雙語 ● How to Defeat Burnout and Stay Motivated　戰(zhàn)勝倦怠，保持活力

How to Defeat Burnout and Stay Motivated　戰(zhàn)勝倦怠，保持活力

◎ Jeffrey Tang

“Do what you love.” We’ve all heard this advice before. It’s great advice, though not many people truly take it to heart.

“做你喜歡做的事?！蔽覀兌荚犨^這個建議。這是一個絕佳的建議，雖然沒有很多人真的把它放在心上。

But sometimes doing what you love isn’t enough to keep you going. Inspiration, passion, and motivation are difficult things to hold on to. They always seem to slip away right when you need them most.

不過，有時即使是做你愛做的事情，也不足以讓你一直保持熱情。靈感、熱情和動力是那種難以堅持的東西。它們似乎經常在你最需要的時候溜之大吉。

You know that feeling. Where you’re that close to finishing a project, or achieving a goal, or crossing a task off your to-do list ... but you just can’t muster the energy. You’ve lost interest. You’re exhausted. Drained. And you don’t know why.

你很清楚那種感覺。在幾乎完成一個項目，或接近一個目標，或將一項任務從你的待辦清單拿下……但你就是無法集中精力。你已經失去了興趣，精疲力竭了。而你不知道這是為什么。

That’s burnout. It’s something many of us are all too familiar with. I’d like to share with you a few ways that I fight burnout — or prevent it from catching me in the first place.

這就是倦怠。大多數人都太熟悉了。我很樂于與你們分享一些我戰(zhàn)勝倦怠的方法——或者說，防止它從一開始就發(fā)作的方法。

1. Achieve in increments

1．完成微小的疊加

When you only focus on a big goal someday, it’s easy to get burned out by the daily grind. It’s like driving toward a mountain in the distance. You can drive for hours, but the mountain doesn’t seem to get any closer. And spinning your wheels gets real tiring real fast.

當你只專注于一個大目標的時候，你很容易就被每日瑣碎之事磨得精疲力竭。這就像開著車朝遠方的山前進一樣。你可能開幾個小時了，但那座山看起來一點都沒有靠近。你的輪子一直不停地轉啊轉，當然很快你就累了。

The solution is to give yourself a way to measure and record every little step forward you take. Here’s how:

解決方法是，用一種方式來測量和記錄前進道路上的每個小小的一步。下面是建議：

Get a journal, notebook, or calendar. Writing things down is important.

拿起一本日記、筆記本或日歷，把重要的事情寫下來。

Identify milestones on the road towards your goal.

找出朝向你目標前進道路上的里程碑。

If milestones aren’t obvious, create them.

如果里程碑不是很明顯，創(chuàng)建它們。

Track milestones in a simple, visual format.

以一種簡單的、可視的方式來跟蹤你的里程碑。

2. Train your muse

2．訓練你的靈感

One of the biggest myths about inspiration that it’s random. One day you’re inspired and motivated, the next day you’re burned out—and there’s no way around it. Or so they say.

靈感是不可捉摸的，這是一個最大的謊言。前一天你還充滿靈感和活力，第二天你就開始精疲力竭——而且別無他法。這就是他們所說的。

In fact, inspiration is just like any other skill. It may start out as unreliable, but it can be trained and developed into something you can rely on.

實際上，靈感和其他的技能一樣。在一開始，它可能不那么可靠，但是它可以培養(yǎng)訓練，發(fā)展成為可被信任、被依賴的能力。

So how do you train your muse? The best way I’ve found is immersion. Surround yourself with things that inspire you and reflect your goals. Immersion trains your mind to work efficiently in the ways you need it to.

如何訓練你的靈感？我所找到的最佳方式就是，沉浸到你的目標中去。緊緊圍繞著你自己的東西，那些能激勵你和反映出你的目標的事物。沉浸到你的目標中去，調整你的思想，讓它以你期待的方式，變得高效。

The more that your inspiration becomes a part of your life, the less likely it is to run out when you need it most. With that in mind, be creative. What ways can you connect with your inspiration on a daily basis?

當你的靈感越是融入你的生活，成為你人生的一部分，它就越不會在你需要的時候溜掉。頭腦里有了它，就會變得更有創(chuàng)意，記住這一點。究竟什么方式能讓你每天都與靈感接通？

3. Work less

3．少工作

Cut down on the amount of energy and time you spend working. If you have sick days or vacation days left, take advantage of them. Or, if you’re self-employed, force yourself to work fewer hours each day—even if that means turning down new projects.

