雙語短文 · 簡化你的生活

Simplify Your Life　簡化你的生活

◎ Claudia Bowe


1. Free up time to do what you love most
Two years ago Shirley Michels of St. Louis found herself getting up earlier and earlier, and going to bed later and later, just to meet everyday demands. The wife, mother and ophthalmic technician met her responsibilities, but lacked time for the things that mattered most.
She and her husband, Vic, an attorney, began searching for ways to simplify their lives. “We had to decide what was really important,” says Shirley. They knew they wanted more time to play with their three-year-old son, Ryan, to exercise and eat right, and to nurture friendships.
So the couple chose to live more modestly, shopping with care for necessities and enjoying inexpensive pleasures such as reading, cooking and going to the park. Shirley quit her job and began working part time from home. She printed up business cards that read “At your service—buy yourself a little time” ,and hired herself out for personal tasks such as shopping, paying bills, organizing parties, doing Internet research—whatever clients needed.
“I still work hard, but being able to control my hours makes all the difference.” she says. “I can carve out time to take my son to the zoo or play basketball with him. My stress headaches are gone. Having a chance to get to know neighbors not only has been fun, but it’s also helped us further simplify.
According to trend watchers, the Michelses are far from alone in wanting to slow down and live a more satisfying life. A Gallup Poll found that half of all Americans claim they lack enough time to do what they want. Fifty-four percent of parents say they spend too little time with their children, and 47 percent of married couples complain that they lack time together.
Where does the time go? For most people, work and commuting dominate the day. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one out of five of us put in 49 or more hours a week on the job; one out of 12 logged 60 hours or more.
Then there’s the rich smorgasbord of modern life—so much information to sift through, so many products beckoning. “We’re wearing ourselves out trying to have it all,” says Elaine St. James, author of Living the Simple Life.
Simplifying means becoming aware of the ways, big and small, that we expend money, time and energy, and then raking steps to curb the waste. Here, from the experts, are some suggestions for gaining control over life’s hassles in order to have time for the pleasures.
2. Start the Day Right
Before she applied “the rule”,mornings were a trial for Baltimore teacher Claudia Bowe, mother of Alex, 11, and Clara, 9. “The kids, my husband and I had to leave every day at exactly 7:45. Invariably, books would be missing. My son isn’t a morning person, so he was dazed and at his worst when I needed him to be most efficient. By the time we were off, we were all in bad moods. We had to change our habits. “
Bowe’s rule? Do everything possible the night before to prepare for the next day. For instance, get a coffee maker that can be timed to start brewing when you wake up. Decide what to wear, including belts and socks; check for spots, wrinkles, missing buttons. Children can set the table with bowls, spoons and cereal boxes—everything but the milk.
“Provide a list of items kids need for school the next morning—homework, library books, lunch money—and have them check them off before getting into bed every night.” suggests organizational expert Ann Gambrell, owner of Creative Time Plus in Torrance, Calif. Set anything to be carried out into the world—backpacks, dry cleaning—in front of the door. Always put keys in the same place. Studies show that the average adult spends 16 hours a year searching for lost keys.
3. Declutter Your Home
“Every possession you buy requires tending.” says Don Aslett, author of Clutter’s Last Stand. “Every chair, blouse, stationary bike, candlestick must be dusted, guarded, stored, repaired. Freeing yourself from unnecessary possessions frees up time.”
To overcome the hoarder inside screaming “I may need this.” Smith College psychologist Randy O. Frost advises talking back to yourself. “I’ll never use this twisted umbrella. New ones cost only six dollars.” Or, “Yes, I may need this leftover wallpaper someday, but am I going to save everything I might need someday? If so, maybe I should rent a warehouse.
San Francisco cleaning expert Jeff Campbell, author of Clutter Control, advises clients drowning in debris—but who seem unable to part with so much as a stray screw—to start small. Do one drawer, one shelf, at a time. If it’s broken, fix it or toss it. If it doesn’t fit, alter it or give it away.
