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本篇我們將帶大家選讀一篇來自「井外周刊」的英語文章，進(jìn)行一次有趣的英語練習(xí)。
《生產(chǎn)力的幻覺：我們?yōu)楹纬撩杂诿β担俊罚═he Illusion of Productivity: Why We Are Addicted to Busyness），文章探討了在現(xiàn)代生活中，我們?yōu)楹纬３１弧懊β怠彼约斑@種忙碌狀態(tài)如何影響我們的真實(shí)生產(chǎn)。
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Busyness and the Illusion of Being Productive
忙碌與富有成效的假象
In her book Daring Greatly, Dr Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, describes being “crazy busy” as a numbing strategy that allows us to avoid facing the truth of our lives. “I often say that when they start having 12-step meetings for busy-aholics, they’ll need to rent out football stadiums.”
She explains that we would rather fill the time with activities—any kind of activity—than to take the risk of finding ourselves alone with our thoughts. And our society encourages this behavior: being idle or having too much free time is often considered a sign of laziness.
Furthermore, being “crazy busy” both justifies and reinforces living on autopilot. Instead of stopping for a few minutes to ask ourselves why we’re doing something, we keep on mindlessly churning work that may or may not lead to a goal we actually care about. It’s also one of the only socially acceptable excuses to not do the things that matter. Taking time for yourself? Feeling irritated? Forgot to do something important for a friend? You can blame it on being too busy.
Being busy does not equal being productive. When I get distracted by email notifications or when I check social media in the middle of writing an article, the interruption may give me the illusion of being busy. It will take longer to write the article because I keep breaking my state of flow. I will feel like I have worked all afternoon on something, when in reality I just didn’t manage to focus enough to get it done quicker.
By feeling constantly busy, I also don’t leave room for pure creative thinking—instead, I’m filling my brain with external stimuli to give it something to do. As the study I mentioned earlier shows, it feels good. We like being busy. It’s reassuring. But it doesn’t mean it’s good for us.
參考譯文：
休斯頓大學(xué)的研究教授布雷內(nèi)-布朗博士在她的《大膽地去做》一書中將 「瘋狂地忙碌 」描述為一種讓我們避免面對(duì)生活的真相「鈍化策略」，「我常說，當(dāng)他們開始為 「忙碌狂 」開12步會(huì)議（一種治療成癮習(xí)慣的項(xiàng)目）時(shí)，他們需要把橄欖球場(chǎng)全都包了（才能坐得下）」。
她解釋說，我們寧愿用活動(dòng)--任何形式的活動(dòng)--來填充時(shí)間，也不愿冒險(xiǎn)獨(dú)自思考。我們的社會(huì)也鼓勵(lì)這種行為：無所事事或空閑時(shí)間過多往往被認(rèn)為是懶惰的表現(xiàn)。
此外，「忙得不可開交 」既證明了生活在「自動(dòng)駕駛」?fàn)顟B(tài)下是合理的，也強(qiáng)化了這種狀態(tài)。我們不會(huì)停下來幾分鐘問問自己為什么要做某件事情，而是繼續(xù)漫不經(jīng)心地工作，而這些工作不一定有助于實(shí)現(xiàn)我們真正關(guān)心的目標(biāo)。這也是社會(huì)上唯一可以接受的不做重要事情的借口之一。摸魚了？嫌煩了？忘了為朋友做一件重要的事？你都可以歸咎于「太忙了」。
忙碌并不等于高效。當(dāng)我在寫文章時(shí)被電子郵件通知分心或查看社交媒體時(shí)，這種干擾可能會(huì)給我造成忙的錯(cuò)覺。因?yàn)槲也粩啻蚱谱约旱摹感牧鳡顟B(tài)」，所以寫文章的時(shí)間會(huì)更長。我會(huì)覺得自己為某事忙活了一下午，而實(shí)際上，我只是沒有足夠?qū)Ｗⅲ圆挪荒芨斓赝瓿扇蝿?wù)。
如果我覺得自己一直很忙，就不會(huì)給純粹的創(chuàng)造性思維留下空間，相反，我會(huì)用外部刺激來充實(shí)大腦，讓它有事可做。正如我前面提到的研究表明，這種感覺很好。我們喜歡忙碌。這讓人安心。但這并不意味著這對(duì)我們有好處。
The Busyness Matrix
忙碌矩陣
Between work tasks and social commitments, it’s easy to spend your entire week running around without really knowing where the time has gone. To break free from busyness, I have created a simple tool you can use to conduct a busyness audit and see what’s keeping you so busy.
You’ll ideally need a full week of data, but if your routine doesn’t change too much throughout the week you could do this in just one day.
First, track your time and record what you spend it on. You can simply put everything you do in your calendar.
Then, place these tasks and activities in the following matrix, based on relevance and meaningfulness:
Relevance is based on how aligned the tasks and activities are with your current professional and personal commitments. Meaningfulness is based on how alive these tasks make you feel.
