The problem with never-ending to-do lists is that they don’t give you time to pause and celebrate the power of completion. Acknowledging your hard work is often the fuel that keeps you moving forward when times get tough.
無窮無盡的待辦事項清單總會讓人頭疼——永遠有下一件要完成的事，然后慶幸任務終于完成了。在困難的時候，能夠意識自己的辛苦勞動可以增加工作的動力。
You don’t want your to-do list to work against you. You want it to work for you!
但是，你不想被待辦事項清單控制自己。你希望的是你控制它!
The key is to set up a system so you can check items off your to-do list, and by day’s end be finished.
解決的方法很簡單，建立一個有助自己核對確認的待辦清單模式，每天完成相應的任務。
1. Do a “brain dump.”
1. 設立“任務處理區”。
Get a piece of paper and pen, and dump everything you want and need to get done at work out on to the paper. It’s stressful to try to remember everything you’ve got on your plate. Let it go. Dump it all out here.
找來筆紙，把你希望完成和需要完成的任務通通寫在紙上。雖然要記住所有待辦的事情很有壓力，不過沒關系，盡情寫出來吧。
2. Say no.
2.敢于舍棄。
After you get all of your tasks out of your head, look at what’s on your plate. Do you really need to do all of this? We live in a world where the message is, “more is better.” But the reality is, sometimes less is more. You can accomplish more when you can focus. To identify what to focus on, you need to learn to say no to tasks that don’t move you forward or are not aligned with your bigger vision. Saying no creates time, energy and space to do what’s really important. Remove items that are no longer important to you.
當你把想得到的任務都寫下來以后，那就看看當前要務是什么吧。你有必要完成全部任務嗎?我們生活的社會總是標榜著“越多越好”。但是實際上有時候，少即是多。人只有在注意力集中的時候才能完成更多的任務。因此為了找到自己的注意力目標，你還得懂得放棄那些不能驅使你前進，或者與本人目標不符的任務。懂得舍棄，可以為你騰出更多有用的時間、精力和空間。接下來就把無關要緊的任務刪除吧。
3. Assign a meaning to each to-do item.
3.為每一件任務賦予意義。
In my Productivity Booster System, I coach my private clients to give meaning to each item. The Clarifying Priority Tool helps them layout each to-do item in a grid to identify which items are time sensitive. The grid also identifies which tasks are aligned with their goals.
在我本人的“創造力激勵系統”中，我會指導我的私人客戶為每一個項目賦予意義。因此優先事務甄選工具就會幫助他們生成網格式的待辦列表，從而辨別那些有時間限制的任務。每一個格子還包含了與任務相關聯的預期目標。
4. Break every task into small steps.
4.把任務拆分成各個小步驟。
This is what people who get things done do really well. They break each task, goal, and action item into smaller steps. Many people get paralyzed when they don’t know what to do next. When you break a task down to smaller action steps, you know exactly what your next move is.
有辦事效率的人都這么做。他們把每個任務、目標和行動方案分解為多個小步驟。很多人在不知道下一步該怎么辦的時候就會感到麻木。如果當你把任務拆分為多個小步驟來完成，你就會很清楚了解下一步該做什么了。
5. Schedule time on your calendar for each task.
5.為每一件任務設置限期。
Pretend your calendar as your virtual personal assistant (PA). Your PA knows exactly where you are, what you are doing, and when you are doing it. At the beginning of the week (I recommend to do this on Sunday), schedule each action item on your calendar so when Monday morning comes, you will know each move to make without thinking.
把日歷當作你的虛擬私人助理，那么它就能清晰告訴你當前的進度、項目和時效。在一周的開始(建議從本周日開始)，把每一件任務安排到日歷上，那么當周一到來的時候，你就能不假思索地找到自己的任務。
This system might feel like a lot to do in the beginning. There is always a learning curve. The more you practice, the easier the system gets. The key is to build an efficient system so you can spend more time, energy, and space on taking action. And action is how your to-do list gets cleared by the end of the workday.
一開始你可能會覺得很忙，不過任何的機制都有一個適應的過程。當你操練得越多，這個系統機制就運行得越順暢。關鍵在于建立一個有效率的機制，這樣就能為實際行動騰出更多時間、精力和空間了。而實際的行動就是每天清空當天的任務。
Now it’s your turn to clear-off your to-do list...
接下來，就該到你來清空自己的待辦事項清單了……