How to gain control of your free time | Laura Vanderkam | TED

Translator: Leslie Gauthier Reviewer: Camille Martínez

譯者: Melody Tang 審譯者: Harry Chen

When people find out I write about time management,

當旁人發現我寫文章談「時間管理」，

they assume two things.

他們假設兩件事情：

One is that I'm always on time,

第一、我一定都準時！

and I'm not.

其實不然－

I have four small children,

我有四個小孩，

and I would like to blame them for my occasional tardiness,

我想爲我偶爾的遲到指責他們，

but sometimes it's just not their fault.

但是有時候就並非他們的過錯。

I was once late to my own speech on time management.

有一次我要去做 時間管理的演講時遲到...

（笑聲...）

(Laughter)

We all had to just take a moment together and savor that irony.

我們早該花點時間時間碰頭 以及玩味這等諷刺。

The second thing they assume is that I have lots of tips and tricks

第二、他們覺得我有很多 在各處節省時間的技巧和妙招！

for saving bits of time here and there.

有時候我在雜誌上看到相符的文章，

Sometimes I'll hear from magazines that are doing a story along these lines,

generally on how to help their readers find an extra hour in the day.

普遍來說幫助讀者如何在平日 找出多餘的時間。

其理念是我們可以從 每天的作息中省出一點時間，

And the idea is that we'll shave bits of time off everyday activities,

add it up,

把它加總起來我們就會有時間 拿來做不賴的事情。

and we'll have time for the good stuff.

I question the entire premise of this piece, but I'm always interested

我質疑這種文章的整個立論點，

但是我一直對聽聞他們在打電話給我前 所想出來的東西很感興趣。

in hearing what they've come up with before they call me.

我最喜歡的幾個是：

Some of my favorites:

doing errands where you only have to make right-hand turns --

做那些你只需要開車右轉的差事、

(Laughter)

（笑聲...）

Being extremely judicious in microwave usage:

對於使用微波使用說明極為精明，

如果在包裝上註明 3 至 3.5 分鐘，

it says three to three-and-a-half minutes on the package,

我們絕對要用它的底限。

we're totally getting in on the bottom side of that.

而我個人所偏愛者 在某些層面上是有其道理的－

And my personal favorite, which makes sense on some level,

錄下你最喜歡的節目 你就可以快轉跳過廣告，

is to DVR your favorite shows so you can fast-forward through the commercials.

那種做法每半個小時節省下 8 分鐘，

That way, you save eight minutes every half hour,

所以在看兩個小時的電視內容長度時，

so in the course of two hours of watching TV,

你就找到 32 分鐘來運動！

you find 32 minutes to exercise.

(Laughter)

（笑聲...）

Which is true.

話是沒錯啦，

You know another way to find 32 minutes to exercise?

你知道找出 32 分鐘 來運動的另一個方法嗎？

Don't watch two hours of TV a day, right?

一天不要看 2 個小時的電視對吧！

(Laughter)

（笑聲...）

總之這個理念就是 我們會東省西省一點時間，

Anyway, the idea is we'll save bits of time here and there, add it up,

加起來...我們終究會有時間 做想做的每件事情。

we will finally get to everything we want to do.

But after studying how successful people spend their time

但是在我檢視成功人士 如何花用他們的時間，

and looking at their schedules hour by hour,

以及察看他們的鐘點作息表之後，

I think this idea has it completely backward.

我認為該理念完全是背道而馳。

We don't build the lives we want by saving time.

我們不是透過節省時間 營造我們想過的生活；

We build the lives we want,

我們先營造所追求的生活，

and then time saves itself.

然後時間自然就會省下來。

Here's what I mean.

我的意思是如此－

我最近做過一個時間日記帳專案，

I recently did a time diary project

察看非常忙碌之女士們 1,001 天的生活。

looking at 1,001 days in the lives of extremely busy women.

