人人都有拖延癥

2012-04-29 00:00:00byDavidD.Perlmutter譯/劉偲熙

新東方英語 2012年12期

拖延似乎成了現代人的通病。當然，拖延不是什么大罪過，有些事拖一拖反而效果更好，有些好點子可能最后一刻才冒出來。但多數情況下，辦事拖拖拉拉會讓你在心理上疲憊不堪，同時有可能讓你的名譽受損。誰會喜歡和一個不守時的人合作呢？誰能忍受一件事一拖再拖總也做不完呢？所以，行動起來，克服拖延，跑在時間的前頭，讓自己掌握主動權。

我剛參加工作的時候，父親就告誡我說，如果我能把自己的工作——無論是科研、教書還是服務工作——按時、規范地完成，那我就比很多同輩擁有了更大的競爭優勢。

我一直覺得這條訓誡很正確，并將其與我的研究生和同事們分享。我認識的很多學者，有的提出了很棒的項目資助申請，卻沒能趕上提交申請的最后期限，有的本可以在一家學報上發表一篇高質量的論文，卻把修訂論文和重新提交的工作一拖再拖，直到時機錯過。這樣的人太多了，多得讓我吃驚。

拖延并非總是壞事：有時，推遲做一件工作總比不做好；有時，好點子會在最后關頭才冒出來。但如果一而再、再而三地把一切事務都拖到最后一刻才完成，那你的職業生涯可能就毀了。

幸運的是，無論你有什么獨特的工作或思維習慣，拖延卻不是天生就有的習慣。我認識很多人，他們都能按時并高標準地完成工作，但私底下都坦承自己其實是個習慣拖延的人，只不過學會了克服這個習慣——至少是在某些時候做到了這一點。我相信，在合理范圍內，任何人都能成為按時完成工作的人，而不是事事拖延的人。

我知道一個對抗拖延的方法，它廣為“守時”的學者們采用，那就是列出多個短期的截止時間，從而把完成大工程的一個任務分解成若干個小項目。這就好像在通往火車終點站的路上要經過很多車站一樣。比如說，我要和別人在一個會議的截止日期前合力完成一篇論文，那我就會請我的合作者在某個日期前完成引言部分，在之后的某個日期前完成研究方法部分，以此類推。對付拖延，科技也能幫上忙。我喜歡用日歷軟件或者電子郵件設置自動提示，提醒我截止日期的到來。

很多習慣拖延的人聲稱，他們習慣把什么事都拖到最后一刻，這其實體現了一種更高貴的品質：追求完美。對于事事追求完美這種做事理念，我既理解也認同。但這些年來，雖然我和同事們就何為“完美”討論過很多次，大家卻一直無法達成一致意見。有誰寫過一本完美無缺的書或者做過一次盡善盡美的實驗么？你曾對自己教的某一門課百分百地滿意么？完美，這是一個應該歸入神圣領域的概念。每天，我們都有很多的工作要做，世界等不及我們把工作做到毫厘不差。所以，別對自己太苛刻。按你的時間，依你的資源，盡力把工作做好就行。

你可以制訂一個總體規劃或者計劃表，在上面列明所有的工作項目，并附上預計完成的時間表。科技手段已經使這項工作變得比以往任何時候都簡單。

你的計劃表首先要全面，這很關鍵。你或許聽說過，在食品研究中，研究人員會要求實驗對象記錄下每天吃過的東西，但這樣做會遇到問題：實驗對象多數情況下都會誠實記錄自己每天的飲食，但可能也會“忘記”記錄下在餐館隨意吃的一頓便飯。與此類似，我曾遇到過很多這樣的學者，他們向我描述了自己制定的看似巨細無遺的五年研究計劃，結果卻幾乎是有意地忘記了還要把自己在另外一些項目中承擔的任務考慮進去。拖延自然也就發生了。

其次，一個計劃表應該在完成項目所需的時間和資源方面切合實際。我曾聽說一些教師——尤其是年紀較輕者——會宣稱自己要同時完成很多項工作，這簡直是不可能的壯舉，比如他們會說：“在參加研討會期間，我會設計這門新課，同時完成那篇論文。哦，對，我剛才有沒有說我家人要來？”

