What was the best advice you ever received on being productive?

如何变得更有效率，你收到的最好的建议？

“Focus is a skill, son”

专注就是种技能

What separates successful people from unsuccessful people is their ability to focus on a task that will make them successful.

成功人士和非成功人士的区别在于成功人士总能专注在让自己变得成功的事情上。

We tend to speak about focus like it’s a gift from God. Something that a few are blessed with, but us mortals will never be able to achieve.

我们总会说这是来自上天的天赋。有些幸运的人能得到，我们普通人永远的得不到的东西。

Focus is a Godly ability - but it is not a divine talent it is a skill.

专注是个挺神的能力-但是它不是神圣的天赋，只是个技巧。

First you must practice being focused. How?

首先你要练习专注，如何？

It’s simple.

很简单

Pick up a book and read it for thirty minutes straight. If you drift off go back to where you last remember reading and start reading again. No water breaks. No glancing at your phone. No bathroom breaks. No matter how much you want to move don’t move until the thirty minutes is up.

拿起一本书连续的阅读三十分钟。如果你迷迷糊糊睡着了，就回到你最后阅读的地方开始重新读。不能喝水休息，不能看一眼你的手机，不能上厕所。无论你多么想动也不能动直到三十分钟结束。

After you finish, spend five minutes writing down everything you remember. This will be hard at first, but it will get easier over time.

当你结束了，花五分钟时间写下你记住的所有东西。这一开始会很难，当你不断的进行，就会变得容易。

Keep extending the time until you are able to sit and read without getting distracted for two hours. Your ability to focus on reading and to write down what you remember will help you in every facet of your life, because reading comprehension is essential to learning almost every other new skill.

不断的延长时间直到你能不分心的坐着阅读两个小时。你专注阅读的和写下阅读内容的能力将影响你生活的方方面面，因为阅读和理解是学习生活中其他技能的基本能力。

“You don’t know how to say no to a good time and that’s what will keep you from living a good life,”

你不知道如何拒绝一段美好的时光，这将使你远离美好的生活

I wanted to go to UCLA for undergrad but my dad told me that a big city would eat me alive because

“You don’t know how to say no son.”

I couldn’t say no to friends

I couldn’t say no to video games

I couldn’t say no to drugs

我想去UCLA读大学，可是我的父亲告诉我，大城市会把我生吞活剥的，因为“儿子，你不知道如何说不”

我对朋友说不了不

我对电子游戏说不了不

我对毒品说不了不

Your ability to say no to your impulses allows you to have control over your life. If you don’t learn how to say no to yourself and others all the other pieces of advice in this thread will be worthless.

你对自我冲动说不的能力会让你更能掌握自己的生命。如果你不知道如何对自己和其他人说不，所有其他的建议都是没有用的。

You will forever be at the effect and never the cause.

你永远只知道改变却不知道为何改变。

Learn to say no.

学会说不

And when in doubt

当犹豫时

Ask yourself “What would the strongest version of myself do?”

问问自己“最强版本的你会怎么做？”

You’ve always known the right answer - it’s time to start acting like it.

你总是知道正确答案—现在是付诸行动的