外文翻譯---深度拖延癥的危險及克服辦法

1、<p>　　The Danger of Deep Procrastination And Overcoming it</p><p><b>　　Abstract</b></p><p>　　Our friend Leena once told me a sad story. It was about an old high school classmate

2、. This guy was a certified math whiz: he took college-level courses while still in high school, then, after arriving at Stanford, jumped into upper-level subjects and advanced research. Somewhere around his junior year,

3、however, his drive began to falter. As Leena recalls, his energy for math mysteriously faded away. He told her, at one point during this period, that he looked forward to surviving until graduatio</p><p>　　H

4、e wasn’t overworked: he could easily handle his classes. And he wasn’t lonely: he had plenty of friends. Something inside him just petered out.</p><p>　　Leena’s friend burnt out, and he’s not alone. An incre

5、asing number of students suffer from this mysterious affliction, which is marked by a sudden, unexpected drop in enthusiasm and academic performance in a once promising student.</p><p>　　In this article, I w

6、ant to talk about a common cause of burnouts — a cause I call deep procrastination — and provide some understanding for why it happens and how to prevent it.</p><p>　　1. The Danger of Deep Procrastination<

7、;/p><p>　　Deep procrastination is not the standard urge to goof off that afflicts every college student. It’s much more powerful. A student suffering from deep procrastination will delay important work to an ex

8、cessive degree. He won’t start studying until late the night before or will delay paper writing until the sun is about the rise. After a while, he might begin to chronically miss deadlines, and find himself constantly ne

9、gotiating with professors about extensions. Sometimes it gets so bad that he mis</p><p>　　I’ve advised numerous students suffering from deep procrastination of various levels of severity. In all cases, the c

10、auses were basically the same:</p><p>　　A major and/or post-graduation job aspiration that doesn’t match the student’s real interests, combined with a difficult (though not necessarily unmanageable) workload

11、. </p><p>　　Many students, of course, have difficult workloads. But when the hard work is motivated by a goal that’s misaligned with their real interests, students can develop resentment toward the work. The

12、y begin to see the effort required to keep up with their double major or crazy activity load as an intrusion from an outside entity — almost a literal attack on their happiness. Eventually a deep psychic aversion to the

13、work develops, and they find themselves mired in deep procrastination.</p><p>　　This might be what happened to Leena’s friend at Stanford. His entire life, he had been told that he was a math whiz. But at so

14、me point, he began to resent the work required to live up to other people’s expectations. Eventually, the resentment boiled over: he was through with math.</p><p>　　2.Overcoming procrastination: a practical

15、approach</p><p>　　While it is true that everyone procrastinates, it is not true that we all do it to the same extent. An occasional postponement of a task is not a major problem. There are those, however, fo

16、r whom procrastination has become a way of life, and in these cases it is serious indeed. If you think that you fall into the former category (the occasional procrastinator, that is) you should look closely to be sure th

17、at this is truly the case. The signs of procrastination are sometimes more subtle than we m</p><p>　　2.1Reasons for Procrastinating</p><p>　　Like many issues involving time management, procrasti

18、nation is a behavioral problem, and like all such problems it can, with sufficient motivation, be changed. In order to change a behavioral pattern, however, it is necessary to understand the reasons for that behavior. Yo

19、u don't procrastinate because you're a bad person, or because you're a bad librarian. There are any number of reasons why perfectly good librarians and information services managers procrastinate, and examini

20、ng those reasons, a</p><p>　　2.1.1Don't know where to start</p><p>　　If you think about it, the tasks which you tend to postpone will generally fall into two categories. The first of these i

21、s the fairly large or complex task. Such tasks are generally important in their outcome, which only adds to the pressure to do a good job, and yet their very complexity makes it difficult to know just where or how to beg

22、in. The result is that the task is put off until it simply has to be dealt with.</p><p>　　2.1.2An unpleasant task</p><p>　　The second category of task commonly postponed is that which is either

23、unpleasant to do, or which may have unpleasant consequences. This may be some aspect of your work that you simply don't enjoy (after all, we don't all like everything we do), or it may be something like a negativ

24、e job appraisal for an employee, for which you know there will be repercussions. Again, the task is put off until other pressures make it necessary for it to be tackled.</p><p>　　2.1.3Fear of failure</p&g

