I worry about all this. I despise hopelessness and inefficiency in others, and still more in myself. There has to be a better way of getting through the day.
我对这一切感到担心。我看不起别人一副无可救药、效率低下的样子，更加忍受不了自己有这样的毛病。肯定有更好的方式来度过一天的时光。
　　
In search of such a way, I turned to The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, doctor, writer and all-round renaissance man. His thesis, stated flatly, sounds feeble: that a simple list is the answer to the world's complexity. Yet Dr Gawande shows us how checklists have saved lives in intensive care, prevented buildings from collapsing and stopped planes from falling from the sky. In which case, one might have hoped that such a list could help me get off the train at the right station.
为了找到这样一种方式，我看了多才多艺的医生作家葛文德所写的《清单宣言》一书。该书平铺直叙，论点听起来没什么震撼力：列一张简明的清单，是应对世界复杂性的好方法。不过，葛文德讲述了清单如何拯救了重危病人、预防大厦坍塌、防止飞机从空中坠落等事。照此看来，或许会有人以为，列一张清单，会帮助我在正确的车站下车。

But I'm not so sure. It's all very well writing a list of tasks that must be accomplished before a plane can take off, but simple self-respect prevents me from writing a list that says: “When train arrives at your stop, get out.” Instead I've compromised by writing a slightly less bathetic list of all the things I must do today, and am awaiting results. So far, I feel relief at having unpacked some of the things in my head, though there are plenty of other distracting thoughts and worries still getting in the way.
可我不太肯定。列明飞机起飞前必须完成的任务清单是顶好的事，但单纯的自尊心阻止我写下这样的清单：当列车抵达你要到的车站时，记得下车。相反，我采取了折衷的办法，列了一张稍微不那么平庸的清单，写明我今日必须完成的各项事务，眼下正静候结果。到目前为止，卸下头脑里的一部分事情，确实让我有如释重负之感。但头脑里还是有许多扰人心神的念头，忧虑也依然挥之不去。
　　
Next, I turned to Douglas Merrill, former chief information officer at Google, who has written a book (to be published next month) with the subtitle: How to get stuff out of your head, find it when you need it and get it done right.
接着，我求助于谷歌前首席信息官道格拉斯•梅里尔。梅里尔刚刚写了一本书，将于下月出版。书的副标题是：如何清空头脑，在需要的时候记起，然后把事情做好。