社會普遍流傳的另一項迷思就是，萬能的意志力總是在一旁待命，而且在你需要的時間和地點隨傳隨到。這種「天下無難事，只怕有心人」的基本方針暗示：你只要有強烈的意圖，勝過你對任何其他事物的渴望，就能達成偉大的成就。

不幸的事實是，個人的意志力總是起起落落。有時我們有很強的意志力，但有時又完全缺乏──意志力似乎有自己的生命。對多數人來說，意志力通常在一天工作開始時最強大，然後逐漸衰退。上午休息時間、午餐時間和下午點心時間可振奮一天中的意志力，但大部分時間意志力的保存期限都很短。意志力是有限但可再生的資源。

所以，讓意志力投入生產性工作的聰明方法是什麼？以下是幾項建議：

1隨時尊重你的意志力強弱程度──在任何時間、地點，當意志力可供利用時，你當然可以毫無疑問地駕馭它。但不要把意志力視為理所當然。

2在你預期意志力最強大的時段，安排最優先的任務──對大部分人來說，通常是一大早或休息過後進行的第一件工作。每天的第一件事就是做最重要的工作，此時你的意志力最強大。

3用對的食物為大腦補充燃料──這樣大腦才有充足能量施展有意義的意志力。雖然大腦只占身體質量的 2%，卻消耗掉為產生能量而燃燒的 20% 卡路里。如果你需要做出重大決策，先吃些高品質的食物，好讓大腦處於高能量的狀態。

大多數的人都知道進入狀況的感覺──你會覺得格外敏銳和高效。與其讓這種狀態隨機發生，不如多加注意。下次當你感覺進入狀況時，記下是什麼條件造就了這種狀態，試著找出個人生產力的規律。

一旦找到這個規律，接著就是確定每天你的注意力最集中、生產力最高的那2、3個小時。把這段時間留給你最重要的優先要務，專門處理與此相關的任務。至於狀態較差的時間，就用來處理其他事情，像是開會、腦力激盪、閱讀產業資訊、日常行政庶務等等。

要安排你的理想工作周，請拿一份空白行事曆，然後加入以下內容：

1無法改動的事項──像是老闆主持的工作會議。你無論如何都得參加，所以把它列入行事曆。

2高峰時間──通常是你最容易進入狀況的時段。每天至少要有2小時的高峰時間。

3緊急時段──用來處理每天突然冒出來的緊急事務。

4低谷時間──做些能幫你充電、讓你感覺良好的事情。

5控制點──每天用來規畫剩餘時間的小片刻。例如，許多人都會在一天結束時花15到30分鐘，制定第二天的待辦事項清單。

6每日主題──每天計畫深入探討和思考的議題。

隨著你愈來熟練這種時間規畫方式，你可以開始安排無科技日，只思考不做其他事情，或是做其他特別吸引你的事情。持之以恆練習，你規畫行事曆的功力將會愈來愈進步，所以請欣然接受這種逐步進化和實行系統的過程。

麥肯錫最近研究顯示百分之96的高效領導者都說，他們根本無法完成關鍵任務，因為他們實在太忙了！

那麼為什麼商界人士總是這麼忙呢？

■有些人將忙碌視為榮譽徽章──因為他們忙得腳不沾地，因此他們顯然很重要。

■有些人把忙碌當作麻醉劑──藉此麻痺他們知道：自己根本沒有在做推動工作和個人進度的正確事情。

■社會吹捧忙碌──因此企業提供隨時隨地的豐富資訊和通訊工具，讓人們從早到晚都能工作。

■人們仍舊重複以前曾經奏效的做法──即使世界已經發生巨大轉變。

那麼你要如何處理呢？一些想法如下：

1逼自己只對你真正感到興奮的事情說「好」── 讓你的選擇只有「耶！我當仁不讓！」或「不行，但感謝。」如果這個機會不足以令你感到9成以上的興奮，便說「不行，謝謝。我只有這麼多時間可用，沒辦法加進這件事，抱歉。」

2釐清你個人的北極星──並且願意很快地對明顯與你關鍵價值觀不符的事情說「不」。例如，如果你高度重視獨立自主，那麼對於強迫你隨時隨地一定要遵循別人指示的工作邀約，就能輕鬆且快速地拒絕。

3決定你要做不來哪些事情──這聽起來很奇怪。不可否認的是，我們都希望無所不能，但所有高度成功的公司都不畏懼選擇專注的事物。他們將所有力氣都放在成為世界一流的核心競爭力，然後把其他事情外包出去。決定你擅長什麼，因此你願意不擅長什麼，而不是最後什麼都表現平平。

Another of society's prevailing myths is that the willpower to do anything is always on call and can be summoned whenever and wherever it is required. This basic approach of "Where there's a will there's a way" suggests to achieve something great, you've just got to want it more fervently than you desire any alternative.