Cultivating just one good habit can prevent clutter from accumulating: don’t put anything down “for now”. Don’t leave jackets on chairs or glasses in the sink “for now.” As Mom said, “Don’t put it down, put it away.” To do otherwise means handling everything more than once.
4. Gently Say ?No?
When Lyn Petit from Ridgewood, N. J., was a stay-at-home mom to her two daughters, Sarah, 10, and Elizabeth, 12, she taught Sunday school, helped run a thrift shop and chaired just about any committee she was invited to take on. After returning to her job as a floral designer, she continued trying to do it all.
Eventually her impossible schedule led to anxiety attacks, which forced her to prioritize and limit her volunteer work to the Girl Scouts and PTA. Now the family sits down to dinner together every night. Petit is there to help with homework, and she says, “It’s great to get to know my husband again.”
“No is a two-letter word that can free up many hours a week,” says Elaine St. James. Say it gently but immediately, offering a brief explanation, such as “I just don’t have time.” Avoid giving detailed excuses— the other person is likely to see a way you actually could fit in the request.
5. Don’t Save Pennies and Waste Hours
Most of us are taught to watch money, but not to value time, says Andrea Van Steenhouse, author of A Woman’s Guide to a Simpler Life. “As a result, we may not even think about how much irreplaceable time we waste to save a few pennies.” Is it worth it to wander through a giant discount mart, searching for picture hangers, when the neighborhood hard ware-store owner would point to them immediately? To wait for takeout at the restaurant when delivery is available for a small tip? Rather than dismiss the idea with the words “I can’t afford that”, it may pay to think twice.
6. Encourage Your Kids to Help
Stephanie Culp is a productivity consultant in Temecula, Calif., and author of You Can Find More Time for Yourself Every Day. Her golden rule for families: except for babies, no one is exempt from housework. Three to four-year-old can fill Rover’s bowl or fetch the baby’s diapers. Five- to seven- year- old can set tables, make beds, sweep walks. Children eight to twelve can weed, dust, take out the trash. Let kids know in advance what’s expected of them. Posting a rotating chore list that spells out who does what prevents squabbles such as “It’s not my turn to clear the table”.
Be prepared to reduce expectations at first — a poorly made bed is a lot better than one left unmade. But if the bed-making is particularly pathetic, it may be a sabotage maneuver. Stick to your guns, says Culp. If you give in, your child, having savored the victory of upward delegation, may use the same tactic to get out of other chores.
7. Turn off the Tube
Americans average 16 hours a week watching TV, making it the nation’s dominant leisure activity. “Yet it’s a pastime few see as important or even enjoyable.” says John P. Robinson, director of the Americans’ Use of Time Project at the University of Maryland. “Life would be simpler for a lot of people if they could reclaim even a third of the time they spend semi hypnotized in front of the tube.”
Robinson and other experts suggest families schedule activities before consulting a TV guide. Decide what programs to watch, tape them and promptly turn off the set after replaying. Have certain times—during meals, on Sunday afternoons—when TV is never allowed.
The payoff for all this is simplifying? You’ll free up time to do what you love most, whether it’s playing with the kids, gardening or traveling. Nothing could be simpler.



