但實行上很困難， 因為在每個階段我們都會

and twisted up by the shame, guilt, fear and doubt --

被羞恥感、罪惡感、恐懼， 和懷疑給阻礙或糾纏——

the things that get in the way of seeing things clearly.

讓我們無法看清真相。

To do this well requires a level of emotional mastery

要做好，就需要有實際上 很難做到的高度情緒掌控力，

that is very difficult to practice.

讓我帶各位來了解它， 並說明怎麼讓它可行。

So let me walk you through it and show you how it can work.

Awareness is the first step.

第一步是意識。

意即，要意識到 你的生產力出了問題。

That means being aware of problems in your productivity.

But that's harder than it seems.

但這比表面看起來的更困難。

No matter what the issue is,

不論問題是什麼， 忽略它並希望它會不見

it's much easier to ignore it

and hope that it goes away than to admit that something's wrong.

總是比承認有問題要來得容易。

We feel like we should be able to just do better.

我們覺得自己應該能做得更好。

We feel like, well, that's the job, I should just suck it up.

我們覺得，那就是工作， 我應該要忍氣吞聲。

Whatever the problems that you're encountering in your productivity,

不論你的生產力遇到了什麼問題，

you might not think about them that often because it's pretty painful.

你可能不會太常去想它， 因為去想它挺痛苦的。

But there's magic in becoming aware of the problems

但，意識到我們通常 不會意識到的問題後，

that we're ordinarily not aware of.

會很不可思議。

The most productive people have regular practices

最有生產力的人

固定會用一些做法來維持那種意識。

that they use to maintain that awareness.

有人靠寫日記，有人靠練習正念，

Sometimes it's journaling, sometimes it's mindfulness,

有人靠散步，有人靠心理治療。

sometimes it's just a walk, sometimes it's therapy.

但每個人都有種做法。

But everyone has something.

Here's an example from my own life.

以下是我自己人生中的例子。

I have a ton of trouble staying on top of my inbox.

我對於我的收件匣實在是很沒輒。

I'm the CEO of a start-up,

我是新創公司的執行長， 所以一開始很難承認這點。

and so this was really hard for me to admit at first.

It seemed like an indictment of me and my ability to be successful

如果我的收件匣一團亂，

似乎就是在指責我和我成功的能力。

if my inbox was a mess.

但經過去年許多自省之後，我了解到

But last year, after a lot of reflection,

I realized that I had to face the fact

我得去面對這些不斷積壓的事 開始在整個公司引發問題。

that the backlog was causing problems throughout my company.

一旦我意識到了問題，

Once I was aware of the problem, I could start the next step: observation.

我就可以開始下一步：觀察。

進入觀察階段後，我想要盡可能

When I moved into the observation stage,

I wanted to see with as little judgment as possible

不帶評斷地去了解我的收件匣 爆滿通常是什麼原因。

what usually leads to my inbox being crowded.

Observing without judgment was really difficult for me.

不帶評斷的觀察對我來說很難。

My sense of doubt and fear came up.

我開始感到懷疑和恐懼。 心想：我真的需要這樣做嗎？

I thought: Should I really need to do this?

我真心覺得我應該可以看完 收件匣中所有的信，沒問題。

I really felt like I should just be able to get through my inbox

without any problems.

但我深入了解後， 我開始注意到很驚人的事。

But once I got beneath that,

I began to notice something really surprising.

其實很多時候，我的收件匣 都在我的掌控當中。

There were actually many periods where I was on top of my inbox.

It's just that every couple of weeks there would be a shift

只是每幾週就會出現一次 轉變，讓收件匣變得一團亂。

where it would just turn into a giant mess.

And it had a very specific trigger,

而觸發的原因非常明確，

可能是一封我真的很不想處理的信，

either a single email I really didn't want to deal with

或者是我人生中一段爆忙的 時期，一、兩天無法看信。

or a really busy period in my life

where I couldn't look at my inbox for a day or two.

這個狀況發生時，

And when this happened,

信件就開始堆積，我開始感到羞恥。

emails would start to pile up, and I’d start to feel shame.

我會躲避我的收件匣， 信就越堆越多，惡性循環。

I'd avoid my inbox and the pile would just get way worse.

It was a vicious cycle.

知道這點之後，我便意識到 有個合理的切入點。

Once I saw this,

I realized that there was a logical place to intervene.

我需要做的，就是當 每隔幾週我乾淨的收件匣

What I really needed to do was to catch myself

變成一團亂的那個時點， 逮住我自己。

right at the point every couple of weeks

where my clean inbox was turning into a mess.

如果我能辦到，我知道 其他時間我都能保持不亂。

And if I could do that, I knew I could keep it clean the rest of the time.

這就要帶到下一步：實驗。

This brings us to the next step: experimentation.

一旦有生產力的人找出問題 並且不帶評斷地做了觀察，

Once productive people have recognized a problem

and observed its contours without judgment,

便會試試新解決方案是否行得通。

they try new solutions to find out what works.

同樣的，這很容易混淆。

Again, this can be really easy to get twisted up about.

