Overcoming Overcommitment

 

By Melissa Stoppler.

Used with permission of About, Inc.

Which can be found on the Web at

www.about.com. All rights reserved.

 

The key to effective time management lies in our perception of available

 

Most busy people are not strangers to overcommitment. Taking on too many responsibilities and then being unable to cope with the resulting demands on our time is one of the biggest sources of lifestyle stress.

 

Two business school professors, Gal Zauberman of the University of North Carolina and John Lynch, Jr., of Duke University, tried to find out why people overcommit. Their conclusion: People believe they will have more time in the future than they have today.

 

The authors say, “Lacking knowledge of what specific tasks will compete for their time in the future, [people] act as if new demands will not inevitably arise that are as pressing as those faced today.” Drawing their conclusions from questionnaires, the researchers found that people tend to forget about unanticipated demands on their time, and act as though the future will be free of unexpected time traps.

 

Just say “no”

 

The idea of “responsibility overload” has been discussed as a source of stress in people who really aren’t bad stress managers. Instead, they simply take on too many responsibilities for the time and resources they have to give. Learning to say “no” to too many commitments and learning to prioritize demands on one’s time are necessary steps in stress control.

 

People believe they will have more time in the future than they have today

 

These studies suggest that we need to think about how busy we are today before committing to yet another duty or activity. Before agreeing to a new project, endeavor or responsibility, ask yourself the following questions:

 

Would I have time to spend on this today?

 

What feelings would I associate with this responsibility or commitment? Dread, excitement, worry, accomplishment?

 

If I want to do this, what activities can I cut out to make time for it?

 

Am I doing this for me or to meet someone else’s expectations?

Vocabulary Focus

perception (n) [pE5sepFEn] someone’s ability to notice and understand something

take on (idiom) to accept something, especially a particular job or responsibility

pressing (adj) [5presiN] urgent or needing to be dealt with immediately

trap (n) [trAp] a dangerous or unpleasant situation from which it is difficult or impossible to escape

避免过度承诺

高承椿 译

 

有效时间管理的关键，在于我们对可用时间的认知     

 

大部分忙碌的人对过度承诺这件事一点也不陌生。生活压力主要的来源之一就是承担过多的责任，然后穷于应付随之而来、占用我们时间的种种要求。   

北卡大学的盖尔·早柏曼和杜克大学的小约翰·林奇两位商学院教授，试着找出人们过度承诺的原因。他们的结论是：人们以为他们将来会比今天有更充裕的时间。  

 这两位作者说：“人们因不清楚哪些特定的工作会占用以后的时间，所以反应的态度就像未来不一定会出现如目前一样紧迫的新工作似的。”这些研究者从问卷归纳出结论，发现人们容易忘记那些未预期的、会占用他们时间的要求，因而做起事来一副未来永远不会出现意料不到的时间圈套的样子。

 

说“不”就对了   

“责任超载”被指为某些人的压力来源。这些人并非不懂得管理压力，只是承担了超乎自己时间与资源所能负荷的职责。学习对过多的托付说“不”，并将占用个人时间的各项要求排出优先级，是掌控压力的必要步骤。   

这些研究建议我们在接受另外一项责任或活动之前，先思考我们目前有多忙。在同意承担新的计划、任务或责任前，先问问自己下列的问题：

◆ 我今天有时间做这件事吗？

◆ 我对这个职责或托付的感觉是什么？惧怕、兴奋、担心，还是成就感？

◆ 如果我想做这件事，可以削减哪些活动来腾出时间？

◆ 我是为自己做这件事，还是为了满足别人的期待？