They had demanding jobs, sometimes their own businesses,

她們有著吃重的工作－ 有時候是自家的事業、

kids to care for, maybe parents to care for,

有自己的孩子或者是父母要照顧、

參與地方事務...

community commitments --

busy, busy people.

大忙人！

I had them keep track of their time for a week

為了我的書我讓她們把 一個星期的時間留下軌跡，

如此我得以加算 她們工作和睡覺的時間；

so I could add up how much they worked and slept,

與其面談關於她們的大方針。

and I interviewed them about their strategies, for my book.

One of the women whose time log I studied

我所檢視其中一位女士的日程表－

goes out on a Wednesday night for something.

某個星期三晚上她有事出門，

She comes home to find that her water heater has broken,

回家後發現她的熱水器已經故障，

and there is now water all over her basement.

地下室當下到處都是水。

If you've ever had anything like this happen to you,

如果你曾經碰過過類似這樣的情況，

你就知道這是千瘡百孔、 生人迴避、溼透了的一團亂。

you know it is a hugely damaging, frightening, sopping mess.

So she's dealing with the immediate aftermath that night,

她該晚不斷為此現成的災情善後，

next day she's got plumbers coming in,

隔天她就請來水管工，

day after that, professional cleaning crew dealing with the ruined carpet.

第三天由專業清潔人員 整治面目全非的地毯。

這些都留記在她的日程表裡，

All this is being recorded on her time log.

不得已花了她那個禮拜 7 個小時。

Winds up taking seven hours of her week.

Seven hours.

7 個小時！

那就像是平日多找出一個小時來。

That's like finding an extra hour in the day.

But I'm sure if you had asked her at the start of the week,

但是如果你有在那禮拜剛開始就問她：

"Could you find seven hours to train for a triathlon?"

「你能找出七小時 做鐵人三項訓練嗎？」、

"Could you find seven hours to mentor seven worthy people?"

「你能找出七小時 督導七個可用之才嗎？」

I'm sure she would've said what most of us would've said,

我肯定她就像我們大多數人般會說：

which is, "No -- can't you see how busy I am?"

「不可以！你看不出我有多忙嗎？」

Yet when she had to find seven hours

然而因為她的地下室淹水，

because there is water all over her basement,

當她必須找出七小時的時候，

她找出七個小時來了！

she found seven hours.

這告訴我們時間是高度變通的。

And what this shows us is that time is highly elastic.

We cannot make more time,

我們無法生出更多的時間，

but time will stretch to accommodate what we choose to put into it.

但時間將會撐開自己 以迎合我們選擇置入其中的事宜。

And so the key to time management

所以時間管理的關鍵是－

is treating our priorities

如同故障的熱水器般

as the equivalent of that broken water heater.

看待我們的要務！

要明白這回事的話...

To get at this,

I like to use language from one of the busiest people I ever interviewed.

我想要採用我所約談過 最忙碌者的話語來說；

By busy, I mean she was running a small business

就忙碌而言我指的是她經營一間小公司－

薪資帳上有 12 位員工，

with 12 people on the payroll,

空餘時間她還有六個孩子得應付。

she had six children in her spare time.

I was getting in touch with her to set up an interview

我為了約談她如何冒出 「我擁有了一切！」，

on how she "had it all" -- that phrase.

持續與她聯絡；

I remember it was a Thursday morning,

我記得那天是星期四上午，

and she was not available to speak with me.

而她不克與我洽談，

Of course, right?

也難怪啦！

But the reason she was unavailable to speak with me

但是她不克與我洽談的理由

is that she was out for a hike,

是她出門去健走！

because it was a beautiful spring morning,

因為那是一個很美好的春季白天，

以及她想來個健走。

and she wanted to go for a hike.

So of course this makes me even more intrigued,

難怪這使得我更加興致勃勃，

and when I finally do catch up with her, she explains it like this.

當我終於和她搭上話時她如此解釋：

She says, "Listen Laura, everything I do,

「羅拉！我所做的每件事、

every minute I spend, is my choice."

