何時(shí)將個(gè)人效率系統(tǒng)自動(dòng)化？
We are all about doing things faster and better around here at Lifehack. And part of doing things faster and better is having a solid personal productivity system that you use on a daily basis.This system can be just about anything that helps you get through your mountain of projects or tasks, and helps you get closer to your goals in life. Whether it’s paper or pixels, it doesn’t really matter. But, since you are reading Lifehack I have to assume that pixels and technological devices are an important part of your workflow.
訪問(wèn)Lifehack網(wǎng)站的人都想更加快速有效地完成任務(wù)。其中一種方法是每天都是用個(gè)人效率系統(tǒng)。這個(gè)系統(tǒng)會(huì)幫助你完成成堆的項(xiàng)目和任務(wù)，能讓你更快地接近生活的目標(biāo)。通過(guò)紙張還是通過(guò)電子產(chǎn)品來(lái)使用這個(gè)系統(tǒng)都無(wú)所謂。既然你在訪問(wèn)Lifehack網(wǎng)站，我想電子設(shè)備應(yīng)在你的工作中占據(jù)著主要的地位。
“Personal Productivity System” defined
個(gè)人效率系統(tǒng)的定義
A personal productivity system (at least the definition that this article will use) is a set of workflows and tools that allow an individual to optimally get their work done.
個(gè)人效率系統(tǒng)(至少在這篇文章中）是讓個(gè)人最優(yōu)地完成任務(wù)的工作流和工具的集合。
Workflows can be how you import and handle your photos from your camera, how you write and create blog posts, how you deploy compiled code to a server, etc.
從數(shù)碼相機(jī)里導(dǎo)出并處理照片；撰寫(xiě)并發(fā)布博客；在服務(wù)器上部署代碼：這些都是工作流。
Tools are the things like planners, todo managers, calendars, development environments, applications, etc.
日程安排表、待做事情管理器、日歷、開(kāi)發(fā)環(huán)境、應(yīng)用等都可以看做工具。
When automation is bad
有害的自動(dòng)化
You may be thinking that the more that we automate our systems, the more we will get done. This is mostly the case, but there is one very big “gotcha” when it comes to automation of anything.
你可以認(rèn)為系統(tǒng)的自動(dòng)化程度越高，我們能做的事情就越多。大多數(shù)情況下如此。但當(dāng)你想把所有的事情都自動(dòng)化時(shí)，會(huì)出現(xiàn)很?chē)?yán)重的問(wèn)題。
Automation is a bad thing for your personal productivity system when you don’t inherently understand the process of something.
當(dāng)你不清楚事物的流程時(shí)，將它自動(dòng)化對(duì)你的個(gè)人效率系統(tǒng)是有害的。
Let’s take paying your bills for example. This may seem very obvious, but if you can’t stick to a monthly budget and have trouble finding the money to make payments on time, then automating your bill payment every month is completely useless and can be dangerous for your personal finances.
以付款為例。這看似簡(jiǎn)單，但如果你不能堅(jiān)持每個(gè)月做預(yù)算并按時(shí)付款，那讓賬單每月自動(dòng)還款對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)無(wú)絲毫用處，甚至還會(huì)危害你的個(gè)人財(cái)政狀況。
Another example is using a productivity tool to “tell you” what tasks are important and what to do next. If you haven’t taken a step back and figured out just how your productivity systems should work together, this type of automation will likely keep you from getting things done.
另一個(gè)例子是讓效率工具來(lái)告訴你哪些任務(wù)是重要的，哪些是接下來(lái)要做的。如果你不退一步弄清效率系統(tǒng)的工作原理，這種自動(dòng)化可能阻礙你完成任務(wù)。
You can only automate something in your personal productivity system that have managed for a while. If you try to automate things that aren’t managed well already, you will probably feel a bit out of control and have a greater sense of overwhelm.
你必須先管理效率系統(tǒng)才能將任務(wù)自動(dòng)化。如果你沒(méi)有管理就開(kāi)始自動(dòng)化，你有可能感到事情失去了控制并有一種強(qiáng)烈的失落感。
Another thing to remember is that some things should always be done by yourself, like responding to important emails and communicating with others. Automating these things can show your coworkers and colleagues that you don’t care enough to communicate yourself.
