设立目标

Goals might not sound that awesome, but they are a great way of sticking to your priorities. With just under six months to go until 2014, now is the time to take those ‘someday’ goals and turn them into ‘today’ goals. Whenever you create goals in any context, it’s important to make sure they’re SMART: specific, measurable, achievable (and attractive), realistic and timed.

目标虽没那么宏伟，但它们却是一种好方法，让人们养成优先处理首要任务的习惯。到2014年还有不到6个月时间，现在是时候把这些“将来的目标”化为“今天的目标”。不管你是在什么情景下设立目标，重要的是要确保它们符合SMART准则：明确性（specific）、可衡量性（measurable）、可达成性（achievable）、可行性（realistic）、时限性（timed）。

For example, “Read more” is a goal, but it’s not a very helpful goal. “Read 10 new books by the end of December 2013″, on the other hand, is smart. It’s specific (all the details are there), measurable (when you put down the 10th book, you’ve met your goal), achievable and attractive (if you enjoy reading books), realistic (10 books in five months is two books per month) and timed (it has a deadline).

比如说，如果你的目标是“多阅读”，那这个目标没什么用；“到2013年12月底阅读10本新书” 就是一个符合SMART准则的目标。它具备明确性（有所有的细节）、可衡量性（当你读完第10本书时，你就达成目标了）、可达成性（如果你喜爱阅读）、可行性（5个月10本书，相当于每个月2本），和时限性（有截止日）。

Six months might seem like a long time, but remember how fast the first half of this year went. Set no more than two or three goals for the next few months to give yourself the best chance of fulfilling them.

六个月时间看起来像是很长，但请别忘了上半年是怎么飞逝而过的。在接下来的几个月时间里设定两三个目标，给自己一次实现它们的机会。

 

2. Try something new, just for fun

尝试一些新东西，只为兴趣

What is life for if not for its rich experiences? Many of us include new hobbies or activities in our annual plans. Yet, as the year progresses, we often get stuck in ruts and routines.

如果没有丰富的经历，那么生活是什么？很多人的年度计划里都含有新的爱好和活动。然而随着时间流逝，我们常常陷在自己的日常琐事里。

Make the second half of 2013 awesome by shaking things up. Try out that dance class you’ve been eyeing up, join a book club, or make a commitment to take a walk somewhere different each month. Choose something that will encourage you to break your current weekly routine and introduce variety into your life.

为了让2013年下半年过得精彩，我们需要重新梳理。试着去报个舞蹈班，加入书友俱乐部，或是每个月出门去不同的地方散步。选择一些能帮你打破目前繁琐沉闷的生活惯例的活动，将新鲜事物带入你的生活。

 

3. Educate yourself

自我教育

As well as shaking up your weekly routine, taking time out to learn a new skill can also help unleash your creativity and open up a wealth of new possibilities.

除了重新规划你的一周生活外，抽点时间学习一门新技能也能帮你释放创造力，打开无限可能性。

Many of us have new skills we’d like to try, such as learning a new language, rekindling childhood hobbies, or taking classes in a new skill we’ve always wanted to learn. The most common reason for not doing this is a lack of time, so try limiting activities like TV and Facebook and give yourself the gift of education instead.

很多人拥有我们想要尝试的新技能，比如说学习一门新语言，重新点燃儿时的爱好，参加我们一直想学习的新技能的课程。不去做的的一个原因是我们没有时间，那么试着限制某些活动的时间，比如减少看电视的时间，减少刷Facebook的时间，给自己一次受教育的机会。

If you’re stuck for ideas, take a look at evening courses offered by your local community college: you never know what might catch your eye.

如果你想不出来做什么，看看由当地社区大学提供的夜校课程，说不定你会有所收获。

 

 

 

4. Start keeping a journal

开始写日志

Journaling has a number of benefits. Not only will it help you plan your next five to six months and stay more conscious of what’s really important to you, but it’s a great way of keeping a record of everything you do.

写日志有许多好处。它不仅帮你对接下来的五六个月时间做了一份计划，让你意识到对你来说什么是真正重要的事情，此外也是一种记录你的所作所为的方式。

The act of journaling in itself can help keep us focused on our intention to make the second half of 2013 awesome. Reading back over previous journaling notes can also reveal things to us about ourselves that we didn’t previously realize.

日志就使我们把精力集中，让2013年下半年过得更精彩。重新阅读之前写下的日志，日志可以向我们透露我们之前没有意识到的关于自身的问题。

Through journaling, we have space and time to explore our goals, ambitions and desires, both for the remainder of this year and beyond. We have a private space to express our deepest hopes, fears and dreams, and an opportunity to reflect on any obstacles that might get in the way of an awesome 2013.

通过写日志，我们有空间和时间去探索我们的目标、志向和渴望，它们都提醒着我们今年或是未来的努力方向。我们拥有一个私人空间来表达我们最深处的希望、恐惧和梦想。它也为我们提供了反思的机会，对下半年可能遇到的困难进行思考。

 

5. Focus on what’s working

专注当前着手的事情

Perhaps the first half of 2013 felt like your best six months yet, perhaps you feel like the next five months are a chance for 2013 to redeem itself. Whatever the case, taking time each day to focus on what’s working right now will help you develop a deeper appreciation for all the good things that are happening for you this year.

也许2013的上半年感觉像是的六个月时间，也许你感觉接下去的五个月时间是兑现2013年承诺的时候了。不管是哪种情况，每天抽出时间关注眼前在忙碌的事，这会培养你的感恩之心，对所有今年发生的好事表示感谢。

One way of doing this is to keep a gratitude log, writing down five to ten things you appreciate or feel grateful for at the end of each day.

有一种方法能做到这一点，就是写感恩日志，也就是在结束时，写下5到10件让你感恩和充满感谢的事。

Sometimes, we don’t truly appreciate everything we’ve done and experienced until we have a chance to reflect back on how the last few months have gone. Without a written record of our day-to-day or week-to-week experiences, we tend to dwell on the more memorable challenges of the past, rather than things that went well or things we felt proud of.

有时，我们不会真心地对我们做过的和经历的事充满感激，直到我们有了一次回想过去几个月是怎么过去的机会。如果没有书面记录下我们每或是每一周的经历，我们就常常会沉湎在过去的记忆中，而不是关注发展顺利以及让我们引以为傲的事情上。