花的每一分鐘都是我的選擇！」

And rather than say,

與其說出「我沒空做這個、做那個」，

"I don't have time to do x, y or z,"

she'd say, "I don't do x, y or z because it's not a priority."

她會說我不做這個、做那個， 因為那不是我的要務。

"I don't have time," often means "It's not a priority."

我沒有時間－經常代表那不是要務，

如果你動一下腦筋 那真的是更正確的話語；

If you think about it, that's really more accurate language.

I could tell you I don't have time to dust my blinds,

我可能告訴你我沒空擦拭百葉窗，

but that's not true.

不過那不是真的...

If you offered to pay me $100,000 to dust my blinds,

如果你付十萬美金給我 讓我去擦拭我的百葉窗，

我會立馬去做！

I would get to it pretty quickly.

(Laughter)

（笑聲...）

Since that is not going to happen,

既然那款事不會發生的話，

我可以知道說這不是欠缺時間的事，

I can acknowledge this is not a matter of lacking time;

而是我不想去做！

it's that I don't want to do it.

Using this language reminds us that time is a choice.

使用這種話語提醒我們 時間是一個選擇。

And granted,

倒也沒錯！

there may be horrible consequences for making different choices,

做不同的選擇可能會有糟糕的下場，

I will give you that.

我將會給你補充；

But we are smart people,

但是我們是聰明人，

and certainly over the long run,

從長遠來看必然不假－

we have the power to fill our lives

我們有本事憑藉值得留在生命裡的事情

with the things that deserve to be there.

來豐富我們的生命。

So how do we do that?

所以我們該如何做呢？

我們怎樣一如那個故障熱水爐的同款事

How do we treat our priorities

as the equivalent of that broken water heater?

看待我們的要務呢？

Well, first we need to figure out what they are.

首先我們得找出它們是什麼，

I want to give you two strategies for thinking about this.

我要給你們兩個考量的大方針，

第一、在專業工作方面！

The first, on the professional side:

我相信許多人快到年底時

I'm sure many people coming up to the end of the year

會給出或收到年度考績；

are giving or getting annual performance reviews.

你回首這一年的成功－

You look back over your successes over the year,

your "opportunities for growth."

你飛黃騰達的機會。

And this serves its purpose,

這考績有其用處，

but I find it's more effective to do this looking forward.

但是我發現放眼將來做這件事更實用；

所以我要你們當成現在是明年年底，

So I want you to pretend it's the end of next year.

You're giving yourself a performance review,

您正要給自己打年度考績，

and it has been an absolutely amazing year for you professionally.

這一年以來對你在職場上 無疑是個精采絕倫的一年！

你做了哪三、五件事情 使它如此精采絕倫？

What three to five things did you do that made it so amazing?

So you can write next year's performance review now.

所以你現在就可以來寫 你明年的考績報告！

And you can do this for your personal life, too.

你也可以在你的居家生活上這樣做，

I'm sure many of you, like me, come December,

我相信你們許多人就跟我一樣...

到了十二月收到賀卡 內附這些五彩繽紛折好的紙張，

get cards that contain these folded up sheets of colored paper,

on which is written what is known as the family holiday letter.

上面寫的東西是眾所皆知的 「全家近況年節拜會書」。

(Laughter)

（笑聲...）

有點招搖派的文筆不假，

Bit of a wretched genre of literature, really,

going on about how amazing everyone in the household is,

近乎關於在家戶裡的每個人 是如何的精采絕倫；

or even more scintillating,

或甚至更放閃的－

how busy everyone in the household is.

家裡的每個人是如何忙碌。

But these letters serve a purpose,

但是這些書信有一個目的，

which is that they tell your friends and family

就是它告訴你的親屬、友人

這一年來在你的私人生活上 你做過哪些對你重要的事情；

what you did in your personal life that mattered to you over the year.

今年也差不多過完了，

So this year's kind of done,

but I want you to pretend it's the end of next year,

但我要你們當成現在是明年年底了，

and it has been an absolutely amazing year

而且對於你和你所關心的人

那是絕對精采絕倫的一年。

for you and the people you care about.

