10個影響深遠的小改變 讓生活大不同

When you want to change something in your life, it can feel overwhelming. Whether it’s losing 50lbs or switching careers, starting a side business or spring cleaning the home, it might be a change you’re desperately keen to make … but getting started is really tough.
當你想在生活中做出一些改變，你會感到深遠的影響。不論是減重50磅還是改變職業，不論是開辦副業還是打掃房屋，這也許是你一直渴望進行的改變。但開始這種改變確實很困難。

You don’t have to take huge, sweeping, radical steps, though. Small and simple changes are often the best way forwards – they’re sustainable and manageable, and you’re not likely to give up after one half-hearted attempt.
其實你沒有必要採取巨大、徹底、激進的措施。一些細小簡單的改變往往是前進的最佳途徑。它們可持續、易管理，在一次缺乏熱情的嘗試之後你也不太容易放棄。

Here are ten to try.
下面就是10個可以嘗試的小改變。

1. Set Your Alarm Half an Hour Earlier
把鬧鐘提前半小時

There’s never enough time in the day – especially when you want to start something new. Maybe you’d love to write a novel, take up exercise, or have time to pray or meditate.
白天的時機永遠不夠用，尤其當你想開始某件新事情時。也許你想寫篇小說，鍛鍊一下，或者花些時間禱告或冥想。

Rather than trying to overhaul your schedule or make massive efficiency gains, how about simply setting your alarm half an hour earlier? An extra 30 minutes in the morning, before you go out to work, could make all the difference.
如果不想徹底修改你的日程表，也不用大幅提升效率，只是把你的鬧鐘提前半小時怎麼樣？早晨在你出去工作前額外的30分鐘會讓一切不同。

2. Go For a Twenty Minute Walk Before Dinner
晚飯前散步20分鐘

We all know how importance exercise is – particularly when it comes to keeping our energy levels up and reducing our chance of serious disease. But how many of us really manage to make exercise a consistent part of our lives?
我們都知道鍛鍊的重要性，尤其是它可以讓我們保持能量充沛、降低患重病的機率。但我們有多少人真的在生活中堅持鍛鍊呢？

Instead of coming up with yet another over-enthusiastic routine (which lasts for all of a week), go for a much simpler change: add in a twenty minute walk each day, before dinner. You could head to the local store to pick up fresh veggies, or simply walk around the block a few times.
爲了避免又一次三分鐘熱度的鍛鍊（頂多堅持一週），你可以選擇一種更加簡單的改變：每天增加20分鐘的散步時間。你可以走去本地的商店採購新鮮蔬菜，或者在街區附近走幾個來回。

3. Put a Bottle of Water On Your Desk
在桌上放一瓶水

You may have taken on board the 6 – 8 glasses of water per day message, but do you really manage that? If you do, do you find yourself gulping down water when you get thirsty, after spending a morning or afternoon dehydrated?
你也許知道每天應該喝6-8杯水，但你真的做到了嗎？如果做到了，你是不是發現自己在感到口渴，經歷了一早上或者一下午脫水之後才大口喝水呢？

One of the simplest tricks for drinking more water is to keep a bottle of it on your desk. It’s easy to take a swig regularly if you’ve got water in arm’s reach – and if you keep the cap on the bottle, there’s no chance of a spillage.
一個多喝水的小祕訣就是把一瓶水放在你的桌上。如果你伸手就能拿到水，規律飲水就會更加容易。只要把瓶子蓋好，水也不會灑出來。

4. Hide the Television Remote (and Keep a Book by the Couch)
把電視遙控器藏起來（在沙發邊放一本書）

There’s nothing wrong with watching television. But for many of us, the TV becomes a default activity. It’s all too easy to come home, slump on the couch, and reach straight for the remote without even thinking.
看電視沒什麼錯。但對於我們許多人來說，電視成爲了一項默認的活動。回到家中，窩在沙發裏，想也不想就伸手拿遙控器，這一切都太容易了。

If that’s a habit you’re trying to break, put the remote somewhere else. Hide it in a cupboard or on a high shelf. That way, you’ll have to make a real decision to watch television.
如果你想改變這種習慣，就把遙控器放在別的地方。把它藏在櫥櫃或者高的架子上。這樣一來，你就需要慎重決定要不要看電視了。

You can go even further with this by putting a book that you want to read, or something else you want to get on with, next to the couch.
你還可以更進一步，把一本你想讀的書，或者別的你想看的東西放在沙發邊上。

5. Take a Packed Lunch to Work
帶着午飯便當去上班

Trying to save money or eat more healthily? Fed up of wasting half your lunch break standing in line to buy a sandwich? Then take your own lunch to work.
想要省錢或者吃得更健康？厭倦了把一半午休時間都浪費在排隊買三明治上？那就自帶午餐去上班吧。

