爱思英语编者按：下班就像障碍课程一样，不让你按时离开吗？

It’s time to leave work.
到了下班的时候了。

You are about to head out, when your last meeting runs over.
你开完今天的最后一个会议后准备离开。

Then you realize you have one more deliverable that is due, as well.
然后你意识到，你还有一个活儿应该交付了。

And suddenly, you are stuck at the office.
突然，你困在了办公室里。

Is your departure from work like an obstacle course intended to keep you from leaving on time?
下班就像障碍课程一样，不让你按时离开吗？

Stuck at the Office
滞留在办公室里

You start the day with the best of intentions.
你怀着最好的打算开始了一天。

You plan on leaving work early to hit the gym and then you are having a dinner date.
你计划早点儿下班去健身馆，然后来个晚餐约会。

But, one thing leads to another. One meeting runs into another.
但是，一件事情又引出了另一件。一个会议开完了又开另一个会。

You end up being held late at work. And after meetings, you still have to finish up your work.
最后你工作到很晚。开完会后，你还是得完成工作。

Soon, it’s well into the evening.
一会儿，天就很晚了。

The gym has already been written off. And you are unfashionably late to your dinner date. (Or maybe you missed dinner altogether…)
健身馆已经没法去了。你的晚餐约会也迟到了15分钟以上。（或也可能你错过了晚餐约会)。

Tomorrow you repeat the same pattern.
明天你还是这样。

Is your office determined to prevent you from having a life?
你的工作决心要阻止你好好生活吗？

Escape the Office
逃离办公室

With a little advanced planning and saying “No” where appropriate, you can get out of the office on time.
提前做点儿计划，并在恰当的时候说“不”，你就能按时离开办公室。

Just like getting out the door at home on time, it takes some planning and advance action.
就像按时从家里出发一样，这也需要计划和提前行动。

But, it can be done. You can have a life after the office.
但是，这是可以做得到的。下班之后你可以拥有生活。

Here are 8 Tips to help you Get Out the Office Door On Time:
下面的8个小贴士能帮你按时下班：

1. Set a Goal – Know when you are leaving. If you have a set time that you are working towards, you can adjust your work to meet that goal.
1. 设定目标——知道什么时候离开。如果你有规划好的时间表并为之努力，你可以调整工作来实现这一目标。

2. Set Hard Boundaries – When things start running over, don’t let them. Excuse yourself from that meeting on time. End that discussion when appropriate. Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO) is known for setting a hard-line that she leaves work at 5:30PM to get home with her kids. (Recommended reading: Sheryl’s book Lean In.)
2. 设定严格的界限——当事情开始超时时，阻止这种情况发生。按时从会议离开。在恰当的时候结束讨论。雪莉-桑德伯格（Facebook COO）以坚持每天下午5:30下班去接孩子而闻名。（推荐阅读：雪莉的书《向前一步》，点击下载>>）

3. Set Expectations – Advance expectations can work magic. If others know that you need to leave on time, they are more likely to respect your time. This could meaning telling your team or boss in advance, that you need to depart at a certain time that day.
3. 设定期望——提前设定期望能带来魔法般的效果。如果其他人知道你需要按时离开，他们更有可能遵守你的时间。这可以是提前告诉你的团队或老板，那天你需要在某一时间离开。

4. Make An Appointment (With Yourself) – Leaving at the end of the day can be difficult, even from an etiquette standpoint. However, if you have an appointment, people tend to be understanding. You don’t have to say that it is a dinner with your significant other.
4. （和你自己）预约——上完班离开时可能很难，即使是从礼仪的角度上来说也是如此。然而，如果你有预约，别人一般都会理解。你不必说是和你的另一半约会。

5. Don’t Schedule Meetings at the End of the Day – Set aside the end of your day for admin, clean-up, and wrap-up. These are activities that you control. Meetings tend to run over. Don’t let meetings be the last thing on your daily calendar.
5. 不要把会议安排在一天结束之际。把你快下班的这段时间留出来进行行政管理、清洁和总结。这些都是你能控制的活动。会议往往会超时。不要把会议安排成你当天日历上的最后一件事情。

6. Don’t Go Out For lunch – While fun, going out for lunch with the gang ends up punching a huge hole in your day. Don’t let the second half of your workday get derailed by an unexpected long lunch. Bring your lunch and if you finish early you can relax or get ahead on your afternoon.
6. 不要出去吃午餐——和一群人外出吃午餐虽然很有趣，但是会浪费你很多时间。不要让你工作日的下半部分因为一顿意外的长时午餐而脱离正轨。带着午餐去上班，如果你提前做完工作，你可以休息或下午提前走。

7. Start Early – Want to leave early? Try getting to work early. By arriving before others, you can get work done and be ahead of your to do list.
7. 早点儿开始——想早点儿离开？试试早点儿开始工作。你可以比别人先到，把工作做完，提前做待办事项清单里的事项。

8. Get your Deadlines Done Early – Attack those have-to-do tasks early. The ones that you must get done before leaving work. This will prevent you from getting stuck when you run out of time at the end of the day.
8. 早点儿做有最后期限的工作——早点儿攻克那些必须要做的任务。早点儿做那些必须下班前做完的工作。这会让你免于在下班的时候发现时间不够用。