A
Finding time to enjoy life is becoming harder and harder. As the average workweek lengthens, leisure time drops. Yet some of the world’s busiest people are able to develop rewarding careers and also make time for family and leisure activities. Here is their best advice, plus that of time-management experts:
1. Use your peak hours wisely.
People tend to be most alert in late morning and midevening. Afternoon brings an increase in sleepiness. Use your high-efficiency hours to handle difficult jobs or engage in creative thinking. For low-efficiency times, concentrate on cleaning up or sorting your mail. By adapting to your mental condition, you can accomplish more in less time.
2. Make a plan.
Just 20 minutes of organizing can save an hour of extra effort remembering what must be done. “Don’t try to carry your life around in your head,” says Lucy Hedrick, author of Five Days to an Organized Life. “Write things down so you can free your brain for more inventive pursuit (追求).”
3. Discourage drop-ins.
The person who welcomes every visitor will get plenty of conversation but won’t accomplish much.
The trick is to develop harmless ways to protect yourself from minute-stealing interruptions. David E. Levy, a public-relations consultant (顾问), uses an alternative to the open-door policy by keeping his door half open. The message is clear: he really doesn’t want you to come in, but you can if it is important.
4. Tame (驯服) the telephone.
Few devices save more minutes—or waste so many more—than the telephone. Signal the end of your conversation with a phrase such as “Before we hang up…” You can save even more time by not taking every incoming call.
Keep a record of when people you call regularly are least busy and call them at those times. Even better, make appointments to call important contacts.
To help us gain an extra hour every day, a clockmaker in Dallas has created a timer measuring each minute at 57.6 seconds. The 2.5 seconds borrowed from each minute add up to an extra 60 minutes at the end of each day.
21. According to Lucy Hedrick, you should ________.
A. carry out your plans when you are free
B. enjoy your life whenever you can
C. forget everything annoying when taking a walk
D. stop occupying your mind with lots of things
22. Why does David E. Levy keep his door half open?
A. To keep unimportant visitors from dropping in.
B. To show drop-ins are not welcome at all.
C. To tell drop-ins to come if they want.
D. To indicate he is expecting a visitor.
23. Who works most efficiently according to the passage?
A. An editor who is trying to produce a title for his article in the afternoon.
B. A manager who is designing selling plans with his office door open.
C. A student in class without taking any incoming calls.
D. A visitor to a mayor without making an appointment.
