涂鸦谈拖延症系列（⼆）：打败拖延症
How to Beat Procrastination 怎么打败拖延症
This is Part 2. You won’t get Part 2 if you haven’t read Part 1 yet. Here’s Part 1.
网上一对一授课
这篇是下半部分，如果没有读过上半部分的话，本篇涉及的⼀些概念会不好理解。 上半部分传送门.
pro-cras-ti-na-tion |prəˌkrastəˈnāSHən, prō-| 拖延
noun 名词
the action of ruining your own life for no apparent reason
因为不知名的原因就毁了你的⼈⽣的⾏为
Let me start by saying that I’ve had just about enough of the irony of battling through crippling procrastination while trying to write posts on procrastination and how to beat it. I’ve spent the last two weeks being this guy, who shoots himlf in the foot while talking about gun safety, and I look forward to getting back to irony-free procrastination following this post.
开场⽩在此，本⼈已经受够了最近和拖延症充满讽刺意味的⽃智⽃勇经历。这两个星期以来，我⼀再拖延写稿，⽽我写稿的内容，恰恰就是如何战胜拖延症。乍看之下，我就是那个⼀边在⾼谈阔论枪⽀使⽤安全，⼀边开枪射中⾃⼰脚的⼤傻⽠。我已经等不及把这篇⽂章完稿，好回到我没有讽刺的拖延⽣活中了。
A couple of notes before we begin:
开始之前我要声明⼏件事情：
I’m not a professional at any of this, just a lifelong procrastinator who thinks about this topic all the time. I’m still in a total battle with my own habits, but I have made some progress in the last few years, and I’m drawing my thoughts from what’s worked for me.
我不是拖延症的研究专家，只是久病成医的拖延症患者。我仍然在努⼒改掉⾃⼰的坏习惯，在这⾥给出的建议也全是实践所得的有效的⽅法。
This post was posted late, not only becau it took me 2,000 years to do, but also becau I decided that Monday night was an urgent time to open Google Earth, hover a few hundred feet above the southern tip of India, and scroll all the way up India to the top of the country, to “get a better feel for India.” I have problems.
这篇⽂章发晚了，不仅仅因为写稿花了我整整2,000年，还有⼀部分原因是周⼀晚上的紧急事态：我得打开⾕歌地球，找到在印度最南端上⽅⼏百英尺，然后光标向上滚动到印度最北边的国界线，“更好的感受印度”。我知道我这个⼈有点⽑病。
Alright, so last week we dove into the everyday inner struggle of the procrastinator to examine the underlying psychology going on. But this week, when we’re actually trying to do something about it, we need to dig even deeper. Let’s begin by trying to unwrap the procrastinator’s psychology and e what’s really at the core of things:
好的，上周我们深⼊了解了拖延症患者每天都要⾯对的内⼼挣扎 ，了解拖延症患者的潜在⼼理状况。这周，我们要⼲点实事，得获得更多情报。⾸先是对拖延症患者的⼼理抽丝剥茧，看看核⼼问题有哪些：
We know about the Instant Gratification Monkey (the part of your brain that makes you procrastinate) and his dominion over the Rational Decision Maker, but what’s really happening there?
我们知道了即时满⾜猴⼦的存在（拖延症的元凶）和它对理性决策者的欺压，但整件事情是怎么发⽣的？
The procrastinator is in the bad habit, bordering on addiction, of letting the monkey win. He continues to have the intention to control the monkey, but he puts forth a hapless effort, using the same proven-not-to-work methods he’s ud for years,
expiredateand deep down, he knows the monkey will win. He vows to change, but the patterns just stay the same. So why would an otherwi capable person put forth such a lame and futile effort again and again?
