Some friends who knew me well had suggested that I write a book on "time management" because they knew that I had done a lot over the years.
Indeed, before I retired, in addition to teaching at NTU, I gave an average of 200 lectures and four books a year.
People are curious to ask, why can you do so many things?
I can make an analogy about this:
Assuming that it takes ten minutes to do something, then usually we "hesitate" for ten minutes beforehand and "regret" for ten minutes afterwards, resulting in a total of thirty minutes.
It can be seen that most of us tend to spend three times as much time doing things, and of course often feel that there is not enough time.
1 Do not hesitate beforehand and do not regret afterwards
My approach is simple: don't hesitate beforehand and don't regret it afterwards.
As a result, thirty minutes can be fully utilized, and then the efficiency naturally increases.
However, this efficiency depends on long-term self-training.
Take my writing as an example:
When I was in college, I practiced translation, mainly from English to Chinese, and what I needed to pay attention to was to understand English and express Chinese.
English provides inclusion and ideas, while Chinese focuses on form and technique.
The purpose of translation is to allow people who do not know or have not seen English to understand the meaning of the original text.
From this, I developed a high degree of empathy, that is, it is easy to see what I have translated or written from the reader's point of view and eyes.
More importantly, the reasoning and laying out methods in English philosophical works unconsciously affected my habits of thinking and formed the characteristics of reasoning.
My article is known for its reasoning, which is why.
2 Define your own range of capabilities
Mr. Liang Qichao's "pen edge often carries feelings" is something I envy and cannot imitate.
I am convinced that only by knowing one's limits can one exert one's abilities.
The so-called restriction is to delineate the scope of yourself and never do anything too reluctant.
I was once invited to write a column for a newspaper for three years, and then I thanked the editor-in-chief for his kindness and automatically stopped writing.
The reason is that the style of the journal is mostly lyrical, and my strength is not here, rather than being troubled by it, it is better to do what I am good at.
Doing what you "can and are willing to do" is naturally more handy and can have fun at work.
The so-called "lifting a heavy weight" is this meaning.
People in the world have their own strengths, and only by dividing up their work and cooperating can they all rejoice.
In other words, this is the secret of "turning passive into active".
On the surface, I am passive, that is, I am invited by someone else;
In fact, I reserve the right to decide, and if I am not sure, I will cautiously refuse, or recommend a more suitable person to do it.
3 Doing what you say is an attitude
Another important lesson is to do it as soon as you say yes.
The reason is: since it has been agreed, it is the responsibility, do not do it now, and still do it in the future;
Instead of writing again and again, it is better to solve it earlier so that it does not affect your own schedule.
Some newspaper editors think I'm a "quick writer" and can almost "book on time."
In fact, I just do my best not to delay the time limit for others to compile the newspaper.
Saying to do it is actually an attitude towards life.
My teacher, Mr. Duprey, mentions in the preface to one of his books:
Many of the ideas in the book are imperfect and always want to be revised in the future; but life is short, and some things are "not done now, never will be done" (Now or never), so let it go.
There is no perfection in the world. A thinks it is perfect, B may not agree; today it is thought to be perfect, and it may not be agreed with it in the future.
Time is like flowing water, you do or don't do something, it is quietly passing.
Therefore, doing what you think is the first step to grasping life and living steadily.
4 Kung Fu is outside the box
Of course, the premise of doing it immediately is that your own strength can do this.
Therefore, the most important thing we should pay attention to in ordinary times is to cultivate our own strength.
Take writing articles, the so-called "fast pen" is not a temporary effort, the real kung fu lies in the usual observation and thinking.
No matter what you do, if you want to be handy, the usual preparation homework is not easy.
When I usually read books and see wonderful ideas, I will write them down casually; when reading newspapers and magazines, I will find interesting materials and make records;
Even when watching TV and movies, important dialogue, images and stories are memorized.
These pieces of paper become a source of inspiration when I pick up my pen, and my thoughts are concretely confirmed.
You know, if the best ideas are to be recognized by the public, they must find confirmation in real life, so that everyone can more easily accept them.
It is also in the process of writing that I have experienced the rich interest of the interaction between philosophy and life.
Therefore, the trick of time management lies in making bright choices and implementing them in a timely manner;
Behind this is the concept you hold when you make a decision, and the strength you usually accumulate.
Then, have the courage to make a choice and have the courage to change when you find an error.