Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator | Tim Urban | TED

Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator | Tim Urban | TEDExample

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so in college I was a government major which means I had to write a lot of papers now when a normal student writes a paper they might spread the work out a little like this.

在大学时我是政府学专业，这意味着我必须写很多论文。现在当一个普通学生写论文时，他们可能会把工作这样分散进行。

so you know you get started maybe a little slowly but you get enough done in the first week that that with some heavier days later on everything gets done and things stay civil.

所以你知道，你可能会慢慢开始，但在第一周完成足够的工作，之后几天加把劲，一切都能完成，事情也会保持有秩序。

and I would want to do that like that that would be the plan I would uh I would have it all ready to go but then then then actually the paper would would come along and then I would kind of do this and that would happen every single paper.

我本来也想那样做，那会是计划：呃，我会把所有东西都准备好，但然后，实际上论文会到来，然后我会这样那样拖延，这种情况发生在每一篇论文上。

but then came my 90 page senior thesis a paper you're supposed to spend a year on.

但后来到了我那篇 90 页的毕业论文——一篇你应该花一整年来写的论文。

I knew for a paper like that my normal work work flow was not an option it was way too big a project so I planned things out and I decided I kind of had to go something like this this is how the year would go.

我知道对于那样一篇论文，我平常的工作流程不可行，这项目太大了，所以我把事情计划好了，决定必须按某种方式进行，大致就是这样，这就是这一年的安排。

so I'd start off light and I'd bump it up in the middle months and then at the end I would kick it up into high gear it's just like a little staircase.

于是我会先轻松开始，中间几个月加把劲，然后在结尾把它推到高速运转，就像一小段阶梯一样。

how hard could it be just walk up the stairs no big deal right?

有多难？只是上楼梯而已，没什么大不了的，对吧？

but then funniest thing happened those first few months they came and went and I I couldn't quite do stuff so we had an awesome new revised plan.

但接着最有趣的事发生了：最初那几个月来了又走，而我就是完成不了，所以我们有了一个极棒的新修订计划。

and then but then those middle months actually went by and I didn't really write words and so we were here.

但是随后那些中间的几个月实际上过去了，而我并没有真正写出文字，所以我们到了这里。

and then two months turned into one month which turned into two weeks and one day I woke up with three days until the deadline still not having written a word.

然后两个月变成了一个月，接着变成了两周。有一天我醒来时离截止日期只剩三天，却一字未写。

and so I did the only thing I could I wrote 90 pages over 72 hours hours pulling not one but two allnighters humans are not supposed to pull two allnighters.

于是我做了我唯一能做的事：在 72 小时内写了 90 页，通宵达旦不止一次——人类并不应该连续熬两个通宵。

sprinted across campus dove in slow motion and got it in just at the deadline.

我冲过校园，慢动作起跳，正好在截止前交上了。

I thought that was the end of everything but a week later I get a call it's the school and they say is this Tim Urban and I say yeah and they say we need to talk about your thesis and I say okay and they say it's the best one we've ever seen.

我以为一切就此结束，但一周后我接到电话，是学校打来的，他们问“这是 Tim Urban 吗？”我说“是”，他们说“我们需要谈谈你的论文”，我说“好”，他们接着说“这是我们见过的最棒的论文”。

that did not happen it was a very very bad thesis I just wanted to enjoy that one moment when all of you thought this guy is amazing no no it was very very bad.

那并没有发生——那是一篇非常非常糟糕的论文。我只是想享受那一刻，让你们都觉得这个人真了不起。不，不，它非常非常糟糕。

anyway today I'm a writer blogger guy I write the blog weight but why and a couple years ago I decided to write about procrastination.

不管怎样，现在我是个写作者、博客作者，我写博客“Wait But Why”，几年前我决定写一篇关于拖延症的文章。

my Behavior's always perplexed the non-pr around me and I wanted to explain to the non-rr inators of the world what goes on in the heads of procrastinators and why we are the way we are now.