25、t;<p>　　On a bit more "psychological" note, there are those who put off tasks because they have a subconscious fear that they will not be able to perform them satisfactorily. Related to this are those wh

26、o hold themselves to the standard of perfection for all work they do. If they suspect that their work will be less than perfect they may be inclined to put it off.</p><p>　　2.1.4Excusing sub-standard perform

27、ance</p><p>　　At the opposite end of the spectrum are those who use procrastination (again, generally not on a conscious level) as a means of excusing work which they know is of poor quality. "I could h

28、ave done better if I'd had more time," is the general refrain of such people, though on closer examination it may be found that they didn't have time because they chose to procrastinate. Keep in mind, of cou

29、rse, that there are some projects which do come up as emergencies and for which you really don't have suf</p><p>　　2.1.5Starting too soon</p><p>　　As strange as it may seem, procrastination

30、sometimes results from starting a project too soon. If you begin work on a project before you have a good idea of what needs to be accomplished and how you are going to go about accomplishing it, the project may have to

31、come to a halt, or more commonly it won't really get under way to begin with. Similarly, if you begin before you have gathered all of the information that will be necessary to complete your work, you may find that yo

32、u must "temporarily" </p><p>　　2.1.6Negative delegation</p><p>　　While legitimate delegation can be a powerful tool in getting things done in a timely manner, there are those who seem

33、to have the idea that if they put something off long enough it will either not have to be done, or it will be done by someone else. Unfortunately this informal, negative delegation is often reinforced by co-workers who s

34、imply say, "Never mind," when the requested work is not completed, or worse yet, they do the work themselves. Such "kindness" on the part of others only insures </p><p>　　2.1.7Over-commit

35、ment</p><p>　　We all face times when we have simply committed to do more than is humanly possible. If this happens only occasionally it is not a serious problem, and the memory of it will hopefully prevent u

36、s from doing it again in the near future. There are those, however, who actually enjoy being over-committed. These are the people who suffer from what might be called the "frazzled librarian syndrome." They nev

37、er miss an opportunity to let people know how hard they're working, and it's important to them th</p><p>　　Lack of focus. There is a certain need for instant gratification in us all. Accordingly, the

38、re are times when we procrastinate simply because it is difficult for us to concentrate on a project, the benefits of which will not be realized until some time in the future.</p><p>　　2.2Overcoming Procrast

39、ination</p><p>　　There are many more reasons why people procrastinate. It is not necessary to describe all of them here, but it is important that you take the time to recognize which reasons apply most to yo

40、u or to your staff members. By doing so you will be able to select from the solutions that follow, the one or more that will best help you to overcome procrastination.</p><p>　　2.2.1Use the SWAP approach<

41、/p><p>　　There are very few large tasks which must be tackled as a single piece. If you analyze an overwhelming task that is currently facing you, you will probably find that it can broken down into a number of

42、 smaller, more manageable pieces. A logical order will emerge for completing each part, or you may have to impose such an order on the component parts. You can then SWAP - Start With A Part. And if you've listed the

43、various parts in writing - which is recommended - you can have the pleasure of cros</p><p>　　2.2.2The importance of deadlines</p><p>　　We tend to see deadlines as a cause of stress rather than a

44、s a solution. This is because they are often unrealistic, and they are often imposed by others. Actually, when you face a project for which no deadline has been established, you should establish one. This helps you to fo

45、cus on a project, and it helps you plan your time. Deadlines should not be set only for the completion of the project, but for the various steps along the way as well. Be sure, however, that your deadlines are realistic,

46、 </p><p>　　2.2.3 The power of priorities</p><p>　　When is procrastination not procrastination? When you have postponed low priority tasks in order to complete tasks of a higher priority. Not eve

47、rything we do has the same importance and we must recognize this and use it in setting priorities. We must also remember that priorities must constantly be re-evaluated and reordered as circumstances change. If you find

48、that the tasks you are postponing are consistently of low importance, don't worry. Sometimes, though, you may find that high priority it</p><p>　　2.2.4 Give yourself a reward</p><p>　　It may

49、 sound trivial, but it works. This doesn't mean that you should go out and buy yourself an expensive gift every tune you finish a major project (though if you can afford it, why not?). Your reward may be as simple as

