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“Efficient madman without downturn” practice manual.

The Translation Bureau is a subordinate translation team, focusing on science and technology, business, workplace, life and other fields, focusing on introducing new foreign technologies, new perspectives, and new trends.

Editor’s note: In our work, we sometimes feel that “we are rubbish” for countless moments, but the more at this time, the more we can distinguish success People and ordinary people. Everyone will be mentally sluggish, and maintaining inertia in the trough is the magic weapon to win. The author of this article introduces the secret of his long-term efficiency. Even if he thinks he is rubbish, it does not affect his efficient work, making himself a “efficient madman with no emotions” in the eyes of others. The author of this article Nick Wignall, the original title is “4 Tricks I Use to Stay Productive (Even When I Feel Like Garbage)”, I hope to inspire you.

I am definitely not the most efficient person in the world.

Although I will procrastinate because of aimlessly tweeting, I still have a secret to be effective that no one knows, and it has gained me a lot:

I can maintain extreme consistency.

For example, in my 3 years of blogging, I have never missed an article for my weekly newsletter. Every Monday morning, rain or shine, regardless of illness or health, Christmas or summer vacation, I always publish something.

So what is the secret to maintaining this high consistency?

Whether I do this work or not is not affected by my “feelings”.

Of course, I will try to choose jobs that are sexual and fun in nature. When I feel motivated or inspired, I always try to make the most of this time.

But we all feel that we are rubbish. Maintaining high efficiency means following the work plan even when you are not feeling well.

Following are the four principles I have cultivated over the years. No matter what state I am in, they can help me stay effective.

Optimize your energy

“Optimizing energy” means to bring you according to a taskCome to the size of energy and energy to arrange the priority of the task.

The following is an example of my work as a writer:

• I usually prioritize work according to the importance of the task. Usually, the most important thing I can do is to write a draft of a new article. The core of my job is to write high-quality, attractive articles every week, so this is usually the top priority on my work list.

• Usually, this is correct. Because although drafting a new article requires high cognition, it is also intrinsically motivating, because in most cases, I like writing.

• But sometimes, when I first sit at my desk, I am already in a state of insufficient energy. This may be because my 1-year-old daughter was sick and stayed up all night, and I didn’t sleep much either. Maybe it’s because I feel worried and stressed about the upcoming big speech or interview. In any case, no matter how much I like my job, sometimes I just don’t want to do it.

• In this case, one option is to “work hard to finish it.” Occasionally this method will work, but usually, it will result in very low quality of work, and then have to spend more time and energy to modify, and sometimes even give up completely.

• However, a better option is to rearrange my to-do list from the beginning. Specifically, at this time, I will not arrange to-do items according to the importance of tasks, but rearrange them according to their “energy”. For example, although calling a friend to talk about our respective businesses is not particularly “important”, it usually makes me energetic. This means that although I have an hour “wasted” on things that have nothing to do with writing, usually after the call, the energy I get from the phone will make up for the wasted writing time, and even make I am more rewarding.

Deep down, most people believe that they need motivation to do something. Good feelings are like fuel to provide motivation for work.

While this is true to a certain extent, it ignores a key fact about the relationship between “feel and action”: this is a two-way street.

You feel good when you take action, just as you feel good when you take action.

You can achieve this effect by “flipping” your to-do list, placing energy levels above importance. Even if it feels like a waste of time in the short term (doing some less important tasks when there are important tasks to complete), in the long term, if youWith plenty of energy, you are more likely to complete those important tasks.

Rather than waiting for the power to come, it is better to optimize your energy and energy, you can create them by yourself.

Once you really learn this, you will find that everything has changed.

I am rubbish, but I also sympathize with rubbish

Sometimes it doesn’t matter if I feel like I’m rubbish. In fact, everyone has this moment.

The difference between consistently efficient people and others is that they don’t lose control of their emotions just because they feel like they’re rubbish.

As far as I am concerned, when I feel bad and have no motivation to work, the following ideas often come to my mind:

• Maybe you are not suitable for this…

• Why can’t you bear it a little bit and make it through?

• If you can be more self-disciplined, this won’t be a problem…

With these negative Talk to yourself , Some painful emotions also appeared:

• The thought of “maybe you are not suitable for this…” can lead to fear.

• The thought of “Why can’t you bear it a little bit and make it through?” The thought can lead to shame.

