Obama became a master of compartmentalizing his time and focus over the course of his presidency.
在總統(tǒng)任職期間,奧巴馬成為了一位合理劃分個人時間與精力的大師.
Based on the photos of Obama kiteboarding off the coast of billionaire Richard Branson’s private island in the Caribbean, few of us will ever have the chance to vacation like our former president. But by examining the daily habits he developed over his eight years in one of the most intense working environments in the world, we can all learn how to work like Obama.
在億萬富翁理查德布蘭森位于加勒比海上的私人島嶼上,從奧巴馬在岸邊玩兒風(fēng)箏沖浪的照片看來，普通人很少有機(jī)會可以像我們的前總統(tǒng)一樣休個這樣的假期。但通過驗證其八年如一日的緊張總統(tǒng)生涯，我們?nèi)耘f能從奧巴馬的日常習(xí)慣中學(xué)到很多工作之道。
This Presidents Day, whether you’re a creative professional, budding entrepreneur, or seasoned CEO, studying Obama’s modern approach to the pressures of presidential life will provide you insights into how you too can better manage the stress and responsibilities in your own day-to-day.
總統(tǒng)日的這一天，不論你是創(chuàng)意顧問，合伙創(chuàng)業(yè)人還是已經(jīng)很老練的CEO，學(xué)習(xí)奧巴馬管理任職總統(tǒng)高壓的現(xiàn)代方法都能幫助你更好地應(yīng)對日常工作中的責(zé)任與壓力。
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Put Your Body to Work: Obama started most days of his presidency with 45 minutes in the gym, alternating between lifting weights and cardio. It was a way to clear his mind and prime it for the day to come, especially since he steered clear of caffeine. Obama told journalist Michael Lewis, “You have to exercise, or at some point you’ll just break down.”The Lesson: Although it doesn’t have to be as soon as you wake up, all of us need to incorporate exercise in our lives. Studies show that the simple task slows aging, and improves cognition, among a slew of other benefits.
喚醒身體更好地投入工作：任職總統(tǒng)期間，奧巴馬總以45分鐘的健身開啟一天的工作，一般將有氧和無氧穿插進(jìn)行。這樣有助于理清大腦并為接下來的一天做好準(zhǔn)備，特別是在奧巴馬停止攝入咖啡因之后，這種方式成了很好的替代。奧巴馬曾這樣告訴記者米歇爾劉易斯：“人人都需要運(yùn)動，否則身體隨時會垮臺?！边@告訴了我們：雖然不用一起來就去運(yùn)動，但是在生活中我們都應(yīng)該安排時間給運(yùn)動。研究表明，運(yùn)動能帶來很多益處，例如減緩衰老以及提高認(rèn)知能力等等。
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Preserve Decision Making: Look back at pictures of Obama over the course of the presidency and you may notice that he is usually wearing a blue or gray suit. Using the latest neuroscience findings, our former president attempted to extract all the little decisions one makes in a day (what to wear and eat, for example) so that he could avoid “decision fatigue,” and have more energy to decide on the life-or-death matters that come with leading a country. The Lesson: Form habits and routines that eliminate tiny and inconsequential decision from your day, so you can focus on the important stuff.
節(jié)省做不必要的決定的時間：回顧奧巴馬任職期間的照片，我們會發(fā)現(xiàn)他一般以一身藍(lán)色或灰色西裝出現(xiàn)。據(jù)最新神經(jīng)科學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)成果，前任總統(tǒng)的單一著裝目的原來是盡量節(jié)省在不必要的事情上作決定的時間（穿什么、吃什么等），以避免“決定疲勞”，確保把更多的精力用于治國理政中要做的生死攸關(guān)的大決定上。從中我們可以學(xué)到的是：養(yǎng)成避免在不重要的小事決定上花功夫的習(xí)慣，這樣便可更好地集中于重要問題的處理。
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Understanding How You and Others Think: Obama recommended reading Daniel Kahneman’s book about decision-making, Thinking Fast, and Slow to better understand why and how people make decisions. In the book, Kahneman, a Nobel Prize-winning psychologist, explains the pros and cons between going with your gut (called a System 1 thinker, like George W. Bush) and thinking things through (or System 2 thinker, like Obama). The Lesson: Knowing your biases and approach to decision making, allows you make better decisions and understand competitors, partners, and employees’ mindset.
讀懂自己和他人的思維模式：奧巴馬曾薦書《快慢思考》（丹尼爾卡恩曼），對于理解人們怎樣做決定，以及為什么這樣做決定能起到很大幫助。心理學(xué)家卡恩曼作為諾獎獲得者，在書中揭示了感情用事（被稱為一系統(tǒng)思考者，如喬治布什）和三思而行（二系統(tǒng)思考者，如奧巴馬）各自的優(yōu)缺點。我們可以學(xué)到的是：了解自己做決定的方式和缺陷，可以讓你更好地做決定并且了解競爭者，合作人以及員工的心理。
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Compartmentalize to Survive: Obama became a master of compartmentalizing his time and focus over the course of his presidency. There’s no better example of his skill than the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner, where, just before Obama got up to poke fun at our current president for his insistence that was not a U.S. citizen, he had just ordered the raid to capture Osama Bin Laden. The Lesson: Have the discipline to compartmentalize the challenges and roles you need to play in your professional life.