50、 allowing yourself to work on a task that you particularly enjoy, only after you've completed a project that you've been putting off.</p><p>　　2.2.5 Tell someone else</p><p>　　If you hav

51、e a big project to work on, let someone else know about it, and let them know what your deadline is. It may be a co-worker, it may be a family member, it may be a friend. The fact is that while we often don't mind di

52、sappointing ourselves, we are far less likely to disappoint others. Thus, we have the incentive to work on the project, if for no other reason than that we would be embarrassed to have to admit to a friend, family member

53、 or co-worker, that we have failed.</p><p>　　2.2.6 Avoid momentum busters</p><p>　　It is imperative that you build - and maintain - momentum in working on a project. As Newton tells us, "A

54、body at rest tends to remain at rest, while a body in motion tends to remain in motion." Newton wasn't talking about procrastination, but he might have been. Surely the most important step in completing any proj

55、ect is to start it, by whatever means necessary. Once you've started, then you have to try to avoid things that will bring you to a halt again. The worst of these is interruptions. If</p><p>　　2.2.7 The

56、great myth</p><p>　　When it comes to ending procrastination, perhaps the most important step to be taken is to recognize that there is no truth to the belief that you - or anyone else for that matter - work

57、best under pressure. All procrastinators cite this as part of their creed. They insist that the pressure of a looming deadline helps them to focus their attention, makes them more alert, allows them to perform better, an

58、d gives better results in the end. At its best this is simply wishful thinking, and at its wo</p><p>　　This may seem like an overwhelming list of possible solutions to the problem of procrastination. If you

59、want to do something about procrastination, however, the one thing you can't do is to put it off. Keep in mind that like any other overwhelming project, the project of overcoming procrastination should be broken down

60、 into manageable pieces in order to enable you to SWAP. As stated earlier, behavioral change is necessary in order to break the habit of procrastination. Breaking habits requires t</p><p>　　The surest route

61、to failure is to look at this list of solutions and attempt to put them all into effect at once. Select a single solution which seems to have the greatest impact on your specific pattern of procrastination behavior, and

62、begin to put that into effect immediately. Recognize that it will take some time before these new behaviors become ingrained in your regular work process. Once they have, however, you can add additional solutions and cha

63、nge additional behaviors, always being care</p><p>　　Of course, any solution that you choose to pursue requires that you recognize that what you are dealing with is a serious problem and one that merits a so

64、lution. Procrastination isn't harmless, and it isn't something that affects only you. True, you are the person working under pressure - unnecessary pressure generally - but others are affected as well. Co-workers

65、 have to take up the slack while you work to complete a project on an "emergency" basis. Clients and users of the library may suffer b</p><p>　　深度拖延癥的危險及克服辦法</p><p><b>　　摘要</b

66、></p><p>　　我的朋友Leena曾經(jīng)給我講過一個關于她高中同學的很可悲的故事。此人是一個公認的數(shù)學奇才。他高中的時候就修完了大學的課程，進了斯坦福以后，直接進修高級課程，并進行研究。然而，大二的時候，他的腳步忽然停滯了。Leena回憶說，忽然他的數(shù)學天分神秘的消失了。他告訴Leena，就從某一天開始，他只期盼著趕快熬到畢業(yè)，這樣他就能找一份銀行的工作賺錢了。</p><p>

67、;　　這并不是因為他工作過度——他應付功課輕松自如；也不是因為孤單——他有很多朋友。是他心里有些東西在蛻化。</p><p>　　像Leena的朋友這樣忽然對某件事情失去興趣的情況并不少見。不斷有學生經(jīng)歷這種苦惱——一個本來被認為很有前途的學生，忽然間對學業(yè)失去了熱情，成績大大下降。</p><p>　　在這篇文章中，我想要討論的就是中途失去興趣的一種常見原因——我稱之為深度拖延癥；我會解

