简化你的生活

5.Encourage Your Kids to Help

鼓励孩子们帮忙

【20】Stephanie Culp is a productivity consultant‘咨询者；顾问’in Temecula, Calif., and author of You Can Find More Time for Yourself Every Day. Her golden rule for families: except for babies, no one is exempt from‘免除’housework. Three to four-year-olds can fill Rover’s bowl or fetch the baby’s diapers. Five- to seven- year- olds can set tables, make beds, sweep walks. Children eight to 12 can weed, dust, take out the trash. Let kids know in advance‘事先；预先’what’s expected of them. Posting a rotating‘轮流；轮换’chore list that spells out‘详细说明’who does what prevents squabbles‘争吵；口角’such as “It’s not my turn to clear the table.”

【20】斯蒂法妮·卡而普是加利福尼亚州Temecula的生产顾问和《每天你能为你找出更多的时间》一书的作者。她关于家庭方面的金玉良言是除了婴儿以外，人人都得做家务。三岁到四岁的孩子能给家人盛饭或取婴儿的尿布。五岁到七岁的孩子能摆桌子、铺床叠被、扫扫人行道。八岁到十二岁的孩子能除草、打扫灰尘和出去倒垃圾。让孩子事先知道他们应做什么，贴一张谁该做什么的家务表，可避免像这样的争吵“不该我收拾桌子” 　

【21】Be prepared to reduce expectations at first—a poorly made bed is a lot better than one left unmade. But if the bed- making is particularly pathetic‘乏味的；令人生厌的’, it may be a sabotage maneuver‘策略；花招’. Stick to your guns, says Culp. If you give in, your child, having savored‘滋味；趣味’the victory of upward delegation‘委派；授权’, may use the same tactic‘战术；策略；手法’to get out of other chores.

【21】最初不要对孩子期望太高，被子叠得不好也要比不去叠强得多。但如果被子叠得特别糟，也许是故意的。卡而普说，要坚持你的立场，如果你让步的话，你的孩子尝到了抵抗上方授权的甜头，会用同样的方法对付你而不做其它的家务。

6.Turn Off the Tube

关上电视机

【22】Americans average 16 hours a week watching TV, making it the nation’s dominant‘占优势的；支配的’leisure ‘空闲的；业余的’activity. “Yet it’s a pastime few see as important or even enjoyable,” says John P. Robinson, director of the Americans’ Use of Time Project at the University of Maryland. “Life would be simpler for a lot of people if they could reclaim‘回收利用’even a third of the time they spend semihypnotized‘着迷的；恍惚的’in front of the tube.”

【22】美国马里兰州州立大学研究美国人如何合理地支配时间的项目负责人约翰·皮·鲁滨逊说：美国人平均每周看电视16小时，这标志着电视已成为这个民族的一种主要娱乐活动。“然而很少有人把这种消遣看成是重要的或是能给人带来快乐的。如果大部分人能把他们昏昏沉沉地消磨在看电视上的1/3时间抽出来的话，生活会变得更简单了. 　

【23】Robinson and other experts suggest families schedule activities before consulting a TV guide. Decide what programs to watch, tape them and promptly‘迅速的；立即的’turn off the set after replaying. Have certain times—during meals, on Sunday afternoons—when TV is never allowed.

【23】鲁滨逊和其他专家建议先制订家庭活动计划，然后再看电视报，决定看什么节目。把要看的节目录下来。放完录像后马上关上电视机。某些时候决不允许看电视枣吃饭时和周日下午。

【24】The payoff‘收益’for all this simplifying? You’ll free up time to do what you love most, whether it’s playing with the kids, gardening or traveling. Nothing could be simpler.

【24】这样做的结果就是一切变简单了。你有时间做你最想做的事，比如说和孩子们一起做游戏，做做园艺或出去旅游。这是最简单不过的事情了。