1．擠出些時間做你最想做的事
兩年前，圣路易斯的雪莉·米歇爾斯發(fā)現(xiàn)自己起得越來越早，睡得越來越晚，卻僅能滿足日常的生活需求。盡管無論是作為一名妻子、一位母親，還是眼科技術(shù)員，她都已經(jīng)盡職盡責了，但她卻沒有時間做最重要的事情。
她和她的丈夫維克，一名律師，開始尋找方法簡化他們的生活。雪莉說：“我們得決定什么是生活中真正重要的。”他們知道自己需要更多的時間和三歲的兒子瑞安在一起，做做游戲，做做運動，讓他能合理飲食，以維系他們之間的感情。
因此，這對夫妻選擇了一種更簡單的生活方式，注意購物時只買生活必需品，享受一些花錢不多的消遣，諸如閱讀、烹調(diào)、逛公園。雪莉辭掉了原來的工作，開始做兼職工作。她在她的名片上印上“聽候您的吩咐——給您自己留點時間”。比如說為私人購物、付賬單、組織聚會、做國際互聯(lián)網(wǎng)研究方面的事情——做客戶所要求做的一切。
她說：“我仍然很努力，但現(xiàn)在我可以自己控制時間，這讓人大為振奮。我能抽出一些時間帶兒子去動物園，或者陪他打籃球。我因壓力而造成的頭痛消失了。有機會去了解鄰居，不僅給生活帶來了樂趣，而且還有助于我們進一步簡化生活。
根據(jù)時尚觀察者們所說，米歇爾斯們并非單單想放慢生活的節(jié)奏，過一種更滿意的人生。蓋洛普民意調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，一半的美國人宣稱他們?nèi)鄙僮銐虻臅r間去做自己想做的事。54%的家長指出，他們和孩子待在一起的時間太少了。47%的已婚夫婦抱怨他們?nèi)鄙僭谝黄鸬臅r間。
那么時間都到哪兒去了呢？對大多數(shù)人來說，工作和乘車上下班占據(jù)了一天的大部分時間。根據(jù)勞動局統(tǒng)計數(shù)字表明，有五分之一的人一周要工作49個小時或者更多；十二分之一的人工作60小時或更多。
現(xiàn)代的生活還有豐富多彩的瑞式自助餐那么多的信息等你去篩選，那么多的產(chǎn)品吸引著我們?！哆^一種簡單的生活》的作者伊萊恩·圣詹姆斯說：“為了擁有這一切我們已累得精疲力盡了。”
生活簡單化就意味著要我們注意所花的錢、時間和精力，方方面面、大大小小的事情，然后再采取措施去控制浪費。在這里，根據(jù)專家們的一些建議，盡量避免生活中發(fā)生爭吵以便有更多的時間來娛樂。
2．一天之計在于晨
在采用這種方法之前，早晨對于巴爾的摩教師克勞迪婭·鮑來說真是個磨難。她是11歲的亞歷克斯和9歲的克萊爾的母親。她說：“孩子、丈夫和我每天早7∶45必須離開家。在這時總是書本不見了。我兒子不適合早起，所以當我需要他高效率時，他卻總是昏昏沉沉，表現(xiàn)得最糟糕。當我們離家時，我們的心情都已經(jīng)壞透了。所以我們得改變一下習慣。”
鮑的辦法是什么呢？在前一天晚上為第二天作好一切準備。比如說，買一個可以定時的咖啡壺，當你醒來時它就已經(jīng)開始煮咖啡了。決定好明天穿什么，包括腰帶、襪子。進行逐項檢查，衣褲皺痕，丟失的扣子。孩子們可以在桌子上擺好碗，湯匙，麥片粥以及除了牛奶以外一切的東西。
“列出孩子們第二天去學校所需要的物品清單——家庭作業(yè)，圖書館的書籍，午餐——并在每晚上床睡覺前檢查一下。”加利福尼亞州托蘭斯市創(chuàng)意時間的老板、管理專家安建議說。把要帶出去的東西都安排好，把背包和要干洗的衣服放在門前。把鑰匙總放在同一個地方。研究結(jié)果表明，成年人每年找鑰匙所花的時間平均為16小時。
3．不要讓你的房子凌亂不堪
《凌亂的最后一站》一書的作者唐·阿斯萊特說：“你買的每一樣東西都需要照管。每一把椅子、一件外套、不用的自行車、燭臺，都要打掃、照管、貯存和修理。把你從不用的財產(chǎn)中擺脫出來，會節(jié)省很多時間。”