• The idea of ​​”If you are more self-disciplined, this won’t be a problem…” The thought can lead to anger.

However, all thisIt’s all normal. Sometimes it is normal to feel unmotivated. Whenever this happens, some frustrated thoughts and emotions will appear in your mind, which is also normal.

But the most important thing is how you deal with this bad feeling.

Many people are trapped by their negative thoughts and emotions because they are too harsh on themselves and like self-criticism too much:

• They really think that because they feel bad, it means they are lazy.

• They would really think that procrastination is a manifestation of lack of discipline.

• They really think that if they feel unmotivated, they can’t do a good job.

My secret weapon is, I know that my mind is always full of garbage. I know that my brain often says something too negative, critical or even mean to me. But I’m really good at not believing everything the brain thinks.

I know that I often feel unmotivated or lazy, but I don’t think this proves who I am.

I know that my emotions will often pull me towards a relaxed, less painful path. But I don’t believe in my emotions, and I will follow them only when they are consistent with my values ​​and what I think is correct.

I can maintain high efficiency because I am good at self-compassion.

I don’t hit myself with small setbacks and mistakes. I often remind myself that it’s normal to feel bad or not motivated, and it’s not a big deal in the long run.

I develop a healthy skepticism about my thoughts and feelings, and I never assume that they are completely correct or beneficial.

In general, I keep the most efficientGreat Secret One of the secrets is,I try my best to adhere to another golden rule:

In difficult times, treat yourself like a friend.

For most of your life, you may have been instilled with the idea that the only way to be successful and efficient is to be strict with yourself.

But did it really work?

Try to sympathize with yourself, maybe it will make you more efficient.

Write one thing

In order to continue to be efficient, what you decide not to do is as important as what you do.

I am often overwhelmed by work. Because I have a lot of things I want to do, it is often difficult to decide what I really need to do at some point.

Usually, I rely on motivation to overcome this dilemma: I squint, find the most interesting thing, and concentrate on doing it. But as I mentioned earlier, we don’t always feel motivated even in the face of things we usually like to do.

When I don’t feel as motivated or energetic as before, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Just like you do too many things at the same time, at some point, everything will fall apart.

I have a very simple technique that is very useful in times of stress: I will write down one of the things.

This matter is the answer to the following question:

At the end of the day, I will be proud of myself if _________________.

I found the answer to this question will be very clear. When my mind is clearer, it usually frees me from a lot of burdens and prevents me from procrastinating.

Confusion is the mother of procrastination, and efficiency is the product of clarity.

Go for a walk (don’t bring your phone)

To stay productive continuously, you need rest and the attendant focus.

Although you want a good night’s sleep, night rest is not the only way we need to rest.

If you can arrange a full day’s rest wisely, you will be more efficient.

Nowadays, most people fall into one of two traps when arranging a day off:

1.Some people do not rest at all. This is very stupid. If your plan is to insist on working uninterrupted every day, you may break down intermittently and eventually discover the wrong place in this approach.

2. It is more common that people try to take a rest all day, but what they do is not really rest. In other words, what you think can give you rest may actually make you more stressed or consume more energy.

For example, many people think that resting means not moving, or reducing activity. If your job involves manual labor or playing professional basketball, this may be right. But I think most people reading this article are probably knowledge workers, that is, you who sit in front of the computer all day.

In this case, expending more energy will actually make you feel more energetic. Therefore, instead of lying on the sofa to rest, it is better to move. Go for a walk, do 20 minutes of exercise, and even do some push-ups.

Another form of fake rest is surfing the Internet, and this is the state that many of us are most likely to fall into. It seems that swiping a small video on Douyin seems to be a relief. After all, daily work is much more tedious in comparison. But in fact, Douyin, WeChat, Weibo etc. Social media, and any other kind of online activity, will not really relax people.

You may spend all day online in one way or another. This means that what you really need is some time not online. One of the best ways I have found is to go for a walk without a mobile phone.

I am a therapist and writer, which means I work indoors all day, and usually sit in front of a computer.

I find that taking a walk (usually 20-30 minutes) refreshes people. Moreover, when I walk without a mobile phone, listen to audio, or check emails, my energy will be even more improved. When walking, only me and the vast world.

Try it, you won’t regret it.

Translator: Jane

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