It’s obvious that some employees perform at higher levels than others—but why? David Maxfield, vice president of research for the leadership-training firm VitalSmarts, studied 1,594 managers and employees and found that high performers have adopted smart habits, one of which is an important ritual for getting more done: a weekly review.

显而易见，一些员工的工作效能比其他员工高一个层次——这是为什么呢？领导者培训机构，VitalSmarts的副总裁David Maxfield通过对1594名经理和职员的调查，发现工作效能高的员工都有巧妙的工作习惯，其中包括一项对高效率完成工作十分重要的程序：每周回顾。

This step is very different than how the average person runs their week, says Maxfield. “It’s very easy to plan life from the bottom up, but that’s being reactive,” he says. “You focus on pleasing the people around you and meeting urgent objectives. You could live your entire life that way and be pretty successful, but you’d also be pretty unfulfilled.”

Maxfield称，这个步骤于一般人度日的习惯非常不同，“从周一到周末计划自己的生活十分简单，但那只是一种反射他人要求式的生活，”“你生活的重心就是取悦周围的人，应付紧急的任务。你可以一辈子都这么生活，也能取得一定的成就，但同时你的生活并不圆满。”

Instead, plan and review with a cadence of once a week. “Who do you want to be? What are your long-term aspirations? Ask yourself, ‘How do I become a better me?’ It’s not being responsive to immediate tasks; it’s being proactive, making sure you are aligned with personal and professional goals.”

与此不同，你可以按照每周一次的规律做一个回顾和计划。“你想成为什么样的人？你的长期目标是什么？问问自己，‘我如何自我完善？’这不是应付当下的任务，而是主动生活，把握住了自己的生活目标和职业目标。”

Here are the three objectives a weekly review should address.

每周回顾应该包括如下三个目标。

GETTING CLEAR

思路清晰

Do a gut check about your direction, making sure you’re aligned with personal and professional goals. “Is it time to have a crucial conversation with a boss or customer?” asks Maxfield. “Identify times when your career was pushed off course from your own desires, and decide what you want to do. It can be hard to get back if you don’t address it.”

探问一下自己的内心，把握住自己的生活目标和职业目标。“我计划和领导或客户进行一次重要谈话，这个时间合适吗？” Maxfield说，“当你的职场现状与你自己的理想脱轨的时候，你要提醒自己，并且做出决定，自己到底想要做什么。如果你不提醒自己，就会离理想越来越远。”

Then look at what’s been added to your calendar, especially tasks given to you by others. “Are those aligned with what you’re after?” asks Maxfield. “Ninety percent of the time they are, but the other 10% are very important because they can be huge time sucks. It’s bad for me and for the person who put it on your calendar.”

然后检查一下你的日程表上附加的新任务，特别是那些别人托付的任务，“这些工作任务与我的目标方向一致吗？” Maxfield称要这样问自己，“90%的情况下是的，当另外10%并非如此的情况更加重要，因为这些任务会消耗你大量的时间。这对我，对把这项工作托付给我的人都没有益处。”

Review the past week by looking at your roles and responsibilities. Are you missing something because you’re consumed with something else? “Are you doing the things that further your goals, and are you living up to your principles?” Maxfield asks. “When you are in line with your purpose and principles, it grounds you. When your mission and the moment connect, you feel fulfilled and you can accomplish more.”

回顾上周，认清自己的角色定位和自己的职责。你是否因为忙于其他的事情，而忽略了某些更重要的事情?“你现在做的事情是否会让你与理想越走越远？你是否坚持了自己的原则？” Maxfield称要这样问自己，“如果你坚持了自己的理想和原则，他们就会让你步履坚定。当你的计划和你当下的工作相匹配，你就会感到充实，也能够完成更多的工作。”

GETTING CURRENT

把握当下

Capture loose papers and materials, and organize yourself for the coming week. For example, get your inbox to zero and empty your head of everything you’re holding onto, such as to-dos or ideas, by writing them down and scheduling them.

把活页材料整理清楚，为新的一周武装好自己。举个例子，把自己的收件箱处理干净，把脑中未完成的事务清空，比如为完成的事情清单，和未续的想法，把他们写下来，安排到自己的工作计划之中。

Review your calendar to see what’s coming up. “Review the list of to-dos and ask yourself if those are the right tasks and right appointments? Do they fit with your goals? Are they aligning with your purpose and principles?” Maxfield asks.

回顾一下自己的日程表，看看接下来是什么。“回顾一下自己的未完成事情清单，问问自己，这些任务是应该完成的么？这些应酬应该赴约吗？他们符合你的目标吗？他们与你的理想和原则一致吗？”

GETTING CREATIVE

激发创造力

Finally, consider long-term planning by checking in with your “someday goals.” “For example, I’d like to hike Hadrian’s Wall,” says Maxfield. “I don’t have a date attached to it, but I don’t want to lose track of this. It’s important to review different horizons. Is it time to take action on any of those?”

最后，审查一下自己在未来某一天的计划，以此回顾一下自己的长期目标。“比如，我很想攀登哈德良长城，” Maxfield称，“我并没有计划好哪一天去，但我并不想忘却这件事，从不同的思路回顾自己的目标非常重要。现在是时候完成我的那些计划了吗？ ”

A weekly review will help you to lead your life with purpose. “It’s common sense,” says Maxfield. “Anyone looking at this would say ‘duh,’ but one of the interesting things about common sense is that it’s very uncommon. This practice is incredibly and profoundly important for anyone who wants to perform at a higher level.”

每周回顾能帮助你铭记理想，让理想引领生活，“这应该是一种常识，” Maxfield说，“但常有人对这种做法嗤之以鼻。常识的特点之一就是，多数人并不了解它们的架子。对于那些想要提高自己的职场层次的人来说，这种做法的重要性超乎想象，而且意义深远。”

（翻译：小木）