還有一點(diǎn)兒要記?。河行┦虑楸仨氂H自做，如回復(fù)重要的郵件，和其他人溝通。如果你讓這些事情自動(dòng)化，你的同事會(huì)認(rèn)為你不注重溝通。
When automation is good
有益的自動(dòng)化
On the other hand, automation is a great thing for your personal productivity system when you understand the process of something and can then automatically get the steps done. When you know how to manage something effectively and understand the step-by-step process of a portion of your system, it’s probably a great time to automate it.
另一方面，當(dāng)你清楚某項(xiàng)任務(wù)的流程并能讓其中的每一步都自動(dòng)完成時(shí)，自動(dòng)化對(duì)你的效率系統(tǒng)是非常有益的。當(dāng)你知道如何有效地管理任務(wù)并能理解系統(tǒng)逐步完成任務(wù)的過(guò)程，那么這可是自動(dòng)化任務(wù)的好時(shí)機(jī)。
I have several workflows that I have introduced in the last year that takes some of the “mindless” work from me so I can be more creative and not have to worry about the details of something.
去年我介紹了幾個(gè)工作流，能幫我完成機(jī)械簡(jiǎn)單的工作，讓我更有創(chuàng)造性，且無(wú)需為一些細(xì)節(jié)費(fèi)神。
On my Mac I use a combination of Automator workflows, TextExpander snippets, and now Keyboard Maestro shortcuts to do things like automatically touch-up photos imported from my iPhone 4S or open all the apps and websites needed for a weekly meeting to the forefront of my desktop by typing a few keys. Once you open yourself up to automating a few of your processes, you start to see other pieces of your system that can benefit from automation.Once again; none of this works unless you understand your processes and know what tools you can use to get them done automatically.
我的Mac上安裝了Automator workflows、 TextExpander snippets、Keyboard Maestro shortcuts，這些工具可以自動(dòng)地把我iphone4s里的照片潤(rùn)色，或讓我輕敲鍵盤(pán)就能調(diào)出每周會(huì)議所需的所有應(yīng)用和網(wǎng)站。一旦你開(kāi)始將一些流程自動(dòng)化，你就會(huì)發(fā)覺(jué)系統(tǒng)中其他部分也可以通過(guò)自動(dòng)化受益。重申一次：除非你理解流程并知道使用何種工具來(lái)自動(dòng)化。
The three steps to determine if something is “ripe” for automation.If your workflow passes these three steps, then automate away, baby:
只需三步就可判斷某項(xiàng)工作是否可自動(dòng)化。如果你的工作流通過(guò)了下面的三步，那就就可以將它自動(dòng)化了。
1.You can do this process in your sleep and it doesn’t require your full, if any form of attention. It can (and has been) managed in some form prior to automating it.
1.這項(xiàng)流程不需要你的關(guān)注，當(dāng)你在睡覺(jué)時(shí)也能完成。在自動(dòng)化之前可以對(duì)它進(jìn)行管理。
2.The process is time consuming.
2.這項(xiàng)流程非常耗時(shí)。
3.The process doesn’t require “human finesse” (ie. communicating and responding to something personally)
3.這項(xiàng)流程不需要“人的技巧”（如溝通或親自響應(yīng)）。
Automating your personal productivity systems can be a great for you in the long run if you are careful and mindful of what you are doing. You first need to understand the processes that you are trying to automate before automating them though. Don’t get stuck in thinking that anything and everything should be automated in your life, because it probably shouldn’t.
如果你很清楚并在意要做的事情，將個(gè)人效率系統(tǒng)自動(dòng)化對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)非常有益。但在自動(dòng)化之前必須要清楚流程。不要認(rèn)為你生活中的所有事情都可以自動(dòng)化，因?yàn)橛行┦虑椴贿m合。
Pick and choose these processes wisely and you’ll find the ones that take up most of your time to be the best ones to automate. What have you automated in your personal productivity system?
仔細(xì)地挑選這些流程，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)將占據(jù)你最多時(shí)間的事情自動(dòng)化時(shí)是最好的選擇。你的效率系統(tǒng)實(shí)現(xiàn)了哪些自動(dòng)化呢？
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