Another great strategy to keep from forgetting things is to do them immediately.  另外一条防止忘记事情的重要对策就是立刻做完它们。

If I am working,  如果我正在工作，

my general rule is that anything I can do in less than two minutes I do immediately without pause or delay.  我通常的原则是如果任何事我能两分钟之内做完的那我会立刻去做而不推迟拖延。

As an example, if my wife asks me to carry the laundry to the laundry room,  打个比方，如果我妻子让我把待洗的衣服拿到干洗店

I do it immediately rather than putting it on my “to do” list. 那我肯定是立马送去而不是将这件事列在我的“要做的事”的清单上。

If I am not in work mode and my wife asks me to do a project that will take 10 minutes,  如果我不在忙工作，

then I get up and do it immediately without delay.  而我妻子要我做一个大概会花去我十分钟的项目那我会立刻起床去做而不拖延。

She appreciates me getting it done instantly and truthfully,  她很感激我立刻行动并真诚的做完。

just knocking it out and getting it done is better for me.  与我而言，立刻做好做完是比较好的。

Then I don’t need to add it to my “to do” list and come back to it later. 那样我就不用在“要做的事”清单上列下它再回过头来做。

3. Send myself a reminder. 第三，给自己发送一个提醒。

This morning while having coffee with my wife,  

这个早晨当我和妻子一起喝咖啡的时候， she gave me the date of my daughter’s upcoming recital. 

I didn’t have my “to do” list handy  我没有随手记下在自己的清单上

so I picked up my laptop sitting on the table and sent myself an email reminder. 而是坐在桌前给自己发了一封电子邮件提醒自己。

4. Set my alarm. 第四，设置闹钟。

If there is an important conference call I cannot afford to miss  如果将有一个很重要的电话会议是我不能错过的，

I will set my cell phone alarm to remind me five minutes in advance of the call.  那么我会在手机上设一个闹钟，在电话会议开始的前五分钟闹铃提醒自己。

This allows me to remain focused on my responsibilities  这就使得我能集中注意力在手头上的事情

without constantly having to look at the clock in anticipation of the call. 而不需要不断地看表提醒自己参加电话会议。

5. Put something somewhere as a reminder. 第五，在某些地方放置一些东西来提醒自己。

If I get in my car and realize I am almost out of gas I will do something to remind me to get gas. 如果我坐进驾驶室发现我的车快没油 ，

I might put a sticky note  那我将做一些事来提醒自己记得加油。

(I always have a pad of stickies in my car)  (我一直有一本有粘性的便签本在我的车里)

below the speedometer so every time I look at how fast I am going I see the reminder note. 我可能会用一张粘纸粘在速度表盘下，这样每次我看自己的车速有多快我就能看见这个提醒我的纸条。

Or if I am going somewhere and don’t want to forget to bring something,  或者如果我将要出门而且不想忘带东西

I will put it by the front door with my car keys on top of it. 那么我就会在前门放置提醒纸条并将车钥匙放在纸条上面。

6. Have the other party initiate the call. 第六，让其他与会方打电话。

Here’s my rule for scheduling calls. 在发起会话的问题上我的原则是这样的。

If I request the call, I take responsibility for initiating it.  如果我要求电话会议那么我会负责发起。

If someone asks me for a call,  如果别人让我参与

then I ask that person to initiate it.  那么我会让他们去发起。

This ensures that I can focus on my work and not look at the clock every two minutes  这样就能确保我集中注意力在自己的工作上而不用没两分钟

to make sure I don’t miss making the call. 看下表来确保自己没有错过电话。

These are just some of the strategies that have helped me over the years. 这些就是近年来我用来帮助自己记事的一些策略。

Please share how you keep from forgetting things in the comments section below. 请在下面的评论部分分享你是如何防止自己忘记事情的。

Let me also point it out that there is no distinction between being responsible in your personal and professional life.  记住，评价一个人是否负责任不应该区分为是对自己的私人生活还是专业工作上。

You are either a person who takes pride in being responsible or you are not. 你要么是一个负责任的人要么就不是。

I want to challenge you to make the commitment that you will be responsible in EVERY part of your life  我想让你挑战自己成为一个对自己所有方面

and that from this day forward you will focus on becoming a person who fulfills your responsibilities without having to be reminded.  的负责任的人并从今天起你会做一个完成自己该做的任务的人而不需要被人提醒。

Will you accept this challenge? 你接受这一挑战吗?