2.Negotiating Boundaries
二、协商边界

Other people are the biggest obstacles of focus.A colleague wants to chat.You get a WeChat message about that party tonight.You hear the familiar ping of new emails that demand a look.
他人是保持专注的最大障碍。同事想要聊天；收到微信好友关于今晚派对的消息；听到熟悉的提示音，有新邮件需要查看。

The difference between these interruptions and those previously discussed is that they very often include some social obligation to respond.While you can try to ignore the water cooler gossip without consequences, a delayed reply to a colleague or refusal to initiate a work discussion may run you into trouble.
这些干扰与上一条中讨论不同之处在于，它们通常包括一些社交义务，需要做出回应。当你试着忽略茶水间的八卦不会有什么后果，但如果回复同事迟了，或是拒绝开始工作讨论，你可能会遇到麻烦。

This step requires communication with those around you so that they understand what you’re trying to do and are less likely to interrupt you if it’s not an emergency.Here’s some steps to take:
这一步需要与周围的人进行沟通，从而让他们理解你在做的什么，除非紧急情况尽量不打扰你。以下是可以采取的一些步骤：

Close the door.Shutting yourself away immediately increase the barriers to interruption. If someone has to knock or open a door to ask a question, that makes them think twice before doing it.Open office?Headphones also help do the trick.If someone has to pull them off you or tap your shoulder, this works similarly.
1.关上门。把自己和他人隔离开来立刻增加了外部干扰的障碍。如果有人需要敲门或打开门才能问个问题，他们在这样做之前就会反复掂量。开放式办公环境？耳机可以起到同样的作用。如果有人必须摘掉耳机或拍拍你的肩膀才能和你说话，他们也会三思的。

Tell people when to interrupt you.Let people know which hours you plan to use for your prime focus time and ask them to interrupt you in defined intervals outside of them.The flexibility here is enormous, so even if you’re in a job which requires frequent communication, you might even ask people to wait until the last ten minutes of the hour to interrupt you.I’ve often done this by reserving morning hours for focus and encouraging calls/discussion in the afternoon.
2.告诉他人何时可以打断你。让别人知道哪些时段你计划用作主要专注时间，让他们在这些时段以外规定好的间隙来找你。灵活性巨大。因此即使你在工作需要频繁交流，你依然可以让他人等到1小时的最后10分钟再来打断你。我经常的做法是，把早上的时间留给专注地做事，鼓励他人在下午打电话或找我讨论。

Coordinate your plan with your boss/clients. A refusal to communicate can seem rude in the moment.A plan to improve your productivity for the benefit of your manager/clients is not.Better to talk about what you want to do, and get their input, before forcing an awkward moment later.
3.与老板和客户协调你的计划。拒绝交流可能在当时看上去无礼，但为了经理或客户的利益，而提高工作效率的计划就不同了。最好告诉他们你要做什么，获得他们的意见，以免事后尴尬。

Set up an autoresponder.If immediate emails are the norm, an autoresponder indicating your email checking hours might help.You can do the same with texts/calls.Many phones have a special feature that automatically replies when you’re driving.You can rework this to be turned on manual and deliver a custom message letting people know that you’re in focus mode but they can cut through if its an emergency.
4.设置自动回复。如果立即回复邮件是标准做法，一条说明你检查邮箱时间的自动回复可能会有帮助。你也可以对短信/电话做同样的设置。许多手机都有一项特殊功能，可以在你开车时进行自动回复。你可以重新设置这项功能为手动开启，并发送一条客气的消息让对方知道你正处于专注状态，但如果事情紧急，可以打断你。

Negotiating boundaries is usually a lot easier than people assume.The difficulty is being okay with taking the initiative to ask for a different setup in order to increase your focus.Many working environments settle on different options out of inertia, not because there’s a defined rationale for them.
协商边界通常比人们设想的要容易得多。困难的是能够主动提出不同的时间安排，从而增进专注。许多工作环境中人们选择不同的时间安排是出于惰性，而不是因为有明确的理性依据。