我的行为总是让周围的不拖延者困惑，我想向世界上那些不拖延的人解释拖延者头脑中发生了什么，以及我们为什么会成为如今的样子。

I had a hypothesis that the the brains of procrastinators were actually different than the brains of other people and to test this I found an MRI lab that actually let me scan both my brain and the brain of a proven non-prorated.

我有一个假设，认为拖延者的大脑实际上与其他人大不相同。为检验这一点，我找到一家 MRI 实验室，实际让我扫描了我自己的大脑和一位被证明不是拖延者的人的大脑。

compare them and I actually brought them here to show you today.

把它们拿来比较，我还把它们带到这里要给你们看。

and I want you to take a look carefully to see if you can notice a difference.

我希望你们仔细看看，看看是否能注意到不同之处。

and I know that if you're not a trained brain expert it's not that obvious but just take a look okay.

我知道如果你不是受过训练的大脑专家，这并不那么明显，但就看看吧，行吗？

so here's the brain of a non-prorated maker in them but the procrastinator's brain also has an instant gratification monkey.

这就是一个不拖延的决策者的大脑，但拖延者的大脑还有一个即时满足的猴子。

now what does this mean for the procrastinator well means everything's fine until this happens.

那这对拖延者意味着什么？嗯，意味着一切都没问题，直到这种情况发生。

so the rational decision maker will make the rational decision to do something productive but the monkey doesn't like that plan.

理性的决策者会做出理性的决定去做一些有生产性的事，但猴子并不喜欢那个计划。

so he actually takes the wheel and he says actually let's read the entire Wikipedia page of the Nancy Carri and Tanya Harding Scandal cuz I just remember that that happened.

所以他实际上抢了方向盘，他会说：其实我们来读整篇关于 Nancy Carri 和 Tanya Harding 丑闻的维基百科吧，因为我刚想起来那件事。

then then we're going to go over to the fridge we're going to see if there's anything new in there since 10 minutes ago.

然后我们会走到冰箱前，看看自从十分钟前有没有什么新东西。

after that we're going to go on a YouTube spiral that starts with videos of Richard Fineman talking about magnets and ends much much later with us watching interviews with Justin Bieber's mom.

之后我们会陷入 YouTube 漩涡，从理查德·费曼（Richard Feynman）讲磁铁的视频开始，最后很久之后我们可能在看贾斯汀·比伯妈妈的采访。

all of that's going to take a while so we're not going to really have room on the schedule for any work today sorry.

这一切都会花很长时间，所以我们今天的日程里实际上就没有时间做任何工作了，对不起。

now what is going on here the instag gratification monkey does not seem like a guy you want behind the wheel.

那么这里发生了什么事？即时满足的猴子看起来并不是一个你想把方向盘交给的人。

he lives entirely in the present moment he has no memory of the past no knowledge of the future and he only cares about two things easy and fun.

它完全活在当下，对过去没有记忆，对未来没有认知，它只关心两件事：容易和有趣。

now in the animal world that works fine if you're a dog and you spend your whole life doing nothing other than easy and fun things you're a huge success.

在动物世界里这没问题，如果你是一只狗，一生除了做简单又有趣的事什么都不做，那你就是巨大成功者。

and to the monkey humans are just another animal species you has to keep well slept well fed and propagating into the Next Generation which in tribal times might have worked okay.

对猴子来说，人类只是另一种动物物种，你得保持睡眠充足、吃得好，并延续到下一代，这在部落时代可能还行得通。

but if you haven't noticed now we're not in tribal times we're in an advanced civilization and the monkey does not know what that is.

但如果你还没注意到，我们现在不是部落时代，我们处在一个高度文明里，而猴子并不知道那是什么。

which is why we have another guy in our brain the rational decision maker who gives us the ability to do things no other animal can do.

这就是为什么我们脑里还有另一个人——理性决策者，他赋予我们其他动物所没有的能力。

we can visualize the future we can see the big picture we can make long-term plans and he wants to take all all of that into account and he wants to just have us do whatever makes sense to be doing right now.