For instance, attending a boring networking event is relevant but probably not meaningful. An exciting work project or planning your next holiday is both relevant and meaningful. Taking an online course to learn how to speak Chinese may not be relevant to your current commitments, but may feel highly meaningful.
Attending meetings with no clear agenda or aimlessly browsing social media are neither relevant nor meaningful.
參考譯文：
你很容易整個(gè)星期都奔波在工作任務(wù)和社會(huì)責(zé)任之間，卻不知道時(shí)間都去哪兒了。為了從忙碌中解脫出來，我創(chuàng)建了一個(gè)簡單的工具，你可以用它來進(jìn)行「忙碌審計(jì)」，看看是什么讓你如此忙碌。
一般情況下，你需要一整周的數(shù)據(jù)，但如果你一周的作息時(shí)間變化不大，你只需一天就能完成這項(xiàng)工作。
首先，追蹤你的時(shí)間，記錄你把時(shí)間花在了什么地方。你可以簡單地將你所做的一切都記在日歷上。
然后，根據(jù)「相關(guān)性」和「意義性」，將這些任務(wù)和活動(dòng)放入下表中。
「相關(guān)性」取決于任務(wù)和活動(dòng)與你當(dāng)前的職業(yè)和個(gè)人追求是否一致（實(shí)用價(jià)值）。「意義性」取決于這些任務(wù)給你帶來的活力（情緒價(jià)值）。
例如，參加一個(gè)無聊的交流活動(dòng)的實(shí)用價(jià)值很高，但可能沒有情緒價(jià)值；令人興奮的工作項(xiàng)目或計(jì)劃下一次假期的實(shí)用價(jià)值和情緒價(jià)值都很高；學(xué)習(xí)如何說中文（外語）的在線課程可能與你當(dāng)前的工作無關(guān)，但你可能會(huì)對(duì)此非常有興趣；參加沒有明確議程的會(huì)議或漫無目的地瀏覽社交媒體既不相關(guān)也沒有意義。
Now, look at your Busyness Matrix, and look at each quadrant in this order：
-Irrelevant/Meaningless:
Can you reduce or get rid of any of these?
-Irrelevant/Meaningful:
Are you sure you don’t have too many going on at the same time?
-Relevant/Meaningless:
Can you delegate some of these?
-Relevant/Meaningful:
Do you have enough time and energy for these?
Once you’re done with the audit, you can make changes in your life and work to reclaim your time. However, don’t try to tackle the quadrants all at once. Start eliminating as many irrelevant/meaningless tasks, and work your way up to making space for relevant/meaningful ones.
參考譯文：
現(xiàn)在，看看你的「忙碌矩陣」，并按以下順序查看每個(gè)象限：
- 無關(guān)/無意義：你能減少或刪除其中任何一項(xiàng)嗎？
- 無關(guān)/有意義：你確定沒有同時(shí)進(jìn)行太多活動(dòng)嗎？
- 相關(guān)/無意義：你能將其中一些委托給別人嗎？
- 相關(guān)/有意義：你有足夠的時(shí)間和精力來做這些事情嗎？
完成審核后，你就可以改變生活和工作方式，收回時(shí)間。但是，不要試圖一次性解決所有象限的問題。從盡可能多地刪除「無關(guān)/無意義」的任務(wù)開始，逐步為「相關(guān)/有意義」的任務(wù)騰出空間。
Getting Off the Hamster Wheel 脫離倉鼠轉(zhuǎn)輪
Breaking our addiction to busyness doesn’t have to be hard, but it does require a conscious mindset shift. Having more free time is something we say we want, but it’s going against our deeply rooted fear of being alone with our thoughts and facing the reality of our lives. That’s why it can be liberating, but also pretty scary.
Here are some simple changes you can implement:
Change your perspective.First, stop saying “I don’t have time”. Instead, say “It’s not a priority.” Remind yourself that there is enough time in a day to do the things you care about.
Less doing,
more achieving.Don’t measure productivity in terms of how many tasks you get done, but rather in terms of doing the ones that matter. Clean up your to-do list. Shift your focus from tasks to outcomes.
參考譯文：
打破對(duì)忙碌的沉迷并不難，但這確實(shí)需要有意識(shí)地轉(zhuǎn)變心態(tài)。我們口口聲聲說想要「擁有更多的自由時(shí)間」，但這卻與我們根深蒂固的恐懼背道而馳：我們害怕獨(dú)自面對(duì)自己的想法，害怕面對(duì)生活的現(xiàn)實(shí)。這就是為什么更多時(shí)間與自由雖可以解放我們，但也相當(dāng)可怕。以下是一些你可以做出的簡單改變：
改變你的觀點(diǎn)。首先，不要再說「我沒有時(shí)間」，而是說 「這不是優(yōu)先事項(xiàng)」。提醒自己，每天有足夠的時(shí)間去做你關(guān)心的事情。
少做事，多成事。不要用完成了多少項(xiàng)任務(wù)來衡量工作效率，而要用完成了哪些重要任務(wù)來衡量。清理你的待辦事項(xiàng)清單。將注意力從任務(wù)轉(zhuǎn)移到結(jié)果上。
Start saying no.Don’t take stuff on just because someone asked you. Question whether this new task will translate into meaningful outcomes. It may be strange at first (you could say “not right now” instead of “no” if that’s easier) but it will help you better manage your time.
