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.

无穷无尽的待办事项清单总会让人头疼——永远有下一件要完成的事，然后庆幸任务终于完成了。在困难的时候，能够意识自己的辛苦劳动可以增加工作的动力。

You don’t want your to-do list to work against you. You want it to work for you!

但是，你不想被待办事项清单控制自己。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.

解决的方法很简单，建立一个有助自己核对确认的待办清单模式，每天完成相应的任务。

1. Do a “brain dump.”

1. 设立“任务处理区”。

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.

找来笔纸，把你希望完成和需要完成的任务通通写在纸上。虽然要记住所有待办的事情很有压力，不过没关系，尽情写出来吧。

2. Say no.

2.敢于舍弃。

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.

当你把想得到的任务都写下来以后，那就看看当前要务是什么吧。你有必要完成全部任务吗?我们生活的社会总是标榜着“越多越好”。但是实际上有时候，少即是多。人只有在注意力集中的时候才能完成更多的任务。因此为了找到自己的注意力目标，你还得懂得放弃那些不能驱使你前进，或者与本人目标不符的任务。懂得舍弃，可以为你腾出更多有用的时间、精力和空间。接下来就把无关要紧的任务删除吧。

3. Assign a meaning to each to-do item.

3.为每一件任务赋予意义。

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“创造力激励系统”中，我会指导我的私人客户为每一个项目赋予意义。因此优先事务甄选工具就会帮助他们生成网格式的待办列表，从而辨别那些有时间限制的任务。每一个格子还包含了与任务相关联的预期目标。

4. Break every task into small steps.

4.把任务拆分成各个小步骤。

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.

有办事效率的人都这么做。他们把每个任务、目标和行动方案分解为多个小步骤。很多人在不知道下一步该怎么办的时候就会感到麻木。如果当你把任务拆分为多个小步骤来完成，你就会很清楚了解下一步该做什么了。

5. Schedule time on your calendar for each task.

5.为每一件任务设置限期。

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.

把日历当作你的虚拟私人助理，那么它就能清晰告诉你当前的进度、项目和时效。在一周的开始(建议从本周日开始)，把每一件任务安排到日历上，那么当周一到来的时候，你就能不假思索地找到自己的任务。

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.

一开始你可能会觉得很忙，不过任何的机制都有一个适应的过程。当你操练得越多，这个系统机制就运行得越顺畅。关键在于建立一个有效率的机制，这样就能为实际行动腾出更多时间、精力和空间了。而实际的行动就是每天清空当天的任务。

Now it’s your turn to clear-off your to-do list...

接下来，就该到你来清空自己的待办事项清单了……