我们可以想象未来、看到大局、制定长期计划，他想把所有这些都考虑进去，让我们去做当前最有意义的事情。

now sometimes it makes sense to be doing things that are easy and fun like when you're having dinner or going to bed or enjoying well earn leisure time.

有时候做简单又有趣的事是有道理的，比如吃晚饭、上床睡觉或享受应得的休闲时间。

that's why there's an overlap sometimes they agree but other times it makes much more sense to be doing things that are harder and Less Pleasant for the sake of the big picture and that's when we have a conflict.

这就是为什么有时两者会重合、意见一致，但有时为了大局做那些更难、更不愉快的事更有意义，那时就会产生冲突。

and for the procrastinator that conflict tends to end a certain way every time leaving him spending a lot of time in this orange Zone an easy and fun place that's entirely out of the makes sense Circle I call it the dark Playground.

对于拖延者来说，那种冲突每次往往以某种方式结束，使他花大量时间呆在这个橙色区域——一个完全脱离“有意义圈”的简单有趣之地，我称之为“黑暗游乐场”。

now the dark playground is a place that all of you procrastinators out there know very well it's where leisure activities happen at times when leisure activities are not supposed to be happening.

黑暗游乐场是所有拖延者都很熟悉的地方：它是休闲活动发生在不该休闲的时间的地方。

the fun you have in the dark playground isn't actually fun because it's completely unearned and the air is filled with guilt dread anxiety self-hatred all those good procrastinator feelings and the question is in this situation with the monkey behind the wheel.

在黑暗游乐场里你并不是真的开心，因为那种快乐完全是没有挣得的，空气中弥漫着内疚、恐惧、焦虑、自我厌恶——所有那些拖延者特有的感受；问题是，在猴子掌控方向盘的情况下，

how does the procrastinator ever get himself over here to this Blue Zone a Less Pleasant place but we really important things happen.

拖延者如何把自己带到这个蓝色区域——一个不那么愉快但真正重要的事情发生的地方？

Well turns out that the procrastinator has a guardian angel someone who's always looking down on him and watching over him in his darkest moments someone called the Panic monster.

结果证明，拖延者有一位守护天使——某个一直在俯视他、在他最黑暗时刻守护他的人，叫做“惊慌怪兽”。

now the Panic monster is dormant most of the time but he suddenly wakes up anytime a deadline gets too close or there's danger of public embarrassment a career disaster or some other scary consequence and importantly he's the only thing that the monkey is terrified of.

惊慌怪兽大多数时候是沉睡的，但只要截止日期逼近，或有公众尴尬、职业灾难或其他可怕后果的危险，他就会突然醒来，而且重要的是，他是那只猴子唯一害怕的东西。

now he became very relevant in my life pretty recently because people of Ted reached out to me about months ago and invited me to do a TED talk.

这在我生活中最近变得非常相关，因为大约几个月前，TED 的人联系了我，邀请我做一次 TED 演讲。

now of course I said yes it's always been a dream of mine to have done a TED Talk in the past but in the middle of all this excitement the rational decision maker seemed to have something else in his mind.

当然我说了“是的”，做一次 TED 演讲一直是我的梦想，但在所有兴奋之中，理性决策者似乎另有打算。

he was saying are we on what we just accepted do we do we get what's going to be now happening one day in the future we need to sit down and work on this right now.

他在说：我们真的要接受我们刚刚接受的这件事吗？我们是不是要去做将来某一天要发生的事情？我们现在需要坐下来开始为此工作。

and the monkey said totally agree but also let's just open Google Earth and let's zoom into the bottom of India like 200 feet above the ground and we're going to scroll up for two and a half hours till we get to the top of the country so we can get a better feel for India.

猴子说完全同意，但也让我们打开谷歌地球，缩放到印度底部，像离地面 200 英尺那样，然后我们要向上滚动两个半小时，直到到达这个国家的北端，这样我们能更好地感受印度。

so that's what we did that day as six months turned into four and then two and then one the people of Ted decided to release the speakers and I opened up the website and there was my face staring right back at me and guess who woke up.

