1. Work in a field you love. 做自己喜欢做的事

"Do what you love" is perhaps the most basic productivity tip of all. You'll be much more productive when you do work you enjoy. Unfortunately, this tip is as obvious as it is ignored.
“做自己喜欢的事”称得上是诸秘籍之首。只有做自己喜欢的事才会有更高的效率。但是，就是这条最简单明了的道理却最容易被大家忽视。

Doing work you love is not remotely the same thing as doing work you find moderately pleasant either. When you're working in a field you love, your motivation is usually high because you feel passionate about what you're doing. You don't have to push yourself just to get going each day.
同样做自己喜欢的事也不同于做自己仅是不讨厌的事。当你跨入自己喜欢的行业时，自己便迫不及待的跃跃欲试，你不必逼迫自己去做，因为事情本身就让你热血沸腾。

2. Take advantage of audio learning. 借助声音刺激法

Make a habit of listening to educational audio programs, ideally every day. It's so easy to fill in the gaps in your day with education time. Listen to audio programs when you're driving, shopping, exercising, preparing meals, or just walking around. Load up your iPod to capacity, so you'll always have them on hand.
养成听教育类节目的习惯，最好是每天都听。自己的空闲时间用来自学并非难事。在你开车，购物，锻炼，做饭，或是走路的时候都可以听音频。把iPod充满电，确保自己随时都可以听。

You don't even have to pay for the audio programs. There are tons of free educational broadcasts online, including mine. Your local public library should also carry a selection of audio programs that you can check out for free.
你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。网上有成千上万的免费播客，包括我的。还有当地的公共图书馆也该有免费的音频段。

3. Eliminate interruptions. 排除干扰

If you do any creative or information processing work, it's imperative that you set aside blocks of time where you know you won't be interrupted. This means no external interruptions as well as no interrupting yourself. You need serious blocks of time (2-3 hours minimum) with no email checking, no instant messaging, no web surfing, no phone calls, no drop-in visitors, etc.
假若自己干的是信息收集或是某些创新型的工作，那么你就要拿出整块的时间，在此期间保证没人打扰。也就是说没有外界的干扰，还有你自己也不要妨碍自己。在这段时间内（至少2-3小时）保证不要去查看邮件，不发信息，不上网，不打电话，没有来客突访，等等。

Just knowing that you won't be interrupted makes it so much easier to enter a flow state where you can get a lot of highly productive work done. Every time you get interrupted for a few minutes or longer, you can expect it to take at least 15 minutes to return to the flow state. A few seemingly minor interruptions each day adds up to a huge amount of wasted time every month — and for no benefit whatsoever.
知道自己期间不会被打扰之后，你就更容易进入状态，这样完成的工作也更有成效。你一旦受干扰几分钟或是更长些，那你至少15分钟内都很难调整好状态。这样每天的干扰积少成多，那么一月下来也浪费不少时间，而且毫无益处。

4. Log your time usage. 记录自己的时间分配

For a few days in a row, keep track of where all your time is going. From the time you wake up to the time you go to bed, log your time usage. Whenever you switch activities, write down the time and the new activity. You don't have to go high-tech here unless you really want to. A pen and paper works just fine.
记得连续几天记录一下自己的时间分配，看看自己的时间都用哪去了。从早上一起床到晚上睡觉都要详细记录。自己每要另起干一件事，把时间和新项目都记下来。你不必使用高科技，一支笔一张纸足够。

At the end of each day, take note of where your time went. You're sure to notice many inefficiencies, so it won't be hard to find areas for improvement. If you're like most people, don't be surprised to discover that 50-75% of your time each day is essentially being wasted.
这一天结束时，回顾一下自己时间的利用。你肯定会发现很多时候时间利用的没有效率，但同时也说明了自己有改进的空间。大多数人每天会有50%-75%的时间都浪费掉了也不足为奇。

5. Use timeboxing. 为自己限时

Timeboxing is a great way to deal with tasks where you'd otherwise procrastinate. With timeboxing you only commit to working on a task or project for a fixed length of time, normally 30-90 minutes. 10-15 minutes is perfectly acceptable.
要想自己完成自己可能会拖延的工作，那么限时工作是个不错的选择。这样你只要在某项工作上决心干一定时间就可以了，一般有30-90分钟。10-15分钟也是可以的。

Once you get past the first 15 minutes, you'll often want to stick with the task. Timeboxing is a good way of coaxing yourself through the initial task resistance. You tell yourself, "It's only 30 minutes. How bad could it be? I can handle anything for 30 minutes." But then when you get through that first 30 minutes, it's easy to keep going.
等你坚持完这15分钟，你往往还想继续这项工作。限时作战的方式会帮你战胜开始的抵触心理。你会告诉自己，“不过30分钟而已，能坏到哪去，我干什么事也能坚持30分钟。”这样前30分钟过去了就更容易坚持了。