It costs much less to make a sandwich at home than to buy one out, and it only takes a few minutes. You’ll know exactly what’s going into your meal, so you can control the amount of fat and the number of calories, too.
在家自制一個三明治比在外面買一個便宜得多，而且只需要幾分鐘。你會清楚知道這一餐的成分，這樣你也可以控制脂肪和卡路里的攝入量。6. Skip Your Usual Starbucks Trip
跳過你的星巴克之旅

Many of us get into the routine of stopping at a coffee shop every day, maybe en route to work. Perhaps you started doing this as an occasional treat or a convenience when you’d not had time for breakfast – but it’s become a habit.
我們許多人習慣了每天在咖啡店裏停留一會兒，也許是在上班路上。也許你最初只是因爲偶爾請人喝杯咖啡，或者沒空吃早飯圖個方便，但這已經成爲了一種習慣。

A few dollars a day might not seem like much – but it adds up over the course of a year. Why not skip that Starbucks stop and set up an automated transfer to put $5/day into your savings account instead? After just a month, you’ll be over $100 better off – that’s more than $1,200 a year.
一天幾美元似乎並不是很多，但一年下來也不是個小數目。爲什麼不放棄星巴克，改爲每天往自己的賬戶裏自動轉入5美元呢？只需1個月，你就多了100美元，一年至少有1200美元。

7. Switch Your Light Bulbs for Energy-Saving Ones
把你的燈泡換成節能燈

Suffering eco-guilt? A lot of us want to do our bit for the planet – but we don’t know where to start. One of the simplest steps is to switch all your standard light bulbs for energy-saving ones. It’s not only much better for the environment, it’ll also save you money on your electric bill.
對環保事業感到內疚？我們很多人都想爲地球出一份力，但又不知從何做起。一個簡單的辦法就是把你所有的標準燈泡都換成節能型的。這不僅對環境大有益處，也可以在電費單上爲你省一筆錢。

If you were put off energy-saving bulbs in the past due to cost or poor light levels, give them another try: the technology has moved on considerably.
如果你因爲開銷問題或是微弱的燈光而曾經放棄使用節能燈，再試一次吧，科技已經進步許多了。

8. Write a Grocery List
列出購物清單

Do you find yourself spending more in the grocery store than you mean to? Do you constantly end up getting take-out because the cupboards are bare?
你是否發現自己花在雜貨店上的錢比預想的要多？你是否總是因爲櫥櫃空了纔不得不叫外賣？

A little planning goes a long way when it comes to grocery shopping. Think through the meals you want to eat during the week, and write a list of all the ingredients that you need to buy. It only takes five or ten minutes, and saves you a lot of head-scratching (and wasted money) in the store.
去雜貨店購物時，一份購物清單會大有幫助。想想你在下一週要做的菜，列出一份你需要購買的材料清單。這隻需要5-10分鐘，卻可以在商店裏幫你節省很多麻煩和金錢。

9. Tackle that Thing You’ve Been Putting Off
處理那些你一直在拖延的事情

We all put things off. Maybe it’s making that phone call, tidying your desk, sorting out a few little-but-annoying problems around the home…
我們都在拖延。也許是打一個電話，也許是清理書桌，也許是處理家庭裏一些細小但麻煩的問題。

It’s surprising how much better you can feel after getting a long-standing chore off your to-do list. Try picking one thing each day to sort out: it’ll only take a few minutes, and after a week or two, you’ll have got a bunch of energy-draining stuff out of the way.
把堆積已久的雜事從你的必做清單上清楚掉，那種感覺會好到讓你自己都驚訝。試着每天解決一件事情，這隻需要花幾分鐘，一兩週後，你就會解決很多耗費精力的事情。

10. Say “Thank You” to Someone
對別人說“謝謝”

This is such a tiny change, you might think it’s hardly worth doing. Believe me, it is. Saying “thank you” to one person each day – whether it’s a colleague, friend or family member – can make a huge positive difference in your relationships and your own happiness.
這個改變如此之小，你也許都會覺得不值得做。相信我，這是值得的。每天對一個人說一句“謝謝”，不論是你的同事、朋友還是家人，都會給你的人際關係和你的幸福帶來巨大的積極改變。

Think how good it feels to be recognized and appreciated when you’ve worked hard at a task. By saying a simple “thank you”, you can give other people that same sense of appreciation (and you’ll be turning your own thoughts towards the positive aspects of your relationships).
想一想，當你努力完成一項任務時得到他人的認可和欣賞，這種感覺是多麼好。只需要說一句簡單的“謝謝”，你就可以給其他人帶來同樣的認同感（在人際關係中你也會把自己的想法向積極的一面調整）。