1. Build up your energy. 充满热情 

Highly productive people seem to be brimming with enthusiasm, but that doesn't come naturally to everyone. To help you get your energy levels up, take a moment every morning to write down your purpose, or the why behind your current pursuit. It serves as an excellent reminder as to why you're giving your work your all and can function as its own source of motivation. 

2. Control your calendar. 让自己的时间更可控 

While working in an environment where everyone can view your Google or Outlook calendar can be convenient, it can also set you up for problems if you don't take control of your time. Others may view empty spaces as opportunities to schedule meetings, even if you intended to use the time for other tasks.

3. Create a mini crisis. 适度的压力有助成长  

Some people thrive under pressure, allowing them to accomplish more than they originally thought possible in the time frame. You can recreate that sensation by blocking out less time than you actually think you need. Often, you'll find your focus improves when you begin working and ultimately finish on time.

4. Ditch your smartphone notifications. 关闭智能手机提示功能

While completely shutting down your smartphone isn't always practical, managing your notifications is. Frequent pop-ups are distracting and almost guaranteed to pull your attention away from the task at hand.

5. Schedule email time. 合理安排处理电邮的时间

Email notifications are another notorious concentration-breaker, so giving in to every alert is guaranteed to make a heads-down task a challenge. Don't let email take over your day. Instead, schedule time at the beginning and at the end of the day specifically for email. Then, unless something especially critical is coming in, feel free to ignore it the rest of the time.

6. Put time-suck websites in time out. 避免被占用太多时间的网站分心

If you find yourself losing time to sites that aren't essential for work (and use a Mac), consider blacklisting them for periods using the SelfControl app. Websites you add to the list will be automatically blocked for the selected time, ensuring you can't distract yourself with your hunt for a perfect unicorn meme to share with your friends. Windows users can try similar applications, like StayFocusd for Chrome or Cold Turkey for additional controls.

7. Avoid lyrics. 选择没有歌词的音乐来听

A lot of professionals enjoy ambient sound when they work, but music with lyrics (at least those in languages you speak) can actually be distracting. Choose either instrumentals for ambience or white noise to block out sound instead, and you won't be as tempted to stop and sing along with the tune.

8. Tackle must-dos first. 要事第一

While it seems like common sense, many people forgo certain must-dos in favor of more straightforward, though less critical, tasks. But this can leave you scrambling if you don't allow for enough time to get the work done. To break the cycle, always start with essential projects first, no matter what. You'll thank yourself for your diligence come the afternoon.

9. Take on two-minute tasks second. 接着做迅速能完成的小任务

Small tasks can make your to-do list seem insurmountable. So, to pare things down, after handling your must-dos, head straight to your quick tasks. You'll get to check items off your list, which is rewarding in its own right, and make the rest of your day feel less encumbered by minutiae.

10. Get into a groove. 利用思维习惯迅速完成相似的工作任务

Whenever possible, group like tasks together. When your brain is already engaging in a particular way, use it to your benefit by focusing on similar activities in rapid succession.

11. Cut meeting times by 25 percent. 将会议时间减少25%

While meetings can be vital to your business, they have a nasty habit of expanding to fit the available time slot, even if those extra conversations don't provide value. To avoid the meeting version of scope creep, cut the time by 25 percent. You'll still tackle the important topics but be less likely to have unnecessary discussions. And, if getting together in person isn't completely necessary, consider eliminating the meeting entirely. Your staff will thank you.

12. Consider standup meetings.可以考虑站立式会议

When people settle into a chair, they're more likely to get comfortable in the space. If you need things to progress quickly, embrace a standup format, forgoing chairs completely. This keeps people from settling in and encourages them to get to the point and move on with their day.

13. Perfect is the enemy of good.  避免太过奢求完美

When it comes to your business, you probably want to make sure everything is perfect. But perfection can ultimately be the enemy, and is often an illusion, especially if you keep pushing to improve something that is already good. Don't drill away at something that is in respectable shape. Instead, move on to other tasks and accept that good can be good enough for success.