對于任何值得做的事，我們都低估了需要花在上面的時間和精力。所以，在你完成工作所需時間的基礎上最好再多預留幾天，早點完成比拖延要好。

準備應對意外狀況。有時，面對意外狀況，除了修改計劃之外別無他法。不過，我們也有別的應對措施。首先，想一想，你面臨的障礙實際上是否是一個警示。一位年輕的科學家曾告訴過我他的遭遇，他的實驗由于出現反常結果而多次延遲。他絞盡腦汁，終于找到了答案：原來他們在校準某個特殊的測量儀器時出現了錯誤，因此得到了錯誤的讀數。

要應對意外狀況，經驗可以作為向導。我第一次坐下來決意寫書時，先是聯系了自己十分敬重的幾位同行前輩，詢問他們的意見。他們大多提出了相似的告誡，我發現非常受用。無論你正在做什么項目，都應該向那些已經在這條路上走過的勇敢的開拓者們請教。

退出也可以是勝利。有時，你的指導原則應該是“不做要比遲做好”。雖然經濟學、心理學以及相關領域的研究不在我的研究范圍之內，但數十年來我一直癡迷其中。而這些研究似乎都表明，“放棄者絕不會成功，成功者絕不會放棄”這一格言并不正確。相反，事實證明，世界上一些最成功的人士——不管是發明家、軍事戰略家、政治家還是企業家——都深知放棄常常是明智之舉。

當你發現自己總是處境艱難，或者被重重困難拖累，或者對手中的事業似乎已經失去了熱情，那你也許應該考慮放棄了。

凡事要敢于盡早。我出生在一個中歐國家，那是一個以山脈、奶酪和準時聞名的國度。我要是參加什么活動遲到了就會感到異常緊張，大家都知道我習慣于早到——有時候到得實在是太早了。然而，我仍認為，凡事盡早是一種良好的品質，對于那些遵循古老的英語諺語“早起的鳥兒有蟲吃”的人來說如此，對于一名21世紀的學者來說亦然。

提早完成工作有如下好處。首先，你會給他人帶來驚喜。系主任、項目資助主管、學報編輯都會對我的請求或提交的稿件青睞有加，因為我是第一個這么做的人。我也常從別人那里得到有價值的反饋，因為別人有更多的時間來評估我的工作。提早完成工作對自身也很有益。提早完成工作，你可以把它先放一段時間，等到截止日期快到時可以再拿出來用全新的眼光重新審視一番。最后，及時完成工作還能為別的重要事務騰出更多的時間，包括在工作和家庭之間找到平衡點。

拖延不是什么大罪過。好事的確可能姍姍來遲。但是把什么事都拖到最后一刻才完成，你就會總是落于人后，會使他人失望，也會讓你的信譽受損。所以你得明白，什么時候拖一拖沒問題，什么時候拖延會對你不利。

Early in my career my father advised me that if I managed to finish my work—whether it was research， teaching， or service—on time and in the correct format， I would have a huge competitive advantage over many of my peers.

I’ve always found that principle to be correct and have passed it on to graduate students and colleagues. I am shocked at how many academics I’ve met who had a terrific grant proposal but missed the deadline， or who could have published a great paper in a journal but put off writing the “revise and resubmit” version until too much time had passed.

Procrastination is not always bad： Sometimes the work you put off doing is better than left undone. And sometimes the best ideas just come late. But perennially1） postponing everything until the last minute can be a career killer.

Luckily， no matter your particular habits of work or mind， procrastination is not preordained2）. I know many people who manage to get their work done on time， and at a high standard， yet privately admit they are procrastinators who learned to overcome the tendency， at least some of the time. I believe that， within reason3）， anyone can learn to be a completer， not a delayer.

One anti-procrastination measure I’ve seen employed by “on time” academics is to create mini-deadlines that break down the completion of a larger project into smaller segments. Think multiple train stops on the way to the final destination. When I co-write a paper under a conference deadline， for example， I ask my partners to finish the introduction by a certain date， the methodology section by a subsequent date， and so on. Technology can help， too. I like to create auto-alerts through my calendar or e-mail program that remind me about a deadline.