What three to five things did you do that made it so amazing?

你做的哪些三、五件事 使得這一年如此精采絕倫呢？

So you can write next year's family holiday letter now.

現在你就可以寫明年的 全家近況年節拜會書。

Don't send it.

不要寄出去！

（笑聲...）

(Laughter)

敬請不要寄出去！

Please, don't send it.

但你可以寫下來，

But you can write it.

And now, between the performance review and the family holiday letter,

在考績和全家近況佳節拜會書兩者間，

we have a list of six to ten goals we can work on in the next year.

我們有六到十個目標的清單 我們可以在明年貫行。

And now we need to break these down into doable steps.

現在我們需要將這些 拆分成落實的步驟，

So maybe you want to write a family history.

或許你想要寫個家族史，

First, you can read some other family histories,

首先你可以先讀他人的家族史，

get a sense for the style.

對其寫法心裡有個底；

接著或許思索要問你親戚的問題，

Then maybe think about the questions you want to ask your relatives,

排出約期面訪他們。

set up appointments to interview them.

或是你想要來個五千公尺路跑，

Or maybe you want to run a 5K.

So you need to find a race and sign up, figure out a training plan,

所以你需要找一個賽程而且報名、 擬定一個培訓計畫，

and dig those shoes out of the back of the closet.

從你的壁櫥後頭翻出慢跑鞋來。

然後重點來了－

And then -- this is key --

we treat our priorities as the equivalent of that broken water heater,

我們看待我們的要務 一如故障熱水爐的同款事，

by putting them into our schedules first.

將它們優先放入我們作息表，

We do this by thinking through our weeks before we are in them.

我們早在做這些事的數週前就在打算！

I find a really good time to do this is Friday afternoons.

我發現做這款事的好時點是週五午後，

Friday afternoon is what an economist might call

週五午後就是經濟學家可能 叫做「低機會成本」的時間。

a "low opportunity cost" time.

Most of us are not sitting there on Friday afternoons saying,

我們大多數不會在週五午後 坐定而嘴巴說著：

"I am excited to make progress

「我現在熱血不已...

朝我的私人以及職場要務做出進展！」

toward my personal and professional priorities

right now."

（笑聲...）

(Laughter)

但是我們樂於省思 那些要務應該是些什麼。

But we are willing to think about what those should be.

So take a little bit of time Friday afternoon,

所以週五午後花些時間

make yourself a three-category priority list: career, relationships, self.

幫自己做個三類要務清單： 事業、親友、自己。

做一個三類清單提醒自己

Making a three-category list reminds us

that there should be something in all three categories.

應該有些東西這三類中都有的。

事業我們有想，

Career, we think about;

relationships, self --

親友、本人就沒怎麼想到；

not so much.

反正只是一張短清單，

But anyway, just a short list,

two to three items in each.

各類有兩到三項要務。

然後放眼一整個下星期，

Then look out over the whole of the next week,

and see where you can plan them in.

看看你可以把這些要務規劃進哪邊。

規劃進何處取決於你，

Where you plan them in is up to you.

I know this is going to be more complicated for some people than others.

我知道這對有些人來說 將會比其他人更不簡單，

I mean, some people's lives are just harder than others.

我是指有些人的生活 就是比其他人更吃緊；

如果你自己在帶幾個孩子時，

It is not going to be easy to find time to take that poetry class

if you are caring for multiple children on your own.

要找時間上詩歌班將會不容易。

我了解這事！

I get that.

我不想淡化任何人的煎熬，

And I don't want to minimize anyone's struggle.

But I do think that the numbers I am about to tell you are empowering.

但是我確實認為 我要告訴你的數字是鼓舞人的。

There are 168 hours in a week.

一星期有 168 個小時－

Twenty-four times seven is 168 hours.

24 乘以 7 是168 小時，

That is a lot of time.

