What's an efficient way to overcome procrastination?
如何有效的克服拖延症？
Whenever I try to read or study, I get distracted easily. And even when I'm studying, I can't concentrate for more than few minutes. II'll appreciate any tips. Thanks
当我想开始阅读的时候，我发现我很容易分心。甚至于，当我学习的时候，我也没办法集中注意力几分钟。对于您回答的任何建议，我都予以感谢。
I'll answer your question, but first I need to explain all of human civilisation in 2 minutes with the aid of a cartoon snake.
在回答问题之前，我需要借助于一条卡通蛇，用两分钟的时间来解释一下人类的文明。
Humans like to think we're a clever lot. Yet those magnificent, mighty brains that allow us to split the atom and touch the moon are the same stupid brains that can't start an assignment until the day before it's due.
人类总是觉得，我们是很聪明的。然而，那些让我们可以分裂原子，可以触摸月球的，高尚的，伟大的大脑同样也是那个在截止日之前还无法开始任务的愚蠢的大脑。
We evolved from primitive creatures, but we never quite shed ourselves of their legacy. You know the clever, rational part of your brain you think of as your human consciousness? Let's call him Albert. He lives in your brain alongside an impulsive baby reptile called Rex:
我们是原始物种进化而来，但是我们无法摆脱他们留下的东西。你知道吗？你脑子里聪明和理性的部分就是你所认为的意识。我们将他称之为Albert，他和一个冲动的小爬虫Rex，一起住在你的脑子里。
You know how you can't help but notice if a stranger is tongue-wettingly gorgeous? That's Rex, and no matter how hard you try, you can never turn him off. He's your instinct, your impulse, your love and your fear.
你知道当一个特别能说的陌生人出现在你面前时，你为什么会忍不住的注意它呢？这就是Rex。无论你如何努力的尝试，你都无法摆脱他。他是你的本能，你的冲动，你的喜爱，你的恐惧。
We like to think of Albert as "our true self" - the conscious part of our brain. He's the talking, reasoning part. When we decide to go to the gym or write that term paper, Albert made that decision. But Albert is old, easily exhausted, and switches off all the time.
我们总是认为Alert是我们的真正的自己－大脑中的潜意识部分。他是语言、推理的部分。当我们决定去健身房或者是写些学术文献，Albert起到决定性的作用。但是Alert很老了，很容易精疲力尽，并且总是会突然挂掉。
Your brain is locked in a battle of wills between a sleepy professor and an impulsive reptile with unlimited energy. You may as well hand Rex the steering wheel.
你的大脑总是处于意志力的战役中，是在有限精力的情况下，昏昏欲睡的老教授和一个冲动的小爬虫之战。你也许会让Rex控制着你的大方向。
Rex does listen to Albert. Like a child, he will do a lot of what he's told, as long as he doesn't disagree too much. But if Rex desperately yearns to crash on the sofa to watch Survivor and eat Cheetos, that's what you're going to do.
Rex不听Alert的。他像是个小朋友，只要他是非常认可的，他会非常好的完成自己所说过的话，但是如果他非常渴望t冲向沙发，看幸存者，吃Cheetos，这将真的成为你即将会做的事情。
The incredible ascension of mankind that surrounds us is largely possible because we've developed systems to nurture the Rex's in our brains, to subdue, soothe and subvert them.
我们周围的环境一直在不可思的的变好着，这是非常可能的。因为我们创造了这样一套系统去在脑袋中孕育着Rex，去征服他，去安慰他，去摧毁他。
Much of this system we call "civilisation". Widely available food and shelter take care of a lot. So does a system of law, and justice. Mandatory education. Entertainment. Monogamy. All of it calms Rex down for long enough for Albert to do something useful - like discover penicillin, or invent Cheetos.
这个系统，我们称之为文化。富足的食物和住所将会对此有很大帮助。法律系统，司法，义务教育，娱乐，一夫一妻制，这些都将在长久时间内让Rex平静下来，让Albert做一些更有用的事，像发现青霉素，或者是发明Cheetos
Now let's look at your procrastination.
现在我们来看一下你的拖延症。
You're making a decision with your conscious mind and wondering why you're not carrying it out. The truth is your daily decision maker - Rex - is not nearly so mature.