Make peace with inaction.To help you get comfortable with doing nothing, schedule time with yourself for dedicated downtime. Reflect or take a short walk.
Reclaiming your time to focus on what really matters can have a big impact on where you will be one year from now. All these moments we spend on irrelevant and meaningless tasks to avoid being alone with ourselves can be used for thinking, exciting work, or time spent with loved ones. It all adds up pretty quickly, so getting rid of the illusion of productivity is worth the initial discomfort of confronting our own thoughts.
Relevance is based on how aligned the tasks and activities are with your current professional and personal commitments. Meaningfulness is based on how alive these tasks make you feel.
For instance, attending a boring networking event is relevant but probably not meaningful. An exciting work project or planning your next holiday is both relevant and meaningful. Taking an online course to learn how to speak Chinese may not be relevant to your current commitments, but may feel highly meaningful. Attending meetings with no clear agenda or aimlessly browsing social media are neither relevant nor meaningful.
參考譯文：
開始說 「不」。不要因?yàn)閯e人請(qǐng)求就接受任務(wù)，先考量這項(xiàng)新任務(wù)是否能轉(zhuǎn)化為有意義的成果。一開始可能顯得很奇怪（你可以說 「現(xiàn)在不行」，而不是 「不干」，如果這樣更容易接受的話），但這會(huì)幫助你更好地管理時(shí)間。
與「無為」和平相處。請(qǐng)為自己安排專門的休息時(shí)間以幫助你適應(yīng)閑暇的生活。去思考或散散步吧。
重新掌控你的時(shí)間，專注于真正重要的事情，這會(huì)對(duì)你一年后的發(fā)展產(chǎn)生重大影響。我們?yōu)榱吮苊馀c自己獨(dú)處而花費(fèi)在無關(guān)緊要和毫無意義的任務(wù)上的時(shí)間，可以用來思考、從事令人興奮的工作，或者與所愛的人共度時(shí)光。這些時(shí)間很快就會(huì)累積起來，因此，擺脫對(duì)工作效率的幻想，值得我們?cè)诿鎸?duì)自己的想法時(shí)感到最初的不適。
生詞積累
1. Illusion
Contextual meaning:
a false idea or belief
Potential replacements:
delusion, misconception
Common phrases:
under the illusion, illusion of control
Sentence:
The illusion of productivity can lead to a cycle of mindless work and distractions.
2. Relevance
Contextual meaning:
the relation of something to the matter at hand
Potential replacements:
pertinence, applicability
Common phrases:
relevance to, lose relevance
Sentence:
The relevance of the tasks and activities is based on how aligned they are with your current professional and personal commitments.
3. Meaningfulness
Contextual meaning:
the state or quality of having purpose or significance
Potential replacements:
significance, import
Common phrases:
find meaningfulness, lack of meaningfulness
Sentence:
Meaningfulness is based on how alive these tasks make you feel.
4. Justification
Contextual meaning:
a reason or explanation given to justify a course of action
Potential replacements:
rationale, reason
Common phrases:
provide justification, seek justification
Sentence:
We tend to do whatever it takes and to use any justification to keep busy, even if the task is meaningless.
選擇題
1. In the passage, the word "numbing" in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to:
A) Stimulating.
B) Ignoring.
C) Desensitizing.
D) Encouraging.
2. The main purpose of the "Busyness Matrix" introduced in the second section is to help individuals:
A) Keep track of their daily schedule.
B) Analyze tasks to optimize time management based on relevance and meaningfulness.
C) Increase their workload for higher productivity.
D) Compare their busyness levels with others.
3. According to the passage, which of the following activities would be classified as both relevant and meaningful in the Busyness Matrix?
A) Attending a boring networking event.
B) Aimlessly browsing social media.
C) Working on an exciting work project.
D) Taking an online course unrelated to current commitments.
4. Regarding methods to "Get Off the Hamster Wheel," the author suggests that breaking the addiction to busyness:
A) Requires a complete lifestyle overhaul, which is very difficult.
B) Is impossible due to deep-rooted fears and cultural expectations.
C) Can be achieved through conscious mindset shifts and simple changes.
D) Involves filling free time with even more tasks.
評(píng)論區(qū)留言你的回答，獲取參考答案。
免費(fèi)訂閱《井外周刊》中英西三語版
每周二、周五更新
編輯：鹿非，愷宸
排版：知堯
諸位孤獨(dú)的閱讀者們，大家好。
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