那是大量的時間！

If you are working a full-time job, so 40 hours a week,

如果你有全職的工作 一星期也就 40 小時、

sleeping eight hours a night, so 56 hours a week --

晚上睡8小時一星期也就 56 小時 ，

that leaves 72 hours for other things.

還剩 72 小時給其他事情用，

That is a lot of time.

那是很多時間！

You say you're working 50 hours a week,

你說你一星期 50 小時在工作中，

maybe a main job and a side hustle.

可能是全職還有假日兼差，

Well, that leaves 62 hours for other things.

這樣還剩 62 小時給其他事情用；

You say you're working 60 hours.

你說你一星期 60 小時工作中，

這樣還剩 52 小時做其他事；

Well, that leaves 52 hours for other things.

You say you're working more than 60 hours.

你說你一星期超過 60 小時工作中，

Well, are you sure?

你沒搞錯吧？

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

There was once a study comparing people's estimated work weeks

曾經有個研究比較常人的 估算工作週時和時間日記帳

with time diaries.

They found that people claiming 75-plus-hour work weeks

他們發現宣稱工作週時 超過 75 小時的人...

差隔了 25 小時！

were off by about 25 hours.

(Laughter)

（笑聲...）

你可料到落在哪一個方向對吧！

You can guess in which direction, right?

Anyway, in 168 hours a week,

反正一週 168 小時中

I think we can find time for what matters to you.

我認為我們可以找到時間 給你認為對你重要的事用；

If you want to spend more time with your kids,

如果你要有更多的時間陪小孩、

為你即將參加的考試多做點功課、

you want to study more for a test you're taking,

你要運動 3 小時和當義工 2 小時，

you want to exercise for three hours and volunteer for two,

you can.

你可以的！

And that's even if you're working way more than full-time hours.

即便你工作的時間多過全職工時...

So we have plenty of time, which is great,

所以我們有大量的時間真的很棒，

because guess what?

因為你猜怎麼著，

我們甚至不需要那麼多時間 來做精采絕倫的事情。

We don't even need that much time to do amazing things.

But when most of us have bits of time, what do we do?

但是當我們大多數有些許時間時 我們拿來做什麼呢？

Pull out the phone, right?

拿出智慧手機對吧，

Start deleting emails.

開始刪除電子郵件；

否則我們就在屋子裡到處慢慢摸，

Otherwise, we're puttering around the house

or watching TV.

或者不停看電視。

但是一時半刻可以有有巨大的力量！

But small moments can have great power.

You can use your bits of time

你可利用少許的時間做有樂子的事，

for bits of joy.

Maybe it's choosing to read something wonderful on the bus

也許選擇在上班途中的公車上 閱讀一些精采的讀物。

on the way to work.

I know when I had a job that required two bus rides

我記得當我曾經有一份工作 每天早上需要坐兩段公車和一段地鐵，

and a subway ride every morning,

我當時週末常去圖書館取得讀物，

I used to go to the library on weekends to get stuff to read.

這讓整個歷程近乎趣味橫生。

It made the whole experience almost, almost, enjoyable.

Breaks at work can be used for meditating or praying.

工作的休息時間可以拿來冥想或祈禱；

If family dinner is out because of your crazy work schedule,

如果因為你不合理的工作作息表 錯過了家庭晚餐，

maybe family breakfast could be a good substitute.

或許家庭早餐可以是個好替換。

It's about looking at the whole of one's time

這不外乎看一個人全部的時間，

看看好事情可以放到哪邊。

and seeing where the good stuff can go.

I truly believe this.

我真心相信－

時間不是沒有！

There is time.

Even if we are busy,

即使我們很忙，

我們有時間做要緊的事，

we have time for what matters.

And when we focus on what matters,

當我們專注在要緊的事，

we can build the lives we want

我們可以在我們獲得的時間內

in the time we've got.

營造我們想要的生活！

Thank you.

謝謝大家！

(Applause)

（掌聲...）