4个小技巧让你的任务清单更完美

Have you ever written a to-do list, only to find that, at the end of the day, you hadn’t even managed one item on it?
你是否曾经写过任务清单，然后到头来发现到清单上面一件事也没做？

When you fail to make headway with your to-do list, you might end up blaming yourself – but it’s probably not your fault.
当你的任务清单毫无进度，你便责骂自己，但是这可能不是你的原因。

To-do lists are great tools, but to be truly effective, you need to know a few tricks for making them work well.
任务清单是一个伟大的生活工具，可是想要让其生效，你需要一些技巧把清单做得头头是道。

1: Write Action Items
1. 写出动词部分

Does your to-do list look like this?
你的任务清单是这样写的？

New desk?
新桌子？

Bob and Jane
鲍伯和珍

While you might know exactly what these mean in the context of your day, there’s also a good chance you’ve not really pinned down each task.
虽然你可能会准确地知道这些在你的清单中的意思，但这种写法很可能让你松懈，不强行自己完成每一个任务。

After all, you’re unlikely to sit down and get all your taxes completely done in one session – and when you see “taxes” on the list, your first response is probably to jump straight to the next item.
毕竟，你不可能坐下来，把关于税收的写成一段话，然而，当你看到写着“税”的单子，你的第一反应很可能是直接跳过去浏览下一个项目。

A really effective to-do list uses action items. That means starting each task with a verb, and being specific about what you’re going to do:
一个真正有效的任务清单是会写出操作项目。也就是每一个任务是以动词开始的，并且要详细到你要干嘛。

Check tax deadline, and sort all receipts into date order.
检查纳税期限，根据日期顺序整理所有收据。

Look into the top three options for a new desk.
去家具店买一把新桌子。

Call Bob and Jane to confirm dinner this weekend.
给鲍勃和简打电话确认本周末的晚餐.

2: Break Big Projects into Smaller Tasks2.
2. 把大项目分成小任务

Sometimes, a vague item is a big project that needs breaking into smaller tasks. “Write report” often isn’t something you can easily get your head around – but “get data for section 1 of report” is.
有时候,一个模糊的任务是一个大项目，需要分成一个个小的任务。“写报告”往往是让你没有头绪的东西，但是让你“找到报告第一部分的资料”就会让你很明了。

By breaking up any big projects into smaller tasks, you make your to-do list much more valuable. Once you actually get going on those tasks, you’ll already have done some of the high-level thinking – and you can check them off your list one by one, creating a (well-earned) sense of steady progress.
把每一个大项目分成一件件小任务会让你的待办事项清单更有使用价值。当你在执行这些细小的任务时，你已经开启了你的深度思考，每当完成一个任务，你会觉得倍儿有稳定向目标前进的感觉。