所以那天我们就这么做了；六个月变成四个月，然后两个月，再然后一个月，TED 的人决定公布演讲者名单，我打开网站，发现有我的脸正盯着我，猜猜谁醒了。

so the Panic monster starts losing his mind and a few seconds later the whole system's in Mayhem and the monkey who remember he's terrified at the Panic Monster boom he's up the tree and finally finally the rational decision maker can take the wheel and I can start working on the talk.

惊慌怪兽开始失去理智，几秒钟后整个系统陷入混乱，那只记得它害怕惊慌怪兽的猴子——砰——爬上了树，最后最后，理性决策者可以掌舵，我可以开始为演讲工作了。

now the Panic monster explains all kinds of pretty insane procrastinative Behavior like how someone like me could spend two weeks unable to start the opening sentence of a paper and then miraculously find the unbelievable work work ethic to stay up all night and write eight pages.

惊慌怪兽解释了各种相当疯狂的拖延行为，比如像我这样的人可能花两周时间无法写出论文的第一句话，然后奇迹般地找到难以置信的工作热情，熬夜写出八页内容。

and this entire situation with the three characters this is the procrastinator system it's not pretty but in the end it works.

而这三个角色构成了整个拖延者系统：它不漂亮，但最终能奏效。

and this is what I decided to write about on the blog just a couple years ago now when I did I was amazed by the response literally thousands of emails came in from all different kinds of people from all over the world doing all different kinds of things.

这也是我几年前决定在博客上写的内容，当我写了之后，我被反应震惊了，字面意义上成千上万封电子邮件从世界各地、来自各种不同职业的人发来了反馈。

these were people who were nurses and bankers and Painters and engineers and lots and lots of PhD students and they were all writing saying the same thing I have this problem too.

这些人有护士、银行家、画家、工程师，还有很多很多博士生，他们都写信说同样的一句话：我也有这个问题。

but what struck me was the contrast between the light tone of the post and the heaviness of these emails.

但让我震惊的是那篇帖子轻松的语气与这些邮件沉重内容之间的对比。

these people were writing with intense frustration about what procrastination had done to their lives about what this monkey had done to them.

这些人带着强烈的沮丧写信，讲述拖延给他们生活带来的影响，讲述这只猴子对他们所做的一切。

and I thought about this and I said if the procrastinator system works then what's going on why are all these people in such a dark place?

我想了想，说如果拖延者系统能奏效，那么到底发生了什么，为什么这么多人处在如此黑暗的境地？

Well turns out that there's two kinds of procrastination.

结果发现，其实有两种拖延。

everything I've talked about today the examples I've given they all have deadlines and when there's deadlines the effects of procrastination are contained to the shortterm because the Panic monster gets involved.

我今天谈到的一切、我给出的例子，它们都有截止日期，而当有截止日期时，拖延的影响会被限制在短期，因为惊慌怪兽会介入。

but there's a second kind of procrastination that happens in situations when there is no deadline.

但还有第二种拖延，发生在没有截止日期的情形中。

so if you want to have a career where you want to be a selfstarter something in the Arts something entrepreneurial there's no deadlines on those things at first because nothing's happening at first not until you've gone out and done the hard work to get some momentum to get things going.

所以如果你想拥有一份需要自我驱动的职业，比如艺术或创业之类的事情，这些事情起初没有截止日期，因为一开始什么也没发生，直到你去做艰苦的工作去获得一些动力，让事情启动为止。

there's also all kinds of important things outside of your career that don't involve any deadlines like seeing your family or exercising and taking care of your health working on your relationship or getting out of a relationship that isn't working.

在职业之外，还有许多重要的事情也没有任何截止日期，比如看望家人、锻炼和照顾健康、经营你的关系或走出一段不合适的关系。

now if procrastinator's only mechanism of doing these hard things is the Panic monster that's a problem because in all of these non - deadline situations the Panic monster doesn't show up he has nothing to wake up for.

现在，如果拖延者应对这些艰难事情的唯一机制是恐慌怪兽，那就是个问题，因为在所有这些没有截止日期的情况下，恐慌怪兽不会出现——他没有什么必须醒来的事情。

so the effects of procrastination they're not contained they just extend outward forever.