68、釋一下這種癥狀癥產生的原因以及避免措施。</p><p>　　一、深度拖延癥的危險</p><p>　　深度拖延癥并不是每個大學生都會經(jīng)歷的那種想要逃避任務的惱人感覺。它要更為強大。一個受深度拖延癥折磨的學生會把一個重要的工作拖到很緊迫的程度。他非得拖到深夜才愿意學習，天快亮了才開始寫論文……不久，他開始錯過最后期限，不停地跟老師要求再拖延些時間。有時候，他甚至錯過了延長之后的期限，情況就

69、很糟糕了：有可能會完不成任務，考試過不了。但是無論任務有多緊急，開始工作都成了不可能跨越的任務。</p><p>　　我曾經(jīng)輔導過許多遭受不同程度拖延癥折磨的學生。在所有的案例中，起因都是基本相同的：所學專業(yè)或是就業(yè)前景和真正的興趣不符，而工作量偏偏很大（其實也沒有到無法駕馭的程度）。</p><p>　　當然，許多學生都會有很重的工作量。但是，當這個工作通向的目標和學生真正的興趣不相符時

70、，他們就會出現(xiàn)對工作的惱恨。他們開始把雙學位的功課或者繁重的勞動看作外界的侵犯，是對他們幸福生活的侵犯。最終，一種對工作深深的厭惡感在心里形成了，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己患上了深度拖延癥。</p><p>　　這可能正是Leena的朋友在斯坦福時遇到的問題。他一直都被人當做數(shù)學天才，但是有些時候，他開始厭惡自己要做那些工作才能達到別人的期望。這個憤怒最終爆發(fā)，就是他徹底放棄數(shù)學了。</p><p>　

71、　二、克服拖延的實用方法</p><p>　　事實上每個人都會拖延，只是程度不同罷了。偶然推遲一個任務沒什么大礙。然而，對有些人來說拖延成了一種生活方式，這樣一來問題就真的嚴重了。如果你自認為屬于偶然拖延那一類的，那么你有必要捫心自問一下——真是如此嗎？拖延癥的前兆有時候比我們預期的更加微妙。比如說，你是否發(fā)現(xiàn)自己經(jīng)常在信件的開頭寫下這樣的話：“真對不起這么久才給你回信”或者“很抱歉拖了很久才回復”？這可能就是你

72、已經(jīng)習慣了拖延的信號。類似地，一大堆尚未開始或半途而廢的計劃也是一個不好的征兆。如果你堅持為了開始一個主要計劃而清理掉所有微不足道的計劃，那么你實際上已經(jīng)因陷入瑣事而拖延卻不自覺。甚至在工作中遇到問題而中斷可能實際上是一個消極拖延的跡象，如果借口這個而推遲必要的計劃的話。分析到最后，更能證明拖延是個嚴重的問題就是，你經(jīng)常發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在工作在壓力下以完成一個你已經(jīng)了解了一段時間的計劃。</p><p>　　2.1拖延的

73、原因 像時間管理等很多問題一樣，拖延是個行為方面的問題，并且有足夠的動因時也是可以改變的。但是要改變一個行為模式，就有必要了解一下那個行為的原因。一個人總是拖延不是因為他本質上糟糕透頂。很好的圖書館和信息服務管理員也因為各種原因而拖延，找出這些原因并搞清楚哪些適用于你（或適用于你所管理的員工），這是避免繼續(xù)拖延的第一步。</p><p>　　2.1.1不知道從哪兒開始 如果你仔細思考一下，就能把待

74、完成的任務分成兩類。第一類是相當艱巨和復雜的任務。這類任務通常很重要，這給做好工作帶來了一些壓力，但是這些任務復雜得使人不知從哪開始或怎么開始。結果就是任務被拖到不能再拖為止。</p><p>　　2.1.2一個煩人的任務 第二類經(jīng)常被拖延的任務是那些做起來很不爽的或者可以產生不愉快的結果的任務。這可能是你不能盡情投入工作的某些方面的原因（畢竟我們不會喜歡我們做的每件事情），或者這也可能是對職員的某種負面

75、評價，因為這個會有所反彈。而且，任務被推遲到其它方面的壓力使它必須被處理。</p><p>　　2.1.3害怕失敗 從心理學上說，喜歡拖延的人是因為他們潛意識里擔心不能使任務做得令人滿意。這樣的人對他們的所有工作都要求完美。如果他們覺得某個工作沒辦法做得那么完美就會傾向于推遲這個任務。</p><p>　　2.1.4差勁表現(xiàn)的借口 有些人不自覺地反而用拖延作為糟糕的工作表現(xiàn)