猴⼦的每⼀次胜利，都使得拖延症患者更加深陷于坏习惯泥潭中，对坏习惯上瘾。拖延症患者不断的想控制住猴⼦，也曾作出许多⽆果的抵抗，但他却从没想过改变抵抗⽅式，在内⼼深处，他似乎已经默认了猴⼦最后会赢。问题是，为什么⼀个⼤好青年会⼀次次地做跳梁⼩丑呢？
The answer is that he has incredibly low confidence when it comes to this part of his life, allowing himlf to become enslaved
by a lf-defeating, lf-fulfilling prophecy.Let’s call this lf-fulfilling prophecy his Storyline. The procrastinator’s Storyline goes something like this:
答案是，当⾯对猴⼦时，⾃信⼼不⾜让拖延症患者根本不相信⾃⼰有能⼒战胜猴⼦，于是他⾃欺欺⼈，
⼼⽢情愿的被⾃⼰幻想出来的必败预⾔奴役。在这⾥我们把这种⾃导⾃演的预⾔称为故事线。拖延症患者的故事线⼤概是这样的：
For the Have-To-Dos in my life, I’ll end up waiting until the last minute, panicking, and then either doing less than my best work or shutting down and not doing anything at all. For the Want-To-Dos in my life, let’s be honest—I’ll either start one and quit or more likely, I just won’t ever get around to it.
⾯对⼈⽣中不得不去做的事情时，我会拖到最后⼀分钟，然后惊慌失措，要么凑合着做完要么⼲脆逃避现实什么也不做。⽽那些我想做的事情，⽼实说 —— 我会从⼀开始就放弃，或者更可能永远也不去碰。
不好意思英语The procrastinator’s problems run deep, and it takes something more than “being more lf-disciplined” or “changing his bad habits” for him to change his ways—the root of the problem is embedded in his Storyline, and his Storyline is what must change.
拖延症患者的问题远⽐表⾯的复杂，不是“变得更⾃律”或者“改掉坏习惯”就能解决的 —— 拖延症的症结埋藏在拖延症患者的故事线⾥，故事线才是他必须改变的东西。
Before we talk about how Storylines change, let’s examine, concretely, what the procrastinator even
wants to change into. What do the right habits even look like, and where exactly will the procrastinator run into trouble?
在改变故事线之前，我们先来看看，确切的说，拖延症患者想变成什么样⼦。他们眼⾥的好习惯是什么样⼦的，⼜是什么让拖延症患者屡屡受挫？
There are two components of being able to achieve things in a healthy and effective manner—planning and doing. Let’s start with the easy one:
健康⾼效的达成⽬标由两个部分组成 —— 计划和执⾏。我们从简单的说起：preoccupy
Planning 计划
Procrastinators love planning, quite simply becau planning does not involve doing, and doing is the procrastinator’s Kryptonite.
拖延症患者爱写计划，原因很简单，因为计划不涉及执⾏，执⾏就是拖延症患者的氪星⽯。
But when procrastinators plan, they like to do it in a vague way that doesn’t consider details or reality too cloly, and their planning leaves them perfectly t up to not actually accomplish anything. A procrastinator’s planning ssion leaves him with a doer’s nightmare:
但拖延者做计划的时候，不会仔细考虑细节或现实，作出的计划往往让他们完美的避开完成任务的⽬标。 拖延者的计划书是在执⾏时就是噩梦：
A big list of icky, daunting tasks and undertakings.
⼀⼤堆棘⼿⼜艰巨的任务。
（拖延症：好的，我的清单有：为⼯作的知识储备多读书；装饰家居；想下⼀本书的主题；学习编程；和朋友计划⼀次旅
游；学做亚洲菜；作新的职业规划；还有24件事项。猴⼦：完美的清单！）
A big list of vague and daunting things makes the Instant Gratification Monkey laugh. When you make a list like that, the monkey says, “Oh perfect, this is easy.” Even if your gullible conscious mind believes it intends to accomplish the items on that list in an efficient manner, the monkey knows that
in your subconscious, you have no intention of doing so.
⼀⼤堆语意模糊⼜令⼈⽣畏的事项只会让及时享乐猴⼦哈哈⼤笑。当你列出这种清单，猴⼦会说，“哦太棒了，我能轻松搞定这个⼈”。即使你的头脑上了钩，天真到认为它能⾼效地完成清单，猴⼦清楚的知道，你的潜意识根本不想做完。
Effective planning, on the other hand, ts you up for success. Its purpo is to do the exact opposite of everything in that ntence:
反之，有效的计划能助你踏上成功之路。⽬的是做和上⾯说的完全不⼀样的事情：
昼夜的意思Effec tive pla nning ta k es a big list a nd lec ts a w inner: 有效的计划是列出⼀
inner: 有效的计划是列出⼀
张长长的清单然后勾选出要做的事项
A big list is perhaps an early pha of planning, but planning must end with rigorous prioritizing and one item that emerges as the winner—the item you’re going to make your first priority. And the item that wins should be the one that means the most to you—the item that’s most important for your hap
piness. If urgent items are involved, tho will have to come first and should be knocked out as quickly as possible in order to make way for the important items (procrastinators love to u unimportant but urgent items as an excu to forever put off the important ones).
