我的時間，我做主

School and homework. Activities and chores. Sleeping and eating. Once in middle school， there will be so much to fit into a single day! Yet， time isn't like a DVD that you could slow down， speed up， fast-forward， or rewind1). Nor can you change the speed of time or get more. What you CAN do is manage it.

既要上學，又要做家庭作業；既要參加課外活動，又要應付生活瑣事；既要睡覺，又要吃飯。一旦升入中學，每一天都會被塞得滿滿的！然而時間可不像DVD那樣可以慢放、快放、快進、快退。你既不能改變時間的速度，也不能獲得額外的時間，你所能做的就是管理時間。

Time management seems to be the greatest challenge for me in high school. I have to balance my academics， activities， social life， and REST. I often get into quarrels with my family members just because I didn't plan my time well. For instance， I may yell at them for disturbing me when I'm working on my homework and I may blame them when I miss deadlines， even though it's actually my fault for cramming2) everything in the last minute. But there's one thing that I always make time for: horseback riding. It's a way for me to relax， to reflect on what I'm doing. Reserving a few hours every week for the sport makes me realize that there's always time for something important; it just depends on how great my desire is to do it. I think the best trick to deal with time management is to break it into bits. It's really important for you to learn how to break a big， overwhelming3) project into small， manageable tasks. Then you can work progressively4) and have a sense of achievement whenever you're done with a small part. Another trick is to make a timetable for yourself. It doesn't have to be one that you follow faithfully. It's just there to serve as a guide. You can compare your actual schedule with the planned one to see how well you actually use your time. A final tip is to always set deadlines for yourself.

Now you see， Joyce knows well about time management a lot and has benefited greatly from it. Wanna do the same yourself? Let's go！

對我來說，高中最大的挑戰就是管理時間。我必須平衡生活的各個方面：學業、活動、社交，還有休息。正是因為我沒能計劃好時間，所以常與家人發生爭執。比如說，我在做家庭作業的時候可能會因受到打擾而對家人大發雷霆，或是因錯過交作業的最后期限而對他們妄加指責，即使那明明應該怪我，因為是我自己把所有的事兒都堆到了最后一刻來做。但不論有多忙，我總會抽出時間去做一件事：騎馬。這是一個能讓我放松身心，反思當前所作所為的好辦法。每周騰出幾個小時做這項運動，讓我意識到就算再忙也有時間去做重要的事，這僅僅取決于我想去做這件事情的愿望到底有多強。我認為有效管理時間的妙計就是將時間分割成小段。學會將龐大繁重的項目分解成細小易操作的任務非常重要。之后，你便可以循序漸進地去實現你的任務，每完成一小部分你都會產生一種成就感。管理時間的另一妙招就是為自己制定一個時間表。你并不一定非得分秒不差地執行它。它只是放在那兒起一個行動指南的作用。你可以用實際日程同計劃日程做個對比，看自己是否有效地利用了時間。最后一條建議是永遠不忘給自己設定最后期限。

現在你看到了吧，喬伊絲在時間管理方面很有一套并從中受益匪淺。希望自己也能像她那樣嗎？現在就開始吧！

Actually， time management is not as tough as you think. It's all about: examining your Have-To's and Want-To's， and how much time they'll take up; choose priorities5) and working out a plan that lets you spend the right amount of minutes or hours on each one.

其實管理時間并不像你想的那么難。它無非是關于：明確你必須做的事和想要做的事，以及完成它們所需要的時間；選擇優先要做的事情并制定出一份能讓你給每項任務都分配到合理時間的方案。

Have-To's Want-To's必做的事和想做的事

What are the Have-To's and Want-To's?

Have-To's need to be a part of almost every day. Whether we like it or not， we all have to find time to get them done， like family responsibilities， personal hygiene6)， eating and sleep， and of course school and homework.

Fortunately， our time isn't just about responsibilities. We get to have some fun， too! Want-To's make our lives a little more fulfilling.

● Activities. You might be a violinist， a soccer player， a painter， a poet， or a ballet dancer. Sports， the arts， and other hobbies are important because they help make us well-rounded7) and develop our bodies and minds. Plus， they just plain make us happy.

● Chill time8). Okay， let's not forget that you also deserve some time to just be you and do whatever you feel like， whether it's going to the park， hanging out with friends， reading a book， or being alone with your thoughts.