砍掉那些你花在工作上的時間與精力。如果你病了，或你有工假，利用它們?；蛘撸绻闶莻€自由職業(yè)者，每天強迫自己少幾個小時去工作——即使這意味著你拒絕了新項目。

Working less doesn’t mean you have to slack off or get less done. It does mean that you:

工作得少，并不表示你變得懶惰或完成得少。它的意思是讓你：

Eliminate unnecessary tasks.

排除不必要的任務。

Take strategic breaks.

獲得關鍵性的進展。

Stop multi-tasking.

停止同時多任務的方式。

Seek help from other people.

從別人那里獲得幫助。

4. Define success realistically

4．給成功下明確的定義

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having big dreams and big ambitions. But if you’re constantly frustrated by a lack of progress, it might be time to take a step back and examine your goals. Are they achievable? Are you holding yourself to a reasonable timeline?

擁有一個大大的夢想和抱負，這沒有任何問題。不過如果你經常為缺少進展而感到沮喪，那么可能是時候退一步，檢查一下你的目標了。它們都達到了么？你是否一直堅持一個合理的時間表？

Here’s a good way to do this. Get a piece of paper and write down your big, ambitious goal. Then write down at least 10 specific, concrete steps that will allow you to achieve that goal. Be as detailed as possible. If you can’t come up with a series of down-to-earth steps to get you from here to your dream, that’s a sign that you need to either redefine your goals or rethink the way you’re pursuing those goals.

這里有一個好方法。拿起一張紙，寫下你的大夢想和抱負。然后寫下至少十個特定的、具體的、能讓你達到目標的步驟，越詳細越好。如果你不能找出一系列腳踏實地的步驟讓你從這里到達你的夢想，這就表明你需要去重新調整你的目標，或反思你追求這些目標的方式。

5. Get more sleep

5．睡多一點

You’ve heard this before, I know. So have I. But that didn’t stop me from going against my better judgment and tiring myself out by staying up late to work. Getting enough sleep takes a conscious decision — and, just like any good habit, takes time to develop.

我知道你聽說過這個，我也是。不過這沒能阻止我違背自己正確的判斷，還是每晚熬夜，令自己疲憊。充足的睡眠，能讓人作出清晰的決定——但睡眠也和其他好習慣一樣，需要時間來培養(yǎng)。

One of the biggest barriers for me in this area is procrastination. I have a tendency to put things off throughout the day, then stay up later as a result. What’s keeping you from getting the rest you need?

我在這里遇到的最大阻礙就是拖延癥。我喜歡將事情一整天拖著，然后熬夜到很晚。那么，是什么阻止你去休息？

6. Take it slow(er)

6．慢慢來

The world tells us to rush things: “Get there faster. Make money quicker. Retire sooner.” And while these things aren’t necessarily bad, they can easily get us in over our heads. If you’re feeling burned out and overwhelmed, it’s time to slow down.

世界告訴我們要匆匆忙忙做事：“變得更快。賺更多錢。更早退休?！彪m然這些東西并不一定是壞事，但是它們讓我們更容易沖昏頭腦。如果你開始感到倦怠，不知所措，那么是時候放慢腳步了。

A few ways to take yourself out of 24/7 high gear:

這里是讓你擺脫一個星期24小時高負荷工作的方法：

Spend at least 10 minutes a day in a quiet place, away from distractions. Breathe.

每天至少花十分鐘待在一個安靜的地方，遠離那些煩人的事。深呼吸。

Put together a playlist of slow, relaxing music. Listen to it whenever you start feeling frazzled.

將那些緩慢的輕音樂放進同一個播放列表里。當你感到勞累的時候，就開始聽它們。

Take a butcher knife to your to-do list. Set a limit to the number of tasks you take on each day and stick to it.

干凈利落地砍掉你的待辦清單。在你每天必須要做的事情上設定一個限度，然后堅持下去。

Extend your deadlines. Do you absolutely, positively have to get this done now? Just remember—this isn’t an excuse to procrastinate.

放寬你的期限。你是不是絕對要在這個時候把它完成？不過要記住，這不是拖延的借口。

7. Get a second opinion

7．傾聽不同的聲音

It’s hard to spot burnout from the inside. Your close friends and family are likely to identify the signs of burnout long before you do. So listen to what they’re saying. The next time your spouse, parent, or best friend tells you that you’re working too hard, take it seriously.