76、的托辭。這樣的人經(jīng)常有這樣的抱怨：“如果我有更多點時間的話我會做得更好”，盡管用心反省一下就會發(fā)現(xiàn)他們沒有足夠的時間恰恰是因為他們選擇了拖延。當然了，有一些緊急事務的確是沒有足夠時間來處理，所以這也不總是拖延癥的征兆。</p><p>　　2.1.5開始得太倉促 很奇怪，有時候拖延是因為計劃開始得太倉促。如果你在著手一個計劃時對于具體要做些什么和怎么去完成都沒有一個成熟的想法的話，那計劃多半會停滯不前或者

77、干脆不能真正開始進行運作。類似地，如果你的計劃在收集到所有必備資料之前就開始，那你可能會發(fā)現(xiàn)你必須臨時中止這項計劃，而且你會很難再次啟動這項計劃。</p><p>　　2.1.6責任不明確 責任明確的委托能促使諸多事情適時完成，很多人好像總想著如果他們把事情拖得足夠久就可以不須要再做或者會被其他人搞定。不幸的是，在這種非正規(guī)的、責任不明的委托相應的工作沒有完成或搞砸的時候，委拖者總是說“沒關系”，然后他們就

78、只好自己搞定了。這種“善意”只會使這種情形持續(xù)下去。</p><p>　　2.1.7任務過重 我們都經(jīng)歷過面對一堆人類不可完成的任務的情況。如果這只是很偶然發(fā)生的事倒也沒什么大不了，只要記得下次不要再做同樣的蠢事就行了。然而，有些人卻喜歡任務過重的感覺。這些人得了所謂的“疲憊圖書管理員綜合癥”。他們不放過任何一個向他人展示自己工作如何努力的機會，而且很重要的是他們看來來好像很苦惱。對這樣的人來說拖延是一種

79、生活方式，因為這使他們看起來總是很忙，雖然他們總是在做那些早就應該完成了的項目。事實上，他們有時用更多的時間來保持一個很忙的表象而不是完成實際的工作。</p><p>　　很難專注。毫無疑問，我們都需要即時的滿足感。相應地， 我們多次拖延只是因為一旦做一件工作要很久以后才能有現(xiàn)實的好處，這樣就很難集中精神到這件工作上。2.2克服拖延 人們拖延的原因有很多，沒有必要在這全部列舉出來。但是花一些時間找出那

80、些切實符合你自己或者你的員工的原因還是相當重要的。通過這么做你能夠在下面提到的解決辦法中選擇出對克服你的拖延癥的最佳方法。</p><p>　　2.2.1使用分而治之的辦法 很少有很大的任務必須整個完成的。如果你分析一下你當前的一個緊迫的任務，你也許可以把它分解成幾個較小的并且易于執(zhí)行的部分。這些部分會有一個邏輯上的完成順序，你 可以把這個順序加到各個組成部分上。然后從第一部分開始個個擊破。如果你把各個部

81、分列成一個表單的話，你在一步步的工作中劃掉它們的時候會很開心的，而且這表示你在實際上每完成一部分就離完成整個任務更近了一步。</p><p>　　2.2.2截止期限很重要 我們總把期限當作壓力而不是動力。這是 因為期限不是看得見摸得著的實體，而且它總是被其他人施加的。實際上，當你面對一個沒有期限的項目時，你應該自己制定一個期限。這會幫助你集中全力在一個項目上，而且還能幫你計劃一下時間。不僅要設置完成項目的

82、截止期限，而且要在每個不同步驟上都設置完成期限。這樣一來，確保你的截止期限實體化之后，你僅僅增加了一些可以因此而很快一步步減輕的壓力。</p><p>　　2.2.3事分輕重緩急 當你為了完成一些高優(yōu)先級的任務而推遲了一些低優(yōu)先級的任務時，這就不算是拖延了。我們做的每件事不是都同等重要的，我們必須認識到這一點并且用以設置任務的優(yōu)先級。我們也必須時刻記得隨著情況的變化而修改更新優(yōu)先級設置。如果你推遲的都是些