分配精力以在職場中求得生存：在總統(tǒng)任職期間,奧巴馬成為了一位合理劃分個人時間與精力的大師.最好的例子是2011年白宮記者協(xié)會年度晚宴上，面對特朗普堅稱其不是美國公民時，奧巴馬以剛剛發(fā)出的追捕本拉登指令對此說法予以嘲笑。這揭示了一點：嚴(yán)格遵守職業(yè)要求和挑戰(zhàn)間的劃分對你的職業(yè)生涯十分關(guān)鍵。
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Seek Advice: Obama is known for tapping experts from a wide range of disciplines, like Reid Hoffman, John Doerr, and Malcolm Gladwell for advice for his presidency and beyond. And although not all of us have the ability to set up meetings with famous writers and venture capitalists, we can consult our networks to get different perspectives and strategies. The Lesson: Broaden and nurture your network.
尋求建議：人盡皆知奧巴馬會吸取各領(lǐng)域之長，比如霍夫曼，約翰德爾和馬爾科姆格拉德瓦都曾是他請教的對象。盡管我們可能沒有和專家或著名作者交流的機(jī)會，但是我們?nèi)阅芡ㄟ^自己的社交圈尋求不同的見解和策略。學(xué)到的是：要盡量擴(kuò)展和培育自己的社交圈。
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Communicate Decisions Clearly: Obama utilized a memo system with his aides, so that majority of them would come with three options: agree, disagree, or discuss. Stating clearly and concisely about how he felt about each issue allowed the president to communicate his decisions to his staff more effectively. The Lesson: If you have people relying on your decision, make sure you are clear in both what your decision is and the way you communicate it.
簡明的決定傳達(dá):奧巴馬使用了一個他和助手們改良過的便條系統(tǒng),通過使用該系統(tǒng)的受眾下屬只要同意,不同意和需要商議三個選項中做選擇即可。清楚精確地陳述觀點可以讓奧巴馬與下屬的交流效率更高?？梢詫W(xué)到的是：當(dāng)你的決定對他人有重要作用時，不僅要保證決定內(nèi)容明晰，傳達(dá)工作一必須做好。
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Be Prepared and Punctual: Unlike some other presidents (former and current), there was rarely a memo that passed by Obama’s desk that he didn’t read. Obama’s economic advisor, Larry Summers, stated it was a certainty that if someone had a meeting with the former president and had sent him a memo, he would have read and understood it, and would be irritated if the author tried to explain it. Obama would start the meeting on time, and end the meeting on time. The Lesson: Time is your most precious resource. Don’t waste yours or others because of a lack of discipline and expectations.
準(zhǔn)時地有備而來：與其前后總統(tǒng)不同的是，奧巴馬幾乎會親自審閱所有遞交給他的文件。拉里薩默斯作為奧巴馬的經(jīng)濟(jì)咨詢?nèi)?，如果有人傳信希望與他預(yù)約見面，奧巴馬會仔細(xì)閱讀其留言，但如果此人之后悔改約定，奧巴馬會有所不悅。我們可以學(xué)到的是：時間是最寶貴的資源，不要因為紀(jì)律和信任的缺失而浪費(fèi)自己或他人的時間。
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Make Time for Family: ?Nearly every night of his presidency, Obama would sit down with his family at 6:30 p.m. to have dinner, despite the constantly emerging crises around the world. Obama would reconnect with his daughters and the First Lady to find out about their day and decompress. The Lesson: If the president can make time for his family, so should the rest of us.
留時間給家庭：在職的每一天，若非有世界性緊急危機(jī)發(fā)生，奧巴馬都會在6:30和家人一起用晚餐。晚餐時他會和妻子及女兒們交談，傾聽她們一天里的遭遇并為她們減壓。我們可以從中學(xué)到的是：如果總統(tǒng)都能承諾每日陪伴家人的時間，那么我們也都能做到。
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Focus on Others: ?Good entrepreneurs know that the best way to evolve a company or product is to not only listen to your staff, but, most importantly, the end users themselves. Obama had his aides sort through his mail to choose ten letters that he would read each day. The Lesson: Know your customers and develop strategies to make sure you hear them no matter how high up you rise.
關(guān)注他人：優(yōu)秀的創(chuàng)業(yè)者都知道了解公司和產(chǎn)品走向的最好方式不僅是聆聽員工的觀點，更重要的是知道終端用戶的看法。奧巴馬讓他的助手們每日從他的郵箱中篩選十封來自人民的郵件給他讀。從中可以學(xué)到：了解客戶群體，并且制定戰(zhàn)略保證不管多么成功都要堅持聽他們的看法。
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Find Some Me Time: Maybe it’s the early morning, or the late afternoon, when you can finally attend to all the built up items on your to-do list, but for Obama, the self-proclaimed“night guy,” it’s the wee hours — that distraction-free time when he could hide away in the White House’s Treaty Room. There, he could take his time fine-tuning speeches, watching ESPN, or playing Words With Friends. He also went out of his way to read fiction and history, which gave him perspective and an escape from the daily grind. The Lesson: Find time every day to get away from work, rejuvenate, and put your mind in a different space.
給自我留空間：可能是在早晨，或者下午的晚些時候，當(dāng)你終于可以一一完成清單上列出的必做事項時，對于我們自稱為“夜間工作者”的奧巴馬來說，卻是“輕松一刻”——可以無憂無慮地躲進(jìn)國務(wù)部的條約廳。在那里，他盡可以完善自己的演講詞，看看ESPN上的體育節(jié)目或者玩玩填字游戲。他也會讀科幻類或歷史書籍，在讓他產(chǎn)生見解的同時也能短暫地逃離一天里的高壓。我們可以學(xué)到的是：每天都要拿出一部分時間從工作中脫身，恢復(fù)精神，讓思想游走于不同的維度。