Many procrastinators claim that their last-minute habit is just a symptom of a more noble character trait： perfectionism. I sympathize and identify with that belief. But over the years， after many discussions with colleagues， we have never agreed on a particular definition of perfection. Has anyone truly written a perfect book or conducted a perfect experiment？ Have you ever been completely satisfied with a course you taught？ Perfection is something that should be relegated to the realm of the divine. We have lots of work to get done， every day， and the world cannot wait for us to get it just right. So don’t be too hard on yourself. Do the best job you can with the time and resources you have.

Creating a master4） plan or chart that lays out5） all of your projects， along with timetables for completion. Technology makes that easier than ever before.

The first key element of your chart should be comprehensiveness. You’ve probably heard about the problem of asking people engaged in a food study to keep a diary of what they eat： Subjects6） will mostly be honest but may “forget” to log the impromptu7） porterhouse8） dinner. Likewise， I have met scholars who describe to me a seemingly detailed five-year research plan， only to almost willfully neglect to factor in9） some additional projects to which they have committed. Delays then ensue10） on everything.

Second， a planning chart should be realistic about time and resources needed to complete a project. I have heard faculty members， especially young colleagues， forecast unlikely feats11） of multitasking， as in： “I’ll design that new class while I’m at a conference and get that paper done， too. Oh， and did I mention the family is coming along？”

We all underestimate how much time and effort it takes to do anything worth doing. It is better to chart out more days than you’ll need and finish early than the opposite.

Expecting the unexpected. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do when confronted with the unexpected but revise your plans. There are， however， other ways to respond. First， consider whether an obstacle is actually a red flag12）. A young scientist once described to me a situation in which the completion of an experiment was constantly delayed by anomalous13） findings. Much puzzling finally resulted in an answer： A particular measurement device had been adjusted incorrectly and was giving the wrong readings.

Experience can be a guide toward expecting the unexpected. The first time I sat down with the intention to write a book， I contacted authors in my field whom I greatly respected and asked for their advice. Many of them offered similar warnings， which I found extremely useful. Whatever project you are undertaking， seek the counsel of some hardy pathfinders who have gone up that trail before.

Quitters can be winners. Sometimes your guiding principle should be “better never than late14）.” It’s not my area of research， but I’ve been fascinated for decades by studies in economics， psychology， and related fields that seem to belie15） the aphorism16） “quitters never win and winners never quit.” As it turns out， however， some of the world’s most successful people—whether inventors， military strategists， politicians， or entrepreneurs—have learned that quitting can be the smart move.

When you find yourself continuously stymied17）， when problem after problem delays you， when you seem to have lost your enthusiasm for some venture， maybe you should just give up.

Dare to be early. I was born in a certain central European country famous for its mountains， cheese， and punctuality. I endure tremendous stress if I am running late to any event and am known for always arriving early—sometimes far too early. Nevertheless， I think earliness is as much a positive trait for an academic in the 21st century as it was for those adhering to the old English proverb “the early bird catcheth the worm.”

Finishing work early has the following benefits. First， you pleasantly surprise others. Deans， grant-program officers， and journal editors have smiled with favor upon my petitions or submissions because I was first in line. I have also gotten good feedback from people sometimes because they had the extra time to review my work. That can help internally as well. Get a task done early， and you can let it sit for a while and return to it with fresh eyes before the deadline. Finally， finishing something promptly creates more time for other important tasks， including finding some balance of work and family.

Procrastination is not a sin. Good things can indeed come late. But put off everything until the last minute， and you will perennially fall behind， disappoint others， and hurt your reputation. So learn when it’s OK to be late， and when you’re only hurting yourself.

1.perennially [p??reni?li] adv. 永久地

2.preordained [?pri???r?de?nd] adj. 注定的，天命的

3.within reason：在合理范圍內；合情合理地

4.master [?mɑ?st?（r）] adj. 總的

5.lay out：展示，陳列；清楚地表達

6.subject [?s?bd??kt] n. 實驗或研究的對象

7.impromptu [?m?pr?mptju?] adj. 臨時的；事先無準備的

8.porterhouse [?p??t?ha?s] n. 小酒店，餐館

9.factor in：將……因素包括進來，把……計算在內

10.ensue [?n?sju?] vi. 隨即發生，結果產生

11.feat [fi?t] n. 功績；業績；成就

12.red flag：危險信號