It's a common problem these days: switching between browser tabs and apps on your phone, checking social media and messages and email, thinking about the million things you have to do but putting them off…

在现在这个时代，人们的生活普遍存在一个问题：他们一拿起手机，就不停地浏览不同的网页、玩不同的app，频繁地查看社交软件、信息、邮件，脑子里装满无数要做的事情却不停地拖延……

Anything but staying focused on one task at a time.

做了那么多事情，就是做不到在一个时间点专注于一件事上。

And it's hard to break out of the mental habit of switching, being distracted, letting the monkey mind jump from one shiny thing to the next.

而且，人们的注意力总是一再被各种会引人注意的东西所分散；想打破这种不停跳跃的思维习惯，更是难上加难。

So how do you train your mind to stay more focused? It's possible to get better at focusing, but I don't recommend expecting to be focused anywhere close to 100 percent of the time. Not even 80 percent, and perhaps not 50 percent. Just more than now, which is more than enough to see big differences in effectiveness in your day.

那么，我们应该怎样训练自己变得更专注呢？这当然是可以做到的，但是切忌妄想让你变得任何时候都能全神贯注，80% 的时间里也是做不到的，甚至 50 %也不太可能。我们需要的仅仅是让自己变得比当下更好，而这已经足以见到每天效率上明显的变化。

Recently I took on a coaching client, and his biggest area for improvement is focus. So I gave him a plan, and I'm going to share it with you here.

最近，我开始为一名客户进行指导，他最需要改善的就是专注力。于是我给了他一个计划方案，在这里分享给大家一起学习。

- 01 -

Start with the Why

从“为何要提升专注力”说起

Why should you care about this? It's best to give this a moment's thought before diving into any plan, because when things get uncomfortable, you have to know your Why. Otherwise you'll crumble at the first urge to switch.

为什么应该关注“为什么”呢？你最好在开始训练前想一下这个问题。这是因为：当你遇到麻烦的时候，你必须知道为什么要坚持做下去，否则你会在刚开始分心的时候就放弃了。

This is important because constant switching and distraction leads to your time being frittered away, so that the day goes by and you've barely done anything important. You've procrastinated on the big tasks to take care of the little ones, and worse yet, squandered the day in distractions. Your life is too precious to waste, so you want to use your days better.

这一点非常重要，因为不断跳跃的思维和注意力分散会让你的时间在不经意间流逝，以至于一天过去了，要紧的事情却都没有做到。你为了做好小任务，却把更加关键的任务拖延掉，甚至在分心状态中浪费掉了一整天的时间。生命是很宝贵的，不能随意浪费，所以我们当然想要更好地利用我们的每一天。

Staying focused on one task at a time, at least for some of the day, will help you get the important things done: writing, programming, studying, taking care of finances, creating of any kind, and so on. Those things tend to get pushed back, but staying on task will increase your effectiveness with the most important things by leaps and bounds.

你要一个时间只专注于单一任务，如果无法一整天这么做，也至少要在一天的部分时间这么做，这样就可以帮助你完成那些重要的事情，比如说写文章、编程、学习、处理财务、创作等等。这些事情是很容易被拖延的，但是专注于一个任务，能够让你很大程度上提升做重要事情的效率。

If you're feeling stressed out by all you have to do, unhappy with your lack of focus… then this one skill will help you turn that around in a big way.

如果你觉得要做的事情让自己压力山大，又对自己的专注力的不足感到很不满意，那么接下来我要介绍的这个技巧会很大程度上帮助到你。

- 02 -

The Method

提升专注力的方法

It's fairly simple:

其实很简单：

1. Pick an MIT. First thing in the morning, before you get on your phone or online, think about what you need to do. What would make the biggest difference in your life, your work? If you have several, it doesn't matter… just randomly choose one for now. You can get to the others later. Don't waste your time in indecision, the point is to practice with one task. This one task you choose for today is your one Most Important Task (MIT).

1. 选一个 MIT（Most Important Task，最重要的任务）：当你早上醒来后，先别急着玩手机刷微博；你要做的第一件事情，就是思考一下自己需要做什么。想一下，什么事情会让你的工作和生活发生最大的改善呢？如果你的答案不止一个，没有关系，先随便选一个，其他的可以之后再考虑。不要浪费时间在做选择上；关键在于要先用一项任务来练习专注。而你今天选择的这项任务，就是你的 MIT。

2. Do a 15-minute focus session. As soon as you start working for the day (maybe after getting ready, eating, yoga/meditation/workout, whatever), clear away all browser tabs, applications, and anything you don't need for your MIT for today. Start a timer for 15 minutes.

2. 进行为时15分钟的专注力练习：准备上班、吃完早饭、做完瑜伽、冥想、锻炼等事情之后，你一开始一天的工作，就要关掉所有的网页、应用和其他与今日 MIT 无关的东西，然后开始计时 15 分钟。

3. You only have two choices. For these 15 minutes, you can not switch to anything else (no checking email, messages, social media, doing other work tasks, cleaning your desk, etc.). You can only a) work on your MIT, or b) sit there and do nothing. Those are your only options. Watch your urges to switch, but don't follow them.

