英语文化随身带

by Cathy Manson

You really should finish compiling[编辑] that boring spreadsheet[电子数据表]， but you just cant bring yourself to do it. Maybe it can wait a little longer？ Or it might just disappear if you ignore it long enough？ You know the feeling.

According to Professor Piers Steel， of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary， 95% of people postpone important tasks at some point. But for some， procrastination isnt occasional， but incessant[不断的] and disruptive[破坏性的]. Professor Joseph Ferrari， of DePaul University Chicago， found that 20% of the population of the world are chronic[慢性的] procrastinators. Sadly， delaying our duties isnt very good for us： task-avoiders are less happy， less healthy and less wealthy than people who tackle tasks immediately.

We like to tell ourselves that we work better under pressure， when a deadline is looming. But the truth is that working at the last minute is counterproductive： we make more mistakes； our behaviour annoys[使烦恼，骚扰] other people and we end up feeling guilty and ashamed. Worse still， we risk wasting a significant portion[一部分] of our life putting off tasks that will only come back to haunt[常在脑中出现] us later. As the poet Edward Young wrote： “Procrastination is the thief of time”.

Piers Steel gives us some advice to help us confront important tasks. He suggests breaking it into smaller chunks[大块] and taking baby steps until the task at hand has been completed. Or you could give a friend ￡50 and tell them that if you dont go through with it， they can give it away to a cause[事业] or a political party you dislike[讨厌].

Those who are highly-organised and efficient wont need to take heed of this advice. For everyone else： will you start following these tips and confront those urgent tasks that await you today？ Or will you stop procrastinating tomorrow… or perhaps the day after？

你真的应该完成那张枯燥的电子表格了，但你就是没法下决心开始去做。也许这事儿能再延缓一会儿？或者如果你对它置之不理，这事儿就不了了之了。你知道这种感觉。

根据卡尔加里大学哈斯凯因商学院的皮尔斯·斯蒂尔教授的说法，百分之九十五的人在某些情况下将重要的任务推迟。然而对一些人来说，拖延并非偶尔为之，而是持续不断且具有破坏性的。芝加哥德保尔大学的约瑟夫·法拉利教授发现世界上百分之二十的人拖延成性。可悲的是，推迟我们的责任对我们并不利——比起及时解决任务的人，任务逃避者们不那么开心和健康，而且也更穷一些。

当最终期限迫近时，我们喜欢告诉自己在压力下我们能工作得更好。但是事实上在最后一分钟工作只能起反作用：我们犯更多错误；我们的行为干扰了其他人，最后我们自己会感到内疚和羞愧。更糟糕的是，我们可能会浪费掉生命中重要的一部分时间在推迟任务上，最终只会让我们时常受此困扰，正如诗人爱德华·杨写道：“拖延为时间之贼”。

皮尔斯·斯蒂尔给了我们一些建议，有助于我们正视重要的任务。他建议将整个任务分割成更小的各个部分，然后一步步做，直到完成手头的任务。或者你可以给一个朋友50英镑，告诉他们如果你没坚持过来，他们可以将这钱赠给一项事业或你不喜欢的一个政党。

那些做事条理清晰和高效的人就不需要留意这条建议了，（而）对其他每一个人：你今天会开始听从这些提点并正视那些等着你处理的紧急任务吗？或者你明天会停止拖延吗……或许还是要等到后天呢？

Quiz小测验

选择恰当的答案填入句子的空格处。

1. We had to _____________ the picnic until the following day because it was pouring down with rain！

A. take heed of B. postpone C. procrastinate D. tackle

2. I wish youd stop ______________ and just call Jonathan. You cant ignore him forever， you know！

A. putting off B. working C.confronting D. procrastinating

3. It might seem like a huge task， but just _______________ and youll get there eventually.

A. have a baby B. take baby steps C. take a baby D.take children steps

4. Anna thought about selling the house， but in the end she couldnt _______________. She loves it there.

A. complete the spreadsheet B. go through with it

C. take heed D. haunt it

5. My brother-in-law is _______________ and likes to follow a strict schedule， even when hes on holiday.

A. highly-organised B. procrastinate

C. counterproductive D. a chronic procrastinator