什么是必做的事？什么又是想做的事？

“必做的事”是日常生活的一部分。不論喜歡與否，我們都必須抽出時間去完成。比如家庭義務、個人衛生、吃飯睡覺，當然還有上學和做作業。

幸好，我們的時間不僅只是用來承擔義務。我們也得要一些娛樂！我們“想做的事”使我們的生活更加充實。

● 課外活動。你也許是一名小提琴手、一名足球運動員、一位畫家、一位詩人或是一名芭蕾舞舞者。體育、藝術和其他愛好之所以重要是因為它們幫助我們全面發展，并有助于我們身心健康成長。另外，它們就是能使我們快樂。

● 放松時刻。來吧，不要忘記你同時也值得擁有一些時間做回你自己，做你想做的任何事，不論是去公園、同朋友逛街、讀一本書，還是獨自沉思都可以。

Vocabulary

1. rewind [ri:5waInd] vt. 倒回(影片、錄音帶等等)

2. cram [krAm] vt. 把……擠滿

3. overwhelming [7EuvE5hwelmIN] adj. 勢不可當的，壓倒的

4. progressively [prEu5^resIvlI] adv. 漸進地

5. priority [praI5CrEtI] n. 優先考慮的事

6. hygiene [5haIdVi:n] n. 衛生

7. well-rounded [5wel5raundId] adj. 具有多方面興趣(或能力)的

8. chill time: 放松時刻；這個短語是從美俚“chill out”來的，chill out是一個青少年用語，意思是“放松一下”

Choose Priorities分出輕重緩急

Nevertheless， no matter how perfectly you have your time budget balanced， there will always be unexpected changes and new responsibilities to fit in. When this occurs， you need to choose priorities—to decide what to spend less time on or cut out of your plan completely. To do this， you should:

Remember the big things. Some things that may seem really important today， like getting to the bookstore to buy a popular novel， might seem a lot less important in a few weeks or months. On the other hand， doing well on school assignments and completing your family responsibilities are always important. These are the big things and you should always reserve plenty of time for these priorities.

Think about what's urgent. You've set aside time after school to do some research on your history paper， but you also have a big concert coming up and need to practice your cello9). Which takes priority that day? Well， which deadline is coming up first? If the concert is next week， but the history paper is not due until the week after， there's your answer. Knowing which task is more urgent is an easy way to choose priorities.

然而，不論你將時間預算安排得多么合理，生活中總會出現一些難以預料的變更以及突發的任務需要安排時間。當這一切發生時，你需要分清輕重緩急——決定哪些任務不需要花費太多時間或者應該徹底從計劃中刪除。要做到這一點，你應該：

大事記心中。一些在今天看來舉足輕重的大事，比如去書店買本暢銷小說，在幾周或幾個月之后可能就顯得并不那么重要了。而另一方面，做好家庭作業，承擔家庭義務卻始終重要。這些才是真正的大事，你永遠都該為它們留出足夠的時間。

急事切莫忘。你已為歷史課的論文調研工作留出了時間，但同時大型音樂會也即將來臨，你需要練習大提琴。在那一天先安排哪一個？那么，哪一件事的最后期限在先呢？如果音樂會是下周舉辦，而歷史論文直到下下周才截止，那答案就出來了。清楚哪項任務更為緊急是分出輕重緩急的簡易方法。

Now that you know what your Have-To's and Want-To's， and you also know how to choose priorities， you can easily make your own time budget. Once you have it， you'll be better able to create a daily schedule and weekly planner. Of course， every day isn't exactly the same as the next， so it may help you to make a different time budget for different days. If you learn to tame10) the time monster， you might be surprised at how much you can get done. The real reward， however， is that you'll probably feel less stressed11) and more happy.

既然你知道必要做的事和想要做的事，知道如何選擇優先要完成的任務，那你就能輕松制定自己的時間預算了。一旦預算好時間，你就能更好地制定出日程表和周計劃。當然，每天的生活并不會完全相同，所以因時制宜制定不同的時間計劃會對你有所幫助。如果你學會了如何駕馭時間這頭猛獸，你也許會驚訝于自己竟可以完成如此多的任務。不過，真正的回報卻是，你可能會覺得壓力減少了，而快樂卻增加了。

Vocabulary

9.cello [5tFelEJ] n. 【音】大提琴

10.tame [teIm] vt. 制服，駕馭；控制并利用

11.stress [stres] vt. 加壓力于；使緊張