长长的清单可以是你计划的第⼀阶段，但计划必须有严格的优先次序，并且最后有⼀个事项是⽬前最优先考虑的。 最优先考虑的事项应该是对你最重要的事项 —— 对于你的幸福⽽⾔最重要的项⽬。 如果有紧急的项⽬，则必须优先处理这些项⽬，尽快完全完成，以便为其他重要项⽬腾出还见（拖延症患者喜欢⽤不重要但紧急的项⽬作为将重要项⽬永远推迟下去的借⼝） 。
Effec tive pla nning m a k es a n ic k y item un-ic k y: 有效的计划会让讨厌的项⽬变得讨nning ma y item un-ic
喜起来：fyi是什么意思
We all know what an icky item is. An icky item is vague and murky, and you’re not really sure where you’d start, how you’d go about doing it, or where you’d get answers to your questions about it.
我们都知道讨厌的项⽬是怎么样的。讨厌的项⽬含糊不清，既难以确定从哪⾥开始，⼜不知道如何去做，或者在哪⾥可以找到有关此问题的答案。
日语工作
So let’s say your dream is to make your own app, and you know that if you build a successful app you could quit your job and become a full-time developer. You also think that programming ability is the literacy of the 21st century, and you don’t have money to spend outsourcing development anyway, so you decide to anoint “Learn how to code” the winning item on your list—the number one priority. Exciting, right?
假如说你的梦想是写⼀个⾃⼰的程序，你也知道如果你成功做到的话就能辞掉现在的⼯作，做⼀个全职开发者。你还觉得编程本领就是21世纪的⽂学素养，⽆论如何你都没有钱搞外包开发，因此你决定在清单上将“学习如何编码”勾选成头等⼤事。 很激动⼈⼼吧？
Well, no, becau “Learn how to code” is an intenly icky item—and every time you decide it’s time to get started, you will coincidentally also decide your inbox needs to be cleaned out and your kitchen floor needs to be mopped, ASAP. It’ll never end up happening.
事实才不是这样的，“学习编程”是⼀个⾮常棘⼿的项⽬ —— ⽽且每次你要开始学的时候，都会巧合地被清理收件箱和厨房地板耽误。 你的开始永远困难重重。
To un-icky the item, you need to read, rearch, and ask questions to find out exactly how one learns how to code, the specific means necessary for each step along the way, and how long each o
ne should take. Un-ickying a list item turns it from this:
要让⼀件事情变得不棘⼿，你要做⼤量阅读，研究和提出问题，找出确切的学习编程的⽅法，如何编程以及每⼀步需要花费多长时间。 把⼀件棘⼿的事情变得可操作就像把下⾯这个：
棘⼿的事情（学习编程）
Into this:
变成这样：
（第⼀步：购买编程⽹站12个星期课程，第⼆步：从现在开始到⽉中把课程上完，第三步：进⼀步查漏补缺，第四步：创
建⼀个模拟程序，收集反馈）
Effec tive pla nning tur ns a da unting item into a r ies o f sma ll, c lea r, nning turns a ries o
m a na gea ble ta sk s: 有效的计划吧让⼈望⽽却步的项⽬变成⼀系列⽬标清晰，可操作性强ma
的⼩任务
Icky combines with Daunting into an Instant Gratification Monkey steroid potion. And just becau you un-icky an item, it
张成熙doesn’t mean it’s still not horribly big and daunting. The key to de-dauntifying an item is to absorb this fact:
棘⼿和令⼈⽣厌就是即时享乐猴⼦类固醇药⽔。 ⽽且，简化并不会改变你的项⽬仍然是⾮常庞⼤且令⼈⽣畏的。 要彻底消除对这个项⽬的畏惧就要接受以下的事实：
A remarkable, glorious achievement is just what a long ries of unremarkable, unglorious tasks looks like from far away.
