I Tracked My Work Hours for a Month. Here's What I Found

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1. 01I Tracked My Work Hours for a Month

   Hello, everyone. I'm a junior accountant in Manila. I always felt busy, but I didn't know where my time went. So, for one month, I wrote down everything I did at work.

   大家好。我是马尼拉的一名初级会计。我总觉得很忙，却不知道时间都去哪儿了。所以，我花了一个月，把我在工作中做的每件事都记了下来。

2. 02How I Did It

   My method was simple. I used a spreadsheet and updated it every hour. I put each task into one of four groups: real accounting work, meetings, email, and small interruptions.

   我的方法很简单。我用了一张电子表格，每小时更新一次。我把每项任务归入四类中的一类：真正的会计工作、会议、邮件和零碎的打扰。

   The numbers on this slide are made up for practice. They are not real data.

3. 03The Results

   The results surprised me. Only about forty percent of my time went to real accounting work. The other sixty percent went to meetings, email, and interruptions.

   结果让我很吃惊。我只有大约百分之四十的时间花在了真正的会计工作上。另外百分之六十都花在了会议、邮件和打扰上。

   The numbers on this slide are made up for practice. They are not real data.

4. 04The Biggest Surprise

   The biggest surprise was email. I checked it more than thirty times a day, and each time it took me a few minutes to focus again.

   最大的意外是邮件。我一天查看邮件三十多次，而每次都要花上几分钟才能重新集中注意力。

   The numbers on this slide are made up for practice. They are not real data.

5. 05What I Changed

   Based on this, I made three changes. I now check email only three times a day, I asked for shorter meetings, and I block one quiet hour every morning for deep work.

   根据这些结果，我做了三个改变。我现在每天只查看三次邮件，我请大家把会议开得短一些，并且每天早上留出一个安静的小时专心做深度工作。

6. 06One Month Later

   One month later, I tracked my time again. My real work went up from forty to fifty-five percent, and I left the office on time more often.

   一个月后，我又记录了一次时间。我真正工作的比例从百分之四十上升到了百分之五十五，按时下班的次数也更多了。

   The numbers on this slide are made up for practice. They are not real data.

7. 07Conclusion

   In short, I couldn't fix my time until I measured it. Try tracking your own day for just one week. You might be surprised, too. Thank you.

   简单来说，在测量之前，我根本没办法改善我的时间安排。试着记录一下你自己的一天吧，只要一周就好。你可能也会大吃一惊。谢谢大家。