83、不太重要的事情，那就不用擔心。當一心想安排些舒服些的事務做時，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)高優(yōu)先級的事務正好是你想要避開的很棘手的那些事務。在這種情況下你可以按下面的建議做。</p><p>　　2.2.4給自己一個獎勵 這看起來毫不起眼，但卻真的有用。這不是說要在每次完成主要任務后給自己買很昂貴的禮物。獎勵可以很簡單，比如只要完成了一個你推遲了許久的計劃就讓自己隨后做你特別喜歡做的任務。</p><p&

84、gt;　　2.2.5告訴其他人 如果你有個大計劃要啟動，讓別人知道并了解它的最后期限。這個人可以是同事、家人或者朋友。實際上雖然我們不介意經(jīng)常使自己失望，但卻不愿讓別人失望。這樣一來，我們就有了工作的動力，就是因為我們不想將來在朋友、家人或同事面前承認自己的失敗。</p><p>　　2.2.6防止喪失動力 在計劃中建立和保持動力是必需的。就像牛頓說的那樣，“靜止的物體將會一直保持靜止，運動的物體

85、能保持運動狀態(tài)?！迸ｎD并不是在說拖延癥，但是他可能有類似的說法。無疑完成任何計劃的最重要一步是開始，這無論如何都是必需的。一旦你開始了，就不得不努力避免使你再次停下的事情。最嚴重的事情就是半途中止。要盡一切可能避免。如果不可能做到，至少區(qū)別對待正常工作因素的中斷和社交原因的中斷。要完全避免后者?？梢愿嬖V你的朋友你因為一項重要的工作而沒空聊天。一旦你不能避免中斷時，要確保在處理完那些事情后盡快返回到工作中。因為最重要的計劃不可能一次完成，

86、要保證在完成一個階段后再停下來，不要在面對一個難題的時候停下來，因為下次繼續(xù)工作時你會更加不想面對同樣的難題。停在一個明確的地方且能在下次合理地開始。事實上，如果你能給自己寫個備忘便條，對下次再開始工作會很有用。</p><p>　　2.2.7虛構的假象 當要終結拖延的時候，可能最重要的一步就是要認識到任何人都不可能在壓力下工作得最好。所有愛拖拉的人卻把這當成信條。他們堅持認為一個逼近的期限幫他們更好地集

87、中精神，讓他們更警醒，使他們表現(xiàn)得更好并且最后有個不錯的結果。這不過是簡單的一廂情愿的想法，這種思維方法是相當有害的，尤其是把消極的應對方法說成是積極的。在壓力下沒有人能做到最好。在緊迫的最終期限逼近的時候工作的人只能利用最容易獲得的資料，甚至可能用的不是最新和最準確的資料。他們沒時間好好準備、檢查和分析最終的計劃。最糟的是他們沒時間想一下墨菲定律是怎么說的——凡事只要有可能出錯，那就一定會出錯。由此我們還能得出一個推論：事情偏偏會在最

88、不合時宜的時候出錯。電腦可能會當機，打印機可能壞掉，文件可能找不到，還可能大病一場（某些時候肯定是因為壓力太大）。只要邏輯清楚地想想就能明白這不是做事的最佳方式。那些認為在這種情況下能做到最好的人只是在自欺欺人，這只能使虛幻的假象一直持續(xù)下去。越快克服這種心態(tài)，就能越早擺脫拖延癥的羈絆。 以上這個拖延癥解決方案列表看起來像是無從下手的。但其實如果你真想在擺脫拖延癥上做</p><p>　　當然，選擇上面任

89、何的拖延癥解決方案就得認識到實施它也是個挑戰(zhàn)性的問題，也需要相應的實施方案。拖延有害，并且不只影響你自身。真的，你在不必要的壓力下工作時，其他人也會受到影響的。當你要完成一個緊急項目時，你的共事者不得不占用休息時間來幫你?？蛻粢矔驗槟悴荒芴峁└哔|量的服務而不爽。更嚴重的是，你的上級機構會因為你的工作不像在足夠時間下做得那么好而遭受損失。而且，要知道拖延是個惡性循環(huán)。它迫使你拖延其它任務直到你完成了你已經(jīng)拖了很久的另一個任務。它讓你不能