14. Know when to delegate and outsource. 懂得将工作适时外包

Most business owners want to keep everything in their hands, but this can leave you overloaded. Learn which tasks truly require your input and which can be handled by properly skilled professionals. Once you split up the work, delegate or outsource quickly so people can get started on their to-do lists.

15. Don't neglect professional development. 不要停滞专业的学习与发展

Regardless of your position, there is always more to learn. Professional development helps you acquire new skills and perspectives, letting you be more effective. If a new competency allows for a higher level of productivity, then work to gain it. You can take a class or explore free resources online, depending on your schedule, so make a commitment to learning something new today.

16. Embrace automation. 接受信息自动化

In today's technological world, there are many options for automating processes, such as emails and proposal or quote delivery. If there's a task you can automate, look into it. It can shrink your to-do list significantly.

17. Unsubscribe and unfollow. 取消不必要的订阅与关注

If a newsletter or Twitter feed isn't providing you with value anymore, then unsubscribe or unfollow immediately. This will clean up your inbox and feed, letting you find helpful information quickly and lessening the time you must dedicate to inbox maintenance. Repeat the process weekly or monthly for optimal effect.

18. Check in with yourself. 自审有助提高

At least once a week, check in with yourself by assessing how you're feeling, and then make plans to remedy any negative emotions that may be lingering. Self-care is important for productivity, so don't continually neglect yourself in the name of getting more done at the office.

19. Have a "no" strategy. 学会说“不”

Saying yes to every task leaves you overwhelmed, but saying no can be its own source of stress. To make saying no easier, create a strategy in advance, including email templates or scripts, to simplify the conversation. This will decrease the amount of time you spend in the discussion while ensuring your point gets across effectively.

20. Invest in dual screens. 双屏值得一试

Having two full-size computer screens is incredibly beneficial, especially if you have to refer to a report while creating a document, or any other resource plus activity combination. The larger screens make text easier to read, and the dual monitors prevent constant switching between pages or applications, making it worth the investment.

21. Don't fixate on where you start. 不要总执着于某个停滞不前的地方

When people begin a project, they often default to starting at the beginning. But if you're stuck, don't be afraid to abandon the introduction and instead focus on another segment. Sometimes, it's easier to start in the middle of a document, or even at the end, so don't restrict yourself to a particular order if it just isn't working.

22. Use templates. 巧妙利用模板

If you are repeatedly creating the same documents, you're wasting time. Instead, create or download templates for your most commonly used formats and content types. Then you can simply start with a template instead of reinventing the wheel.

23. Save, save, save. 时刻记得按“保存”键

If you're working on a long document or report, hit the Save button as often as possible. While many programs have autosave features, the delays can be quite long. To preserve your work, make a habit of saving after every key point. You can click the icon or use a keyboard shortcut to get the job done, either of which only takes a second. But, if it saves you from having to rewrite paragraphs of information, it's worth it.

24. Learn the keyboard shortcuts. 掌握键盘快捷键

Speaking of keyboard shortcuts, make it a priority to learn them. They're incredible timesavers and are available in almost every program. Start with those associated with your go-to applications and expand from there to get the most value.

25. Ignore the news. 忽略不必要的芜杂信息

Trying to keep up with the news is essentially impossible, allowing it to generally function as a time sink. Plus, it can be trivial and even unreliable, and isn't necessarily great for your brain. Do yourself a favor and ditch the onslaught of news that can easily take over your life. It's worth it.

26. Stop multitasking. 停止多任务处理

Ultimately, multitasking is a myth that many of us fall for at some point. Instead of dividing your attention and rapidly switching between activities, commit your focus to the task at hand and you'll see your productivity rise.

27. Get everything you can out of Excel.  学会深度使用Excel

Microsoft Excel is everywhere, and most people encounter it regularly during their career. But few professionals are truly Excel power users. In as little as an hour, you can learn to use advanced features such as pivot tables, graphing, and vlookups, all of which give you access to business analytics capabilities that help you visualize data in just minutes, which are capabilities that shouldn't be ignored.