我们通过我们的意识做决定，并且想知道为什么我们不能实现他。事实是，你日常的决策者Rex并没有很成熟。
Imagine you had to constantly convince a young child to do what you wanted. For simple actions, asserting your authority might be enough. "It's time for dinner". But if that child doesn't want to do something, it won't listen. You need to cajole it:
想象一下，你需要不断的去说服一个小朋友去做你想让他做的事情。对于一些简单的行为，靠他对你的忠诚度就够了。像“吃饭啦”。但是如果这个小朋友并不像想做这件事，他就不会听了。 你需要用甜言蜜语来诱导他：
Forget logic. Once you've decided to do something, logic and rationale won't help you. Your inner reptile can be placated, scared and excited. But it doesn't speak with language and cannot be reasoned with.
忘记逻辑。一旦你决定要做什么事，逻辑和原则都是无法帮到你的。你内心的小爬虫是温柔的，害怕的，兴奋的。但是他无以言表，也是无理可依的。
Comfort matters.If you're hungry, tired or depressed your baby reptile will rebel. Fail to take care of yourself, and he'll wail and scream and refuse to do a damn thing you say. That's what he's for.Eat, sleep and make time for fun.
安慰事件。如果你饿了，累了，或者是沮丧了，你的小爬虫将会反抗。他将会不管你，开始哀嚎或者喊叫，然后拒绝做你说的那些事情。这就是他的生活。吃，睡，玩。
Nurture discipline. Build a routine of positive and negative reinforcement. If you want a child to eat their vegetables, don't give them dessert first. Reward yourself for successes, and set up assured punishments for your failure. Classic examples include committing to a public goal, or working in a team - social pressure can influence Rex.
建立原则。建立一套奖惩机制。如果你想要一个小朋友去吃蔬菜，就不要先给他们甜品。奖励你成功的时刻，同时也要针对失败时进行惩罚。典型的例子包括承诺一个公开的目标，或者团队作业，社会压力会影响到Rex。
Incite emotion. Your reptile brain responds to emotion. That is its language. So get yourself pumped, or terrified. Motivational talks, movies and articles can work, for a while. I use dramatic music (one of my favourite playlists is called Music to conquer worlds by). Picture the bliss associated with getting something done, or the horrors of failing. Make your imagination vivid enough that it shakes you. We use similar tricks on children for a reason: "brush your teeth or they'll fall out".
煽动情绪。你脑子中的小爬虫会影响到情绪。这就是他的语言。它使你变得上气不接下气，感动恐惧。诱发性的对话，电影，文章都可能在短期内起到作用。我会听一些戏剧化的音乐（我最爱的一个歌单叫做Music to conquer worlds by 用音乐战胜世界）。描绘出你做好某件事情的美好画面，或者是失败时的恐怖画面。让你的想象足够生动并影响到你。我们总是用一些相似的技巧来对待孩子，类似于“你不刷牙他们就会掉了”。
Force a start.
The most important thing you can do is start. Much of Rex's instincts are to avoid change, and once you begin something those instincts start to tip into your favour. With enough time, you can even convince Rex to love doing the things he hated. There's a reason we force kids to go to school or to try piano lessons.
强迫开始。你能做的最重要的事情，就是开始。大部分Rex本能是避免改变,一旦你开始一件事情，本能就会让你倾斜向你喜欢的那一侧。只要有足够的时间，你可以相信Rex会愿意做他所讨厌的事情。这就是为什么我们要强迫孩子们去上学或者尝试学习钢琴。
Bias your environment
. Rex is short sighted and not terribly bright. If he sees a Facebook icon, he'll want it. It's like showing a child the start of a cool TV program immediately before bedtime. Design your environment to be free from such distractions: sign out of instant messenger, turn off notifications, turn off email. Have separate places for work and fun, and ideally separate computers (or at least accounts).
调整环境
Rex目光短浅，并且并不聪明。如果他看到一个Facebook的符号，他就想要他。就像是在临睡前给小朋友看一个很酷的电视节目的开头。创造一个环境，一个没有这些使人分心的事物的环境：取消标记即时消息，关掉通知，关掉邮箱等。分开你的工作环境和娱乐环境，完美的区分你的电脑（或者至少是账号）
Once you know what to look for, you'll start to recognise the patterns and control them.
There's an impulsive baby reptile in your brain, and unfortunately he has the steering wheel. If you can be a good parent to him he'll mostly do what you say, and serve you well. Just remember who's in charge.
一旦你知道了你寻找的是什么，你就可以识别这个模型，并控制他。
在你的脑子里有一个冲动的爬虫宝宝，不幸的是，他有个方向盘。如果你可以做一个好的妈妈，他将会按照你说的去做，并且很好的为你服务。要记住，谁主要负责！
原文档链接：
https://www.quora.com/Whats-an-efficient-way-to-overcome-procrastination
