The trick to being successful could, in fact, be simple.

事實上，成功的秘訣可能很簡單。

From my own experience interviewing highly successful artists, writers, and creative entrepreneurs I’ve found one of the most common responses to the question of how they can be so prolific to be, ‘well, I don’t have a social life.’

從我個人采訪極其成功的藝術家，作家以及創造性企業家的經驗來看，我發現對于他們怎么如此多產這個問題的最常見的答案之一是，“我沒有社交生活”。

As a freelancer working solo from home, while my housemates head out to work, I justified a very active social life as basic human necessity. Yet when it dawned on me just how much time I was spending socialising, I realised I may be taking it to an extreme.

作為一個獨自在家工作，我的舍友在外工作的自由作家，我認為非常活躍的社交生活是基本的人類需求。但是當我漸漸明白我花了多少時間來社交時，我意識到我可能太極端了。

I calculated that, on average, I was spending 22 hours or more each week on social activities. So, in a bid to see what would happen to my work output, health and wellbeing, I decided to try and cut out my social life entirely.

我估算了一下，我每周平均花22個小時甚至更多進行社會活動。為了看看這給我的工作產出，健康和幸福帶來了什么，我決定試試徹底切斷自己的社交生活。

I knew, at times, I filled my schedule simply out of fear of missing out (FOMO), an inability to say no, but also as a sneaky way to procrastinate or shift focus away from my work.

我知道，有時候我僅僅是因為恐懼被遺漏而填滿了自己的時間表，無法拒絕，但這也是一種拖延或者把注意力從工作上轉移的卑鄙方式。

For one month, I declined all in-person activities with friends: going out for drinks; coffee catch-ups; dinners; parties and non-work related events, to see if it would make me more productive, improve my focus and career prospects.

一個月來，我拒絕了和朋友的所有親子活動：出去喝酒，喝咖啡，晚飯，聚會和與工作無關的活動，來看看這是否能讓我更加多產，提高自己的注意力和職業前景。

On day one of the month-long experiment, I had to confront some deep-seated anxiety over missing out. For me, FOMO often stems from choice – when there are several enticing options available for a Saturday night, how do I know I’m making the right choice?

長達一個月的實驗中的一天，我不得不面對一些因為忽視而帶來的深層次焦慮，對忽視的恐懼通常源自選擇，當周六晚上有幾個誘人的選擇時，我怎么知道做出正確的選擇呢?

But as the days passed, the FOMO began to subside and I started to relax. I only had one option to consider for Saturday night – to stay home – and this limitation left me more satisfied in my decision. I used to berate myself for staying in on a Friday night or leaving an event too early, but during the experiment I felt more content working, reading or watching Netflix instead of dwelling on the other things I could be doing.

但是隨著時光流逝，對忽視的恐懼開始減弱，我開始放松。我周六晚上只有一個供考慮的選擇——呆在家中——這種限制讓我對自己的選擇更加滿意。我曾經痛斥自己周五不出門或者很早離家參加活動，但是試驗期間，我對工作，閱讀或者看Netflix更加滿意，而不是凝想其它我可以做的事情。

A fun-free schedule also allowed for more ‘deep work’ (something computer science professor, Cal Newport, defines as the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task). No longer distracted by what I could be doing, or what fun everyone else was having, I was able to build concentrated pockets of work into my week at times that were usually reserved for socialising, such as spending Friday nights doing admin or Saturday mornings writing in a café.

沒有娛樂的時間表也允許更多“深度工作”(計算機科學教授 Cal Newport將其定義為一種不被認知要求任務所分神的專注能力)。不再為我可以做什么，或是別人在玩什么而分神，我可以在本來通常用于社交的時間里專注工作，不如周五晚上做點行政工作，周六白天在咖啡館寫作。

While I found more time to work, I also noticed a change in my overall health and wellbeing. I found myself cooking more at home, doing daily exercise, getting to bed earlier each night, reading, and relishing moments of rest and boredom throughout the day.

當我發現有更多的工作時間時，我還注意到我的整體健康和幸福發生了變化。我發現自己在家做飯多了，進行日常鍛煉，每天提早睡覺，閱讀，享受休息的時刻和充斥每天的無聊。

Post-experiment, I have redefined what success looks like to me – it isn’t all work, or all play, or all balance, but a mix of different engagements within each day, and a steady smattering of breaks in between.

試驗后，我重新定義了我眼中的成功——并不全是工作，或者玩，或者平衡，而是每天各種活動的綜合，以及期間點滴的休息。