Perhaps you've heard of a "not-to-do list." CEOs and productivity experts recommend the idea highly as a huge productivity booster that will help you free up time and headspace for all the things that really matter.

或许你听过“不要做清单”。领导和效率专家们推荐这种强大的效率提升理念来帮助你解放时间和大脑去做那些真正重要的事情。

Sounds great. But what should go on it? Best-selling author Tim Ferriss has some ideas. In a recent short podcast he offered nine suggestions of bad work habits that many entrepreneurs and others desperately¹ need to eliminate, so there is almost certainly something here that can boost your output.

听起来很棒。但是上面应该有什么内容呢？畅销作家Time Ferriss有一些自己的观点。他在最近的一个播客中提供了9个企业家和员工迫切需要消除的不良工作习惯，其中一些内容一定可以帮你提高效率。

Don't overwhelm yourself, Ferriss says. Just tackle one or two at a time, eliminating counterproductive habits step by step, and eventually you'll reclaim² impressive amounts of time and energy.

不要勉强自己，每次处理一到两个，循序渐进的消除不利于效率的习惯，最终你将会创造出大量的时间和精力。

Do Not Answer Calls from Unrecognized Number不要接未知的电话

First, the interruption will throw your concentration, costing you far more in time and brain power than just the conversation itself, and second, if it's important, you'll find yourself in a poor negotiating position, scrambling³ to formulate⁴ your thoughts when the caller is already well prepared. Instead, use Google Voice to check your messages or a service like PhoneTag to have them sent to you as email.

首先，这种打断会破坏你的专注度，消耗超过对话本身的时间和脑力。其次，如果是重要电话，你会陷入不利的谈判立场，你要努力组织想法而对方已经准备充分。用谷歌语音查看信息或服务，让他们用邮件形式发给你。

Do Not Email First Thing in the Morning or Last Thing at Night不要把邮件作为每天的第一件事和最后一件事

"The former scrambles⁵ your priorities and all your plans for the day and the latter just gives you insomnia," says Ferriss, who insists "email can wait until 10am" or after you check off at least one substantive⁷ to-do list item.

Ferriss说：“前一个会扰乱你的优先事项和所有计划，后一个只会导致失眠, 邮件可以推迟到早上10点或者在你查看完至少一个任务清单上的实际事项以后。”

Do Not Agree to Meetings or Calls With No Clear Agenda or End Time没有日程或结束时间的时候不要承诺会面或电话

"If the desired outcome is defined clearly... and there's an agenda listing topics--questions to cover--no meeting or call should last more than 30 minutes," claims Ferriss, so "request them in advance so you can 'best prepare and make good use of our time together.'"

如果有清晰的预期产出，有日程列出话题，涉及的问题，会议或电话不应该持续超过30分钟，就提前通知他们，这样你们就能好好准备并充分利用共同的时间。

Do Not Let People Ramble不允许闲聊

Sounds harsh, but it's necessary, Ferriss believes. "Small talk takes up big time," he says, so when people start to tell you about their weekends, cut them off politely with something like "I'm in the middle of something, but what's up?" But be aware, not everyone agrees with this one (and certainly not in every situation), and you may want to pay particularly close attention to norms around chit chat when traveling internationally.听起来有些苛刻，但却很必要。闲聊会占用大量时间，所以当有人开始跟你讲他们的周末，友好的打断他们，比如说我正在忙，有什么事吗？但也要意识到并不是所有人都同意这样（也绝不是在任何情形），在国际商务旅行时，你要特别关注聊天的规范。

Do Not Check Email Constantly不要不断查看邮件

Batch⁸ it and check it only periodically at set times (Ferriss goes for twice a day). Your inbox is analogous⁹ to a cocaine¹⁰ pellet dispenser, says Ferriss. Don't be an addict¹¹. Tools like strategic use of the auto¹² responder can help.

在设定的时间定期批量查看（Ferriss建议一天两次）。你的收件箱就像可卡因颗粒贩售机，不要上瘾。有效的使用自动回复这样的工具会有所帮助。

Do Not Over-Communicate With Low Profit, High Maintenance Customers不要和低效益，难对付的客户过多交谈

"Do an 80-20 analysis of your customer base in two ways," Ferriss advises. "Which 20% are producing 80% or more of my profit, and which 20% are consuming 80% or more of my time? Then put the loudest and least productive on auto-pilot, citing a change of company policy." What should those "new policies" look like? Ferriss suggests emailing problem clients with things like guidance on the number of permissible¹³ calls and expected response times. Point them to other providers if they don't like the new rules. "Sometimes you really have to fire your customers."用两种方式对你的客户资料库进行80-20的分析，其中的20%创造了80%以上的利润，哪20%要消耗我80%的时间呢？引用公司政策变化，忽略那些最活跃和效益最低的。应该是怎样的新政策呢？Ferris指的是有邮件问题的客户，他们在允许电话数量的和预期回复次数上没有遵循指导。如果他们不喜欢新规则，就把他们推荐给其它供应商。有时候你真的需要炒客户的鱿鱼。

Do Not Work More to Fix Being Too Busy不要为了避免太忙碌而加班

The cure for being overwhelmed isn't working more, it's sitting down and prioritizing your tasks, Ferriss believes. So don't make the mistake of working frantically¹⁴ if you're swamped. Instead, sit down and decide what actually needs doing urgently. If that means apologizing for a slightly late return call or paying a small late fee, so be it, as long as you manage to get the important things done. "If you don't have time, the truth is you don't have priorities, so think harder, don't work harder," he says.避免沉不堪重负的方法不是加班，而是坐下来对任务进行主次排列，当你手足无措的时候不要疯狂工作，要停下俩决定哪个是真正紧急的事项。如果只是晚回一会电话或晚交一小笔费用，就等你把重要事情做好再处理它们。如果你没有时间，事实上是你没有优先项，所有要更努力的思考，而不是更拼命的工作。

Do Not Carry a Digital Leash¹⁵ 24/7不要时刻被数码控制

At least one day a week leave you smartphone somewhere where you can't get easy access to it. If you're gasping¹⁶, you're probably the type of person that most needs to do kick this particular habit.

一周至少有一天把智能手机放到你不能轻易用到的地方。如果无法控制，那你就是最需要消除这种习惯的那种人。

Do Not Expect Work to Fill a Void That Non-Work Relationships and Activities Should不要期待工作能取代非工作的生活关系和社会活动

"Work is not all of life," says Ferriss. This seems obvious, but the sad truth is that while nearly everyone would agree to this in principle, it's easy to let things slide to a point where your actions and your stated values don't match up. Defend the time you have scheduled for loved ones and cool activities with the same ferocity you apply to getting to an important meeting for your business.

工作不是生活的全部。很明显的道理，但人们虽然原则上同意，但行动很容易就会与宣称的价值观相悖。你要努力的维护为心爱的人和优秀活动安排的时间，就像你为了事业申请参加重要会议那样。