我們都有先入為主的觀念，

We're all filled with preconceptions about what's in and out of bounds

認定什麼可以實驗、什麼不行。

to experiment with,

那些觀念框住了我們。

and we're really boxed in by those preconceptions.

我們不想讓自己看來很蠢或很弱。

We don't want to look silly or weak.

But if we allow ourselves to find what works for us,

但若我們能讓自己去找出 什麼方法對我們行得通，

we often find things that no one else would.

通常都會找到別人找不到的。

I tried a lot of different experiments to deal with my inbox problems.

我自己做過很多實驗， 試圖處理我的收件匣問題。

I tried going to a new coffee shop

每當需要費心處理一些信件時， 我就會去家新的咖啡廳。

every time I needed to power through some emails.

我試著和我的生意夥伴 及同事談這件事，

I tried talking about it with my business partner

以降低我對它的羞恥感。

and other people at my company to try to lower my sense of shame about it.

我試過「一鍵郵件」策略， 試過一天只收兩次信。

I tried a one-touch email strategy,

I tried only checking my email twice a day.

但這些方法都無法完全解決問題。

But none of these really solved the problem completely.

所以我持續努力， 而我得到了重大的洞見。

So I kept going and I had a big insight.

我認為我可以用我 不想讓人失望的慾望，

I figured out I might be able to use my own desire not to let people down

來協助我處理完郵件。

to help me get through my inbox.

我很幸運能和我的商業夥伴 共用一個虛擬助理，

I'm lucky enough to split a virtual assistant with my business partner,

我心想，

我能否每週安插幾個一小時時段 在行事曆上，讓它們來管我？

so I wondered, what if I put an hour on my calendar a few times a week

where they would babysit me.

一小時開始時，它們會發訊息 問我有多少未讀信件。

At the beginning of the hour,

they'd message me and ask me how many emails I had in my inbox.

一小時結束時，它們再次 發訊息問我處理掉了多少。

And at the end of the hour,

they'd message me again to ask how many I'd gotten done.

我用虛擬助理， 你可以用你身邊的任何人。

I used my virtual assistant, but you could use anyone in your life.

向有類似困擾的家人或朋友 提出互助的交易。

A family member or friend who struggles with something similar

訊息來回只需要幾秒鐘。

and propose a trade.

It literally takes a couple of seconds to message back and forth.

我剛想出這招時， 我立即的反應是羞恥。

When I started to consider this, my immediate reaction was shame.

我覺得我工作不應該要靠保姆。

I felt like I should not need a babysitter to do my work.

我很怕和別人談話時 需要問到這類事情。

And I dreaded the conversation where I had to ask for this kind of thing.

我也很怕向任何人承認這一點。

I also dreaded admitting it to anyone else.

這方法怎麼看都很蠢，

It all seemed very silly, but I decided to try it anyway.

但我仍然決定一試。

結果發現，只要每週 做幾次那種小小的互動，

And it turns out just that little interaction a few times a week

就讓我大大改變了。

makes a gigantic difference for me.

收到我助理的訊息， 讓我能專注處理信件。

Getting a message from my assistant keeps me on task on my email

避免信件堆積，

and prevents the piles from being created,

這讓我在其他時間 也能讓收件匣保持不亂。

which makes it really easy for me to keep my inbox clean at every other time.

近一年後，我坐在這裡，

And now I'm sitting here almost a year later with a clean inbox

我的收件匣一直都能維持不亂。

這招對你不見得有用， 但對我就是行得通。

on a consistent basis.

This may not work for you, but it does work for me.

You might find that other approaches are better,

對你來說，別的方法可能更好，比如

like transferring your emails to your to-do list

把你的信件轉到待辦事項清單， 或堅守一鍵收件匣策略，

or making sure you’re following a one-touch inbox strategy

或者甚至檢討為什麼 一開始會需要收信。

or maybe even examining why you need to get through your inbox

in the first place.

但唯有嘗試才能知道是否可行。

But the only way to find that out is to try it.

我在這些探索中了解到 我其實並不想成為機器。

What I've realized in all of my exploring

is that I actually didn't really ever want to be a machine.

我只是因為我不是機器 而感到罪惡和羞恥。

I just felt guilty and ashamed for not being one.

And once I started to work with that, everything changed for me.

一旦我開始處理它， 對我而言，一切都改變了。

We think productivity is about software, notebooks and to-do lists

我們認為生產力的重點就是 軟體、筆電、待辦事項清單、

frameworks, calendars, schedules and inboxes.

架構、日曆、行事曆、收件匣。

And it is all of those things,

的確這些都必要，

but it's also about our brains and our bodies.

但也別忘了我們的大腦和身體。

It's about our emotions and how they guide us

重點是我們的情緒、它們 如何引導及有時阻礙我們。

and sometimes get in our way.

If you turn over the rock of productivity, you can find a lot hiding underneath.

翻開生產力這顆大石， 你會發現下面藏了很多東西。

Identifying what's there is the best productivity hack I know.

就我所知最棒的生產力秘訣 就是辨識出下面藏了什麼。