我們很難發(fā)現自己陷入了倦怠狀態(tài)。你的好朋友和家人會比你更早發(fā)覺倦怠跡象。所以，聽聽他們怎么說。下一次你的愛人、父母、或你最好的朋友告訴你，你工作太過繁忙，要認真對待它。

8. Set clear boundaries

8．設定明晰的分界線

Burnout happens when we allow work to overflow its boundaries and interfere with every other part of our lives. So set strong boundaries. The clearer the better. In writing, if possible.

當我們讓工作超出了其必要的限度，并讓它滲透到我們生活中的每一個方面的時候，倦怠就會發(fā)生。因此要設立一個強力的分界線，越清晰越好。盡量把它寫下來。

For example, instead of saying: “I’ll spend at three hours every night with my family,” make it clearer: “I won’t work after 8 o’clock. That’s 100% family time.” Clear boundaries are easier to stick to and harder to rationalize away.

舉例來說，與其這樣說：“我每晚將與家人共處3個小時?！钡共蝗缱屵@句話更明了：“晚上8點之后，我將不再工作。之后的時間100%是家庭時光。”劃清界限讓你更容易堅持，而且也更合理。

9. When you’re working, focus

9．當你工作時，專注

I’ve found that concentrating on work is actually less exhausting than allowing yourself to be wishy-washy about it. When you decide that it’s time to work, buckle down, eliminate distractions, and do it wholeheartedly. There’s something amazingly refreshing about pure, sharp focus.

我發(fā)現，專注于工作確實是比讓自己在工作時搖擺不定，更不容易疲勞。當你決定是時候工作了，就全力以赴，消除所有的干擾，全心全意去做它。你就會驚訝地發(fā)現，單純、犀利的注意力，擁有著神奇的恢復力。

10. Create outlets

10．創(chuàng)造出口

If you’re a person of diverse interests (and really, who isn’t?), it’s likely that you have several very different goals and ideas bouncing around in your head at any given time. These ideas need outlets. If you hold them inside, they’ll eventually start interfering with your focus and creating unnecessary frustration, leading to burnout.

如果你是一個興趣愛好廣泛的人（當然，又有幾個人不是呢？），那么很可能在每個特定的時候，你都有幾個截然不同的目標和想法，在你的腦袋里面不停地蹦來蹦去。這些想法都需要出口。如果你一直保留著它們，它們最終會干擾你的注意力，造成不必要的困擾，讓你心力交瘁。

11. Know when to power through it

11．知道什么時候撐下去

This is going to sound out of place given what I’ve said above, but it’s powerful— if applied correctly. Sometimes the solution for burnout is just to power through it. Sometimes burnout can be an illusion. In these cases, the best choice is to refuse to use burnout as an excuse, ignore the fact that you feel burned out, and just work through it. It’s like a runner gaining her second wind and coming out stronger on the other side.

這個建議與我上面所說的相違背，但這個方法很強大——如果能夠正確運用。有時候，要解決倦怠，就是要依靠“撐”下去的力量。有時候，倦怠可能是一個幻覺。在這種情況下，最好的選擇就是不要將怠惰視為借口，忽略倦怠這個事實，而是不斷地工作下去。這個過程，就像一個跑步的人，在經歷最初的疲勞之后，恢復了精力，反而使他的力量得到了增強。

12. Never accept defeat

12．永遠不接受戰(zhàn)敗

Burnout is an obstacle like any other. It can hold you back for a while, but it’s not the end of the world — unless you let it defeat you.

倦怠，與別的障礙一樣。它可以阻撓你一時，但它不能阻撓你一世——除非你讓它擊敗。

If you have a great goal in mind, don’t give up on it, no matter how apathetic, exhausted, or frustrated you might feel. If everything I’ve said up until this point fails, do this: hold on to your dream—even if it doesn’t feel like much of a dream at the moment. Hold on to it anyway. That way, when the storm clears, your dream will still be intact, ready for another try.

如果你心里有一個大大的目標，不要放棄，不管你感到別人多么冷淡、你自己多么疲憊或灰心。即使我在這里所談論的每一點都錯了，你也要這么做：守住你的夢想——即便它此時此刻并沒有那么美妙。不管怎樣，都要抓住它。這樣，當風暴轉晴，你的夢想仍然完美無缺，準備再次上路吧！

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