所以拖延的影响并不会被限制住，它们只是永远向外延伸。

and it's this long-term kind of procrastination that's much less visible and much less talked about than the funnier short-term deadline based kind.

而正是这种长期的拖延，比那些更有趣的、以截止日期为基础的短期拖延，少得多被人看到，也少得多被人谈论。

it's usually suffered quietly and privately and it can be the source of a huge amount of long-term unhappiness and regrets.

它通常是默默私下承受的，并且可能成为大量长期不幸福和遗憾的根源。

and I thought you know that's why these people are emailing and that's why they're in such a bad place.

我想，你知道，这就是这些人在发电子邮件的原因，这就是他们处于如此糟糕境地的原因。

it's not that they're cramming for some project it's that long-term procrastination has made them feel like a spectator at times in their own lives.

问题不是他们在为某个项目临时抱佛脚，而是长期的拖延让他们有时觉得自己像是自己生活中的旁观者。

you know the frustration was not that they couldn't achieve their dreams it's that they weren't even able to start chasing them.

你知道，令人沮丧的不是他们不能实现梦想，而是他们甚至无法开始去追逐梦想。

so I read these emails and I had a little bit of an epiphany that I don't think nonpr procrastinators exist.

所以我读这些邮件，然后有一点顿悟——我认为不存在不拖延的人。

that's right I think all of you are procrastinators now.

没错，我认为你们所有人现在都是拖延者。

you might not all be a mess like some of us and some of you may have a healthy relationship with deadlines but remember the monkey sneakiest trick is when the deadlines aren't there.

你们或许并不都像我们当中某些人那样一团糟，有些人可能对截止日期有健康的关系，但记住，猴子最狡猾的把戏是在没有截止日期的时候。

now I want to show you one last thing I call this a life calendar that's one box for every week of a 90-year life.

现在我想给你们看最后一样东西，我把它叫做人生日历——每一格代表一生九十年的一周。

that's not that many boxes especially since we've already used a bunch of those.

那并不是很多格子，尤其是考虑到我们已经用掉了很多格子。

so I think we need to all take a long hard look at that Calender and we need to think about what we're really procrastinating on because everyone is proc procrastinating on something in life.

所以我认为我们都需要认真而深刻地看看那张日历，想想我们到底在拖延什么，因为每个人在生活中都在拖延某些事情。

we need to stay aware of the instant gratification monkey that's a job for all of us.

我们需要保持对即时满足猴子的警觉——这是我们所有人的任务。

and because there's not that many boxes on there it's a job that should probably start today.

而且因为日历上的格子并不多，这项工作很可能应该从今天开始。

well maybe not today but you know sometime soon thank you w

好吧，也许不是今天，但你知道的，某个不久的时刻。谢谢 w

IN THIS CONTEXT ·0:12

so in college I was a government major which means I had to write a lot of papers now when a normal student writes a paper they might spread the work out a little like this.

在大学时我是政府学专业，这意味着我必须写很多论文。现在当一个普通学生写论文时，他们可能会把工作这样分散进行。

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so in college I was a government major which means I had to write a lot of papers now when a normal student writes a paper they might spread the work out a little like this.

在大学时我是政府学专业，这意味着我必须写很多论文。现在当一个普通学生写论文时，他们可能会把工作这样分散进行。

so you know you get started maybe a little slowly but you get enough done in the first week that that with some heavier days later on everything gets done and things stay civil.

所以你知道，你可能会慢慢开始，但在第一周完成足够的工作，之后几天加把劲，一切都能完成，事情也会保持有秩序。

but then came my 90 page senior thesis a paper you're supposed to spend a year on.

但后来到了我那篇 90 页的毕业论文——一篇你应该花一整年来写的论文。

so I'd start off light and I'd bump it up in the middle months and then at the end I would kick it up into high gear it's just like a little staircase.

于是我会先轻松开始，中间几个月加把劲，然后在结尾把它推到高速运转，就像一小段阶梯一样。

how hard could it be just walk up the stairs no big deal right?

