?Time is an investment

By Murphy/王新倉（譯）

◆語篇導讀

雖然我們常說“一寸光陰一寸金，寸金難買寸光陰”，以此說明時間的寶貴，但同時我們又在經意或不經意中肆意地揮霍時間，那么，怎樣才能避免過度地浪費時間呢？那就是把時間看成一種投資，多多關注其回報率，這樣我們寶貴的時間就不會被肆意浪費掉了。

Think of how stingy you are with your money:if someone on the street asks for$10,you’re not giving it to him.There’s no way you’re giving a 30%tip for a normal dining experience.And so on.

And yet so many of us just waste randomly amounts of our time.We throw it away,every day.I know I do unless I’m careful.What helps me not to waste time is to see it as an investment,and to keep track of the returns I get for my investment.

This approach has led me to recognize that some things offer incredible immediate return on investment:a night spent learning a new song on my preferred instruments,for example,gives me a lifetime of being able to play that song.That’s an incredible return.Other investments are more like low-interest,high security,longterm investments:going to the gym,eating right,etc.Some,like reading good books,are kind of a combination of both.

But many activities are worthless from an investment perspective:whatever benefit they seem to give doesn’t last any longer than the activity itself.“Price is what you pay.Value is what you get.”— Warren Buffett.This applies to everything:money,relationships,time.Knowing this changes your life.

Of course,I’m not saying that spending time in the things like fun or entertainment is wasting it.Far from it,spending your time evenly in different areas of your life is an excellent investment,necessary for you to function properly,as eating or sleeping.

Think about all the things you do often and how you can do them better or faster (or stop doingthem).Use yourtime wisely.Try to create value and avoid causing any type of debt.Make yourtime a valuable property.This must be a good investment.

◆詞語積淀

stingy/'stind?i/adj.吝嗇的；小氣的

randomly/'r?nd?mli/adv. 任意地；隨便地

incredible/In'kred?bl/adj.難以置信的

combination/,k?mbI'neI??n/n.結合；聯(lián)合

perspective/p?'spektIv/n.觀點；看法

evenly/'i?vnli/adv.平滑地；均勻地

function/'f??k?n/v.運行；起作用

◆典句賞析

1.There’s no way you’re giving a 30%tip for a normal dining experience.你不可能給出30%的小費來換取正常的用餐體驗。

“There is no way...”是一個固定句型，意為“……沒門；……沒有辦法；……是不可能的”，后面可跟從句，也可跟動詞不定式短語。

【即時嘗試】時間的飛逝是無法阻擋的。

2.What helps me not to waste time is to see it as an investment,and to keep track of the returns I get for my investment.幫助我不浪費時間的方法是將它看成一種投資，記錄它能給我?guī)矶嗌倩貓蟆?/p>

“What helps me not to waste time...”是名詞性從句，作整個句子的主語。主句的謂語是“be+動詞不定式”結構，表示計劃性的將來；keep track of是動詞短語，意為“與……保持聯(lián)系；記錄”；“I get for my investment”是定語從句，先行詞是returns，關系詞已省略。

【即時嘗試】他也希望隨時知道你的進步。

3.But many activities are worthless from an investment perspective:whatever benefit they seem to give doesn’t last any longer than the activity itself.但是有很多的活動從投資的角度來說是毫無價值的，無論它們似乎能帶來什么好處，都不會比活動本身持續(xù)更久。

“whatever benefit they seem to give”是主語從句，whatever在從句中作賓語；last是及物動詞，意為“持續(xù)”。

【即時嘗試】我確信我們的友誼會日久天長。

譯文助讀

想想你在花錢上是多么吝嗇:如果有人在街上問你要10美元，你是不會給的。你不可能給出30%的小費來換取正常的用餐體驗。諸如此類的事情還有不少。

但是我們當中的大部分人都肆意揮霍著時間，我們每天都在揮霍時間。除非我刻意留心，不然我還是會那樣做。幫助我不浪費時間的方法是將它看成一種投資，記錄它能給我?guī)矶嗌倩貓蟆?/p>

這種方法讓我認識到有些東西會有不可思議的即刻回報。比如，花一個晚上的時間學會用我喜歡的樂器彈奏一首新的曲子，那我今后的一生中都能彈奏這首曲子。這是多么不可思議的回報。還有一些低利率、高安全性的長期投資，比如：去健身房鍛煉、健康飲食，等等。還有一些算是兩者的結合，如閱讀有意義的書。

但是有很多的活動從投資的角度來說是毫無價值的：無論它們似乎能帶來什么好處，都不會比活動本身持續(xù)更久?！澳愀冻龅氖莾r格，買來的是價值?！边@是沃倫·巴菲特的名言。這條定律適用于所有事物：金錢、關系、時間。知道這個會改變你的人生。

當然，我不是說花在諸如娛樂或消遣上的時間都是浪費。與之不同的是，將你的時間均勻地花在你生活中的各個領域是一項很好的投資，比如吃飯或睡覺，這些貌似浪費了的時間使你更好地發(fā)揮其他潛能所必需的投資。

想想你經常做的事情，考慮你如何能將這些事做得更好或更快（或者不做了）。明智地利用你的時間。盡可能創(chuàng)造價值，從而避免產生各類債務。讓你的時間成為寶貴的財富，這絕對是一項很好的投資。