要想克服囤積者內(nèi)心的呼喚，“我也許需要這個。”史密斯大學心理學家蘭迪·奧·弗羅斯特建議要反駁自己。“我決不使用這把難看的雨傘。新傘僅需6美元。”或者“是的，也許哪一天還需要剩下的墻紙，但我有必要為了某一天也許用得著就把一切都留下嗎？如果這樣的話，也許我該租一個倉庫了。”
舊金山的《控制凌亂》一書的作者、清潔專家杰夫·坎貝爾，建議那些不愿意扔掉掉下的螺絲釘、整天淹沒在破爛中的人從小事做起。從一個抽屜，一個架子做起。如果它壞了，或者修理或者扔掉。如果它確實不合適了，放棄它或把它送人。
只要養(yǎng)成一種好習慣就能避免散亂物越聚越多：現(xiàn)在不要放下任何東西，不要把夾克放在椅子上，或把眼鏡放在洗滌槽上。正如媽媽所說：“不要把它放下，不要把它放在一邊。”否則，就意味著要不止一次地收拾這些東西。
4．和顏悅色地說“不”
新澤西州里奇伍德市的林恩·柏蒂是位有兩個女兒的家庭主婦：薩拉10歲，伊麗莎白12歲。她在主日學校教書，并幫忙經(jīng)營一個廉價舊貨店，還被邀請擔任某委員會的主席。在她重新做花樣設(shè)計師后，她仍然盡量幫助做一切事情。
她的那些難以實施的計劃最終導致憂慮的開始，這迫使她依主次安排活動，使她把志愿工作限定在女童子軍和家長教師聯(lián)誼會上。現(xiàn)在家人每晚坐下來一起吃晚餐，柏蒂輔導孩子做功課，她說：“能再次了解我丈夫真是太好了。”
“不”是兩個字母的詞，它卻能讓你在一周內(nèi)節(jié)省出很多時間。和顏悅色但要馬上說“不”，作簡單的解釋，比如說：“我只是沒時間。”避免作詳細的解釋——因為其他人也許能看出來你真的適合做這件事。
5．不要為了節(jié)省幾便士而浪費數(shù)小時
《婦女簡化生活指南》一書的作者安德烈亞·范·斯蒂豪斯說：“我們大部分人都被教導要節(jié)儉，而不是珍惜時間。結(jié)果是：我們也許沒考慮為了節(jié)省幾便士，就浪費了多少無法挽回的光陰。”當鄰居五金店的老板能馬上拿給你要買的畫框時，你是否還值得漫步在大的打折集市？當只需一點小費就可送貨上門時，你是否還要排隊等候外賣食品？不是讓你放棄“我負擔不起”的想法，而是讓你三思是否值得去做。
6．鼓勵孩子們幫忙
斯蒂法妮·卡爾普是加利福尼亞州蒂梅丘拉的生產(chǎn)顧問和《每天你能為你找出更多的時間》一書的作者。她的黃金定律是：除了嬰兒以外，沒有人可以免做家務。3～4歲的孩子能給家人盛飯或幫嬰兒換尿布。5～7歲的孩子能擺桌子、鋪床疊被、掃掃人行道。8～12歲的孩子能除雜草、打掃灰塵、出去倒垃圾。讓孩子事先知道他們應做什么。貼一張誰該做什么的家務表，可避免像“不該我收拾桌子”這樣的爭吵。
最初不要對孩子期望太高，被子疊得不好也比不去疊要強得多。但如果被子疊得尤其糟糕，也許是故意的。卡爾普說，要堅持你的立場。如果你讓步的話，你的孩子嘗到了抵抗上方授權(quán)的甜頭，會用同樣的戰(zhàn)術(shù)對付你而不做其他家務。
7．關(guān)上電視機
美國馬里蘭州州立大學研究美國人如何合理支配時間的項目負責人約翰·皮·魯濱孫說：“美國人平均每周看電視16小時，這標志著電視已成為美國的主導休閑活動。然而很少有人把這種消遣看成是重要的，甚至是能讓人愉快的。如果大部分人能把他們昏昏沉沉消磨在看電視上的1/3時間收回的話，生活會變得更簡單了。”
魯濱孫和其他專家建議先制訂家庭活動計劃，然后再看電視報，決定看什么節(jié)目。把要看的節(jié)目錄下來，放完錄像后馬上關(guān)上電視機。某些時候——吃飯時或是周日下午是決不允許看電視的。
這樣做的結(jié)果就是一切都變簡單了。你有時間做你最想做的事，比如說和孩子們玩耍，做做園藝，出去旅行。這是最簡單不過的事情了。