有多难？只是上楼梯而已，没什么大不了的，对吧？

but then funniest thing happened those first few months they came and went and I I couldn't quite do stuff so we had an awesome new revised plan.

但接着最有趣的事发生了：最初那几个月来了又走，而我就是完成不了，所以我们有了一个极棒的新修订计划。

and then but then those middle months actually went by and I didn't really write words and so we were here.

但是随后那些中间的几个月实际上过去了，而我并没有真正写出文字，所以我们到了这里。

and then two months turned into one month which turned into two weeks and one day I woke up with three days until the deadline still not having written a word.

然后两个月变成了一个月，接着变成了两周。有一天我醒来时离截止日期只剩三天，却一字未写。

and so I did the only thing I could I wrote 90 pages over 72 hours hours pulling not one but two allnighters humans are not supposed to pull two allnighters.

于是我做了我唯一能做的事：在 72 小时内写了 90 页，通宵达旦不止一次——人类并不应该连续熬两个通宵。

sprinted across campus dove in slow motion and got it in just at the deadline.

我冲过校园，慢动作起跳，正好在截止前交上了。

that did not happen it was a very very bad thesis I just wanted to enjoy that one moment when all of you thought this guy is amazing no no it was very very bad.

那并没有发生——那是一篇非常非常糟糕的论文。我只是想享受那一刻，让你们都觉得这个人真了不起。不，不，它非常非常糟糕。

anyway today I'm a writer blogger guy I write the blog weight but why and a couple years ago I decided to write about procrastination.

不管怎样，现在我是个写作者、博客作者，我写博客“Wait But Why”，几年前我决定写一篇关于拖延症的文章。

my Behavior's always perplexed the non-pr around me and I wanted to explain to the non-rr inators of the world what goes on in the heads of procrastinators and why we are the way we are now.

我的行为总是让周围的不拖延者困惑，我想向世界上那些不拖延的人解释拖延者头脑中发生了什么，以及我们为什么会成为如今的样子。

compare them and I actually brought them here to show you today.

把它们拿来比较，我还把它们带到这里要给你们看。

and I want you to take a look carefully to see if you can notice a difference.

我希望你们仔细看看，看看是否能注意到不同之处。

and I know that if you're not a trained brain expert it's not that obvious but just take a look okay.

我知道如果你不是受过训练的大脑专家，这并不那么明显，但就看看吧，行吗？

so here's the brain of a non-prorated maker in them but the procrastinator's brain also has an instant gratification monkey.

这就是一个不拖延的决策者的大脑，但拖延者的大脑还有一个即时满足的猴子。

now what does this mean for the procrastinator well means everything's fine until this happens.

那这对拖延者意味着什么？嗯，意味着一切都没问题，直到这种情况发生。

so the rational decision maker will make the rational decision to do something productive but the monkey doesn't like that plan.

理性的决策者会做出理性的决定去做一些有生产性的事，但猴子并不喜欢那个计划。

so he actually takes the wheel and he says actually let's read the entire Wikipedia page of the Nancy Carri and Tanya Harding Scandal cuz I just remember that that happened.

所以他实际上抢了方向盘，他会说：其实我们来读整篇关于 Nancy Carri 和 Tanya Harding 丑闻的维基百科吧，因为我刚想起来那件事。

then then we're going to go over to the fridge we're going to see if there's anything new in there since 10 minutes ago.

然后我们会走到冰箱前，看看自从十分钟前有没有什么新东西。

after that we're going to go on a YouTube spiral that starts with videos of Richard Fineman talking about magnets and ends much much later with us watching interviews with Justin Bieber's mom.

之后我们会陷入 YouTube 漩涡，从理查德·费曼（Richard Feynman）讲磁铁的视频开始，最后很久之后我们可能在看贾斯汀·比伯妈妈的采访。

all of that's going to take a while so we're not going to really have room on the schedule for any work today sorry.

这一切都会花很长时间，所以我们今天的日程里实际上就没有时间做任何工作了，对不起。

now what is going on here the instag gratification monkey does not seem like a guy you want behind the wheel.