Unfortunately, the reality is willpower ebbs and flows in individuals all the time. Sometimes we have lots of it but at other times there is a definite shortage of willpower– it seems to have a life of its own. For most people, willpower tends to start off strong at the beginning of the work day and then gradually ebb out. Morning breaks, lunch breaks and afternoon breaks boost will power throughout the day but most of the time, willpower has a short shelf life. It's a limited but renewable resource.

So what's the smart approach for putting willpower to productive work? A few suggestions:

1Respect your level of willpower at any time – and have the mindset you will most certainly harness it whenever and wherever it is available. Don't take willpower for granted.

2Set your highest priority tasks for when you expect your willpower to be the strongest – which for most people is first thing in the morning or right after breaks. Do your most important stuff first each day while your willpower is at its highest level.

3Fuel your brain with the right food – so your brain has enough energy to impose some meaningful willpower. Although your brain makes up only 2 percent of your body mass, it will consume 20 percent of the calories you burn for energy. If you need to make an important decision, eat some high quality food first so your brain has high energy levels.

Most people know what it's like to be in the zone – where you feel especially alert and productive. Rather than letting that happen by chance, pay attention. The next time you feel in the zone, write down the conditions that generated that. Try and identify patterns of personal productivity.

Once you do that, figure out the two to three hours each day where you feel the most focused and productive. Reserve those hours for tasks which are related to your top priorities. Use your off-peak hours for all the other stuff that makes up your day – meetings, brainstorms, catch-ups, reading industry materials, and routine administrative tasks.

To calendar your perfect work week, take a completely blank calendar and add:

1Commitments that cannot move – like work meeting your boss runs. You have to attend this, so calendar it.

2Power hours– blocks of time scheduled for when you most often feel in the zone. Try and get at least 2 hours a day as power hours.

3Urgent time blocks– where you will handle urgent matters that crop up each day.

4Off-peak hours– where you will do things that recharge your batteries and make you feel good.

5Points-of-control– the small times each day where you plan for the rest of your time. Many people use 15-to 30-minutes at the end of their day to make a To-Do list for the following day.

6Daily themes– a topic that you want to deep dive and think about each day.

As you get further down the road, you might schedule no-tech days, days where you do nothing but think, or other items that particularly appeal to you. Your calendaring will improve over time with consistent practice, so welcome this gradual evolution and implementation of systems.

A recent McKinsey study showed 96％ of high-achieving leaders say they can't even get around to mission-critical tasks because they're too busy!

So why are business people so crazy busy?

■Some see it as a badge of honor– they must be important because they're so run off their feet.

■Others use busyness as an anesthetic– to numb out the fact they know they're not doing the right things to move forward professionally and personally.

■Society lionizes being busy– and companies therefore provide an abundance of always-on information and communication tools which make it easy for people to be working night and day.

■People always tend to repeat what worked before– even if the world's circumstances have changed dramatically.

So how do you deal with this? Some ideas:

1Push yourself to say "Yes" only to those things you're genuinely excited about– make your only choices "Heck yeah! I'm in boots and all!" or "No, but thanks". If an opportunity isn't at least a nine or a ten out of ten on your excitement scale, say "No thanks. I only have so much time available, and I just can't fit that in. Sorry".

2Get clear on your personal North Star– and be willing to say "No" quickly to anything which clearly does not align with your key values. For example, if you value autonomy highly, then it becomes easy and quick to turn down job offers which would force you to follow instructions issued by others at all times and in all situations.

3Decide what you want to be bad at– which sounds strange. Admittedly, we all want to be great at everything, but all highly successful companies are unafraid to choose what to focus on. They put all their efforts into being world-class at their core competencies, and then outsource everything else. Decide what you will be great at, and therefore what you're willing to be bad at, rather than ending up being average at everything.

推薦書單

NO.492 成功就靠專注一件事
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
by 蓋瑞．凱勒（Gary Keller）、傑．帕帕森（Jay Papasan）
中文版：成功，從聚焦一件事開始（天下雜誌，2017）

NO.849 拉長戰線
The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World
by 朵莉．克拉克（Dorie Clark）
中文版：長線思維 (方智，2022)

NO.974 UPTIME高效工作術
Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing
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中文版：上線時間管理術（商業周刊，2024）