杰出的成就是由⼀连串平凡⽽⼜不那么光鲜亮丽的任务组成的。
No one “builds a hou.” They lay one brick again and again and again and the end result is a hou. Procrastinators are great visionaries—they love to fantasize about the beautiful mansion they
will one day have built—but what they need to be are gritty construction workers, who methodically lay one brick after the other, day after day, without giving up, until a hou is built.
没有⼈⼀上来就“盖房⼦”。 他们⼀块⼜⼀块地砌砖，最终才建造了⼀所房⼦。 拖延者是有远见的伟⼤⼈⼠ —— 他们热衷于幻想有朝⼀⽇美丽豪宅会竣⼯ —— 但他们更应该当坚韧不拔的建筑⼯⼈，⽇复⼀⽇、有条不紊地铺砌每⼀块砖，不⾔放弃，直到房⼦盖好。
Nearly every big undertaking can be boiled down to a core unit of progress—its brick. A 45-minute gym visit is the brick of getting in great shape. A 30-minute practice ssion is the brick of becoming a great guitarist.
⼏乎每⼀项重⼤任务都可以归结为⼀个进展的核⼼单元，即”砖块“。 在健⾝房锻炼45分钟是保持健康的”砖块“。 30分钟的吉他练习是成为⼀名出⾊的吉他⼿的”砖块“。
The average day in a wannabe author’s week and a real author’s week looks almost the same. The real author writes a couple pages, laying a brick, and the wannabe author writes nothing. 98% of their day is otherwi identical. But a year later, the real author has a completed first draft of a book and the wannabe author has…nothing.
想成为作家的⼈和真正的作家的⽇常没什么区别。真正的作家每天写下⼏页，”砌好砖块“， ⽽想成为作家的⼈则没有。⼀天中其余98%的时间他们做的事情是完全⼀样的。 ⼀年过后，真正的作家已经写完了⼀本书的初稿，⽽想要成为作者的⼈……什么都没有产出。
location是什么意思It’s all about the bricks.
”砖块“的重要性不⾔⽽喻。
And the good news is, laying one brick isn’t daunting. But bricks do require scheduling. So the final step in planning is to make a Brick Timeline, which slots bricks into the calendar. The slots are non-negotiable and non-cancellable—after all, it’s your first priority and the thing that matters most to you, isn’t it? The most important date is the first one. You can’t start learning to code “in November.” But you can start learning to code on November 21st from 6:00 – 7:00pm.经济专业排名
好消息是，”砌好⼀块砖“不难。 但是”砌砖“需要计划。 因此，计划的最后⼀步是制作⼀份与⽇历相结合的“砌砖时间轴”。 你为”砌
砖“留出的时间段既不能⽤来做别的事情也不能取消 —— 因为这是你的⾸要任务，在现阶段对你尤其重要，不是吗？ 最重要的⽇期是第⼀个。你不能计划说我要在“⼗⼀⽉”开始学习编程，⽽要说11⽉21⽇下午6:00-7:00，我要开始学习编程。
Now you’re effectively planned—just follow the schedule and you’ll be a programmer. Only thing left is to do…
现在你已经有⼀份有效的计划书了 —— 遵照时间表的安排，就可以成为⼀名程序员。 剩下的部分就是执⾏...
Doing 执⾏
It’s not that procrastinators don’t like the concept of doing. They look at the bricks on their calendar and they think,“Great, this will be fun.” And that’s becau when they picture the moment in the future when they sit down and knock out a work ssion, they picture things without the prence of the Instant Gratification Monkey. Procrastinators’ visions of future scenarios never em to include the monkey.
拖延症患者不是不喜欢执⾏。 他们会看着⽇历上安排好的时间段，然后想：“太棒了，这会很有趣。” 因为当他们想象在未来某个时刻坐下来参加⼯作会议时，即时享乐猴⼦会不跳出来捣乱。 拖延症患者对未来情景的设想似乎从来没有算上猴⼦。
But when the actual moment arrives to begin that scheduled brick-laying, the procrastinator does what the procrastinator does best—he lets the monkey take over and ruin everything.
但是当这⼀时刻来临，拖延患者开始”砌砖“时，再熟悉不过的⼀幕⼜会发⽣ —— 猴⼦跳出来接⼿并摧毁了拖延症患者的⼀切努⼒。
And since we just stresd above that all achievement boils down to the ability to lay that one brick during that slot when
it’s on your schedule, we em to have isolated the core struggle here. Let’s examine this specific challenge of laying a