那么这里发生了什么事？即时满足的猴子看起来并不是一个你想把方向盘交给的人。

he lives entirely in the present moment he has no memory of the past no knowledge of the future and he only cares about two things easy and fun.

它完全活在当下，对过去没有记忆，对未来没有认知，它只关心两件事：容易和有趣。

now in the animal world that works fine if you're a dog and you spend your whole life doing nothing other than easy and fun things you're a huge success.

在动物世界里这没问题，如果你是一只狗，一生除了做简单又有趣的事什么都不做，那你就是巨大成功者。

and to the monkey humans are just another animal species you has to keep well slept well fed and propagating into the Next Generation which in tribal times might have worked okay.

对猴子来说，人类只是另一种动物物种，你得保持睡眠充足、吃得好，并延续到下一代，这在部落时代可能还行得通。

but if you haven't noticed now we're not in tribal times we're in an advanced civilization and the monkey does not know what that is.

但如果你还没注意到，我们现在不是部落时代，我们处在一个高度文明里，而猴子并不知道那是什么。

which is why we have another guy in our brain the rational decision maker who gives us the ability to do things no other animal can do.

这就是为什么我们脑里还有另一个人——理性决策者，他赋予我们其他动物所没有的能力。

我们可以想象未来、看到大局、制定长期计划，他想把所有这些都考虑进去，让我们去做当前最有意义的事情。

now sometimes it makes sense to be doing things that are easy and fun like when you're having dinner or going to bed or enjoying well earn leisure time.

有时候做简单又有趣的事是有道理的，比如吃晚饭、上床睡觉或享受应得的休闲时间。

这就是为什么有时两者会重合、意见一致，但有时为了大局做那些更难、更不愉快的事更有意义，那时就会产生冲突。

now the dark playground is a place that all of you procrastinators out there know very well it's where leisure activities happen at times when leisure activities are not supposed to be happening.

黑暗游乐场是所有拖延者都很熟悉的地方：它是休闲活动发生在不该休闲的时间的地方。

how does the procrastinator ever get himself over here to this Blue Zone a Less Pleasant place but we really important things happen.

拖延者如何把自己带到这个蓝色区域——一个不那么愉快但真正重要的事情发生的地方？

Well turns out that the procrastinator has a guardian angel someone who's always looking down on him and watching over him in his darkest moments someone called the Panic monster.

结果证明，拖延者有一位守护天使——某个一直在俯视他、在他最黑暗时刻守护他的人，叫做“惊慌怪兽”。

now he became very relevant in my life pretty recently because people of Ted reached out to me about months ago and invited me to do a TED talk.

这在我生活中最近变得非常相关，因为大约几个月前，TED 的人联系了我，邀请我做一次 TED 演讲。

当然我说了“是的”，做一次 TED 演讲一直是我的梦想，但在所有兴奋之中，理性决策者似乎另有打算。

he was saying are we on what we just accepted do we do we get what's going to be now happening one day in the future we need to sit down and work on this right now.

他在说：我们真的要接受我们刚刚接受的这件事吗？我们是不是要去做将来某一天要发生的事情？我们现在需要坐下来开始为此工作。

and this entire situation with the three characters this is the procrastinator system it's not pretty but in the end it works.

而这三个角色构成了整个拖延者系统：它不漂亮，但最终能奏效。

these were people who were nurses and bankers and Painters and engineers and lots and lots of PhD students and they were all writing saying the same thing I have this problem too.

这些人有护士、银行家、画家、工程师，还有很多很多博士生，他们都写信说同样的一句话：我也有这个问题。

but what struck me was the contrast between the light tone of the post and the heaviness of these emails.

但让我震惊的是那篇帖子轻松的语气与这些邮件沉重内容之间的对比。

these people were writing with intense frustration about what procrastination had done to their lives about what this monkey had done to them.

这些人带着强烈的沮丧写信，讲述拖延给他们生活带来的影响，讲述这只猴子对他们所做的一切。

and I thought about this and I said if the procrastinator system works then what's going on why are all these people in such a dark place?