3. 只给自己两个选择：在这 15 分钟里，你不可以去做其他任何事（不准查看邮件、看微信、刷微博、收拾桌子等），只允许做两件事：要么专注于 MIT，要么坐着什么也不干。观察一下你自己坐不住的时候的样子，但必须关注自己不能越界。

4. Report to an accountability partner. My coaching client is going to succeed in large part because he has me to keep him accountable. Find a partner who will keep you accountable. Create an online spreadsheet or use an accountability app that they can see (he introduced me to Commit to 3, for example). After your focus session each day, check in that you did it.

4. 向一位“监督搭档”汇报：我现在带的这个客户之所以会成功，很大程度上是因为他找我监督他执行练习。你需要找到一个愿意监督你的搭档，创建一个电子版的表格或者用一个方便搭档监督的任务执行记录应用（比如 Commit to 3 —— 这款 app 还是这个客户介绍给我的）。当你每天完成专注力练习以后，记得打卡。

That's it! One focus session a day for at least two weeks. If you do great, add a second focus session each day, with a 10-minute break in between sessions. If you have any trouble at all, stick to one session a day for the first month before adding a second.

就这么多内容，然后就 OK 啦！每天做一次专注力练习，持续至少两周。如果你做得很好，每天加多一次，两次之间休息 10 分钟。如果你做得不是很理想也没关系，先每天一次坚持一个月，看看效果如加多一次。

After six weeks to two months, you should be fairly good at doing two 15-minute focus sessions, and you can add a third. Then a fourth when that gets easy. Stop there for awhile, and then add another session in the afternoon.

练习持续六周到两个月后，你应该就能轻松完成一天两次为时 15 分钟的专注力练习了。这时候你就可以增加到三次，甚至四次。然后在那个阶段停留一段时间，再考虑在下午也增加练习。

- 03 -

Some Important Tips

6项重要提示

With that simple method in mind, I have a few key ideas to share:

记住这个简单的方法后，我还需要提醒你一些重要的注意事项：

1. Turn off your Internet. Like disconnect from wifi or turn off your router, or use an Internet blocker. Turn off your phone. Close your browser and all applications you don't need. This is the ideal method. If you need the Internet for your MIT, then close all tabs but the one or two that you need for the task, and don't let yourself open anything else.

1. 切断网络：比如关掉 wifi、路由器或者使用网络屏蔽装备。把手机、网页以及所有不需要的应用都统统关掉。这是最理想的情况。但是如果你一定需要用网络来做MIT，那么你就要关掉做任务必需以外的网页，然后控制自己不去打开任何无关页面。

2. If you turn off the Internet, keep a pencil and paper nearby. If you have an idea, a task you need to remember, anything you want to look up… jot it on the paper. You can get to those later. Don't allow yourself to switch.

2. 网络切断后，记得放一只笔和一张纸在旁边：这样，当你有任何想法、需要记得做的任务、或者有任何想查找的资料，就先记在纸上。你可以在练习完后才去做那些事情，但不允许在过程中有任何的分心。

3. Don't allow yourself to rationalize putting off the session. It's easy to say, "I'll get to it in a bit," but then you're putting it off until late morning, and then the afternoon, and finally you're doing it at 8pm just to say you did it. This defeats the purpose of the practice. Watch your rationalizations, and don't fall for them.

3. 不准找任何理由来拖延练习时间：说自己“等会儿再做”都是欺骗自己的，因为你只会从早上拖到中午，再从中午拖到下午，然后为了向自己交差了事，而拖到了晚上 8 点钟才勉强去做。如果这样，就丧失练习的意义了。你必须和拖延症做斗争，不能屈服！

4. That said, don't aim for being perfect. There are some days when you just can't do it — for me, it's when I travel or have guests. If something big has come up where you don't have time, don't stress about missing a day. Get back on it as soon as you can. Worrying about keeping a streak going is counterproductive.

4. 但记得，也不要过分追求完美：练习总会有做不好的时候。比如：当我出差或者见客户的时候，我就会容易分心。如果有什么大事情让你没有时间做练习，千万不要因为错过了一天的练习而紧张。一旦有空的时候再回来做就可以了。即使做不到每天不间断练习也不要担心，因为过于担心只会有反效果。

5. Adjust session lengths. If 15 minutes is too long, just do 10 minutes. If that's too long, do 5 minutes.

5. 调整练习时长：如果 15 分钟对你来讲太长，就做 10 分钟。如果还是不行，那就 5 分钟。

6. Increase your number of sessions as slowly as you can. There's no rush to do more. Focus on building a solid foundation.

6. 尽可能慢地去增加每天练习的次数：没有必要着急做更多。磨刀不误砍柴工，打好基础才是最重要的。

OK, you have the method. Now get on the practice!

OK，相信你现在已经明白怎么做了，快行动起来吧！