我想了想，说如果拖延者系统能奏效，那么到底发生了什么，为什么这么多人处在如此黑暗的境地？

Well turns out that there's two kinds of procrastination.

结果发现，其实有两种拖延。

我今天谈到的一切、我给出的例子，它们都有截止日期，而当有截止日期时，拖延的影响会被限制在短期，因为惊慌怪兽会介入。

but there's a second kind of procrastination that happens in situations when there is no deadline.

但还有第二种拖延，发生在没有截止日期的情形中。

在职业之外，还有许多重要的事情也没有任何截止日期，比如看望家人、锻炼和照顾健康、经营你的关系或走出一段不合适的关系。

so the effects of procrastination they're not contained they just extend outward forever.

所以拖延的影响并不会被限制住，它们只是永远向外延伸。

and it's this long-term kind of procrastination that's much less visible and much less talked about than the funnier short-term deadline based kind.

而正是这种长期的拖延，比那些更有趣的、以截止日期为基础的短期拖延，少得多被人看到，也少得多被人谈论。

it's usually suffered quietly and privately and it can be the source of a huge amount of long-term unhappiness and regrets.

它通常是默默私下承受的，并且可能成为大量长期不幸福和遗憾的根源。

and I thought you know that's why these people are emailing and that's why they're in such a bad place.

我想，你知道，这就是这些人在发电子邮件的原因，这就是他们处于如此糟糕境地的原因。

it's not that they're cramming for some project it's that long-term procrastination has made them feel like a spectator at times in their own lives.

问题不是他们在为某个项目临时抱佛脚，而是长期的拖延让他们有时觉得自己像是自己生活中的旁观者。

you know the frustration was not that they couldn't achieve their dreams it's that they weren't even able to start chasing them.

你知道，令人沮丧的不是他们不能实现梦想，而是他们甚至无法开始去追逐梦想。

so I read these emails and I had a little bit of an epiphany that I don't think nonpr procrastinators exist.

所以我读这些邮件，然后有一点顿悟——我认为不存在不拖延的人。

that's right I think all of you are procrastinators now.

没错，我认为你们所有人现在都是拖延者。

you might not all be a mess like some of us and some of you may have a healthy relationship with deadlines but remember the monkey sneakiest trick is when the deadlines aren't there.

你们或许并不都像我们当中某些人那样一团糟，有些人可能对截止日期有健康的关系，但记住，猴子最狡猾的把戏是在没有截止日期的时候。

now I want to show you one last thing I call this a life calendar that's one box for every week of a 90-year life.

现在我想给你们看最后一样东西，我把它叫做人生日历——每一格代表一生九十年的一周。

that's not that many boxes especially since we've already used a bunch of those.

那并不是很多格子，尤其是考虑到我们已经用掉了很多格子。

so I think we need to all take a long hard look at that Calender and we need to think about what we're really procrastinating on because everyone is proc procrastinating on something in life.

所以我认为我们都需要认真而深刻地看看那张日历，想想我们到底在拖延什么，因为每个人在生活中都在拖延某些事情。

we need to stay aware of the instant gratification monkey that's a job for all of us.

我们需要保持对即时满足猴子的警觉——这是我们所有人的任务。

and because there's not that many boxes on there it's a job that should probably start today.

而且因为日历上的格子并不多，这项工作很可能应该从今天开始。

well maybe not today but you know sometime soon thank you w

好吧，也许不是今天，但你知道的，某个不久的时刻。谢谢 w

IN THIS CONTEXT ·0:12

so in college I was a government major which means I had to write a lot of papers now when a normal student writes a paper they might spread the work out a little like this.

在大学时我是政府学专业，这意味着我必须写很多论文。现在当一个普通学生写论文时，他们可能会把工作这样分散进行。

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Transcript

A closer look

so in college I was a government major which means I had to write a lot of papers now when a normal student writes a paper they might spread the work out a little like this.

Transcript

A closer look

so in college I was a government major which means I had to write a lot of papers now when a normal student writes a paper they might spread the work out a little like this.