"Do what you love."

    We've all heard this advice before. It's great advice, though not many people truly take it to heart.

    But sometimes doing what you love isn't enough to keep you going. Inspiration, passion, and motivation are difficult things to hold on to. They always seem to slip away right when you need them most.

    You know that feeling. Where you'rethatclose to finishing a project, or achieving a goal, or crossing a task off your to-do list … but you just can't muster the energy. You've lost interest. You're exhausted. Drained. And you don't know why.

    That's burnout. It's something many of us are all too familiar with. I'd like to share with you a few ways that I fight burnout – or prevent it from catching me in the first place.

    1. Achieve in increments. When you only focus on a big goal someday, it's easy to get burned out by the daily grind. It's like driving toward a mountain in the distance. You can drive for hours, but the mountain doesn't seem to get any closer. And spinning your wheels gets real tiring real fast.

    The solution is to give yourself a way to measure and record every little step forward you take. Here's how:

    Get a journal, notebook, or calendar. Writing things down is important.

    Identify milestones on the road towards your goal.If you're writing a book, you could treat each chapter as one milestone. Or, even better, treat each 500 words or 1000 words as a milestone.

    If milestones aren't obvious, create them. For example, if you're training for a marathon, hold yourself to a progression of distance. If you start out running at your maximum distance, you'll plateau very quickly. Instead, start at a shorter distance – even if it's very easy for you – then work your way up slowly.

    Track milestones in a simple, visual format. Think of the progress bar on a download. One glance tells you exactly how much progress has been made. The format you choose doesn't need to be detailed or comprehensive. It just needs to show that you're moving forward day by day.

    Learn to appreciate the little accomplishments. Let yourself enjoy the feeling of getting things done.

    2. Train your muse. One of the biggest myths about inspiration that it's random. One day you're inspired and motivated, the next day you're burned out – and there's no way around it. Or so they say.

    In fact, inspiration is just like any other skill. It may start out as unreliable, but it can be trained and developed into something you can rely on.

    So how do you train your muse? The best way I've found is immersion. Surround yourself with things that inspire you and reflect your goals. Great composers listen to music. Great authors read voraciously. Great marketers attend seminars. Great productivity-ists subscribe to Zen Habits. And so on. Immersion trains your mind to work efficiently in the ways you need it to.

    The more that your inspiration becomes a part of your life, the less likely it is to run out when you need it most. With that in mind, be creative. What ways can you connect with your inspiration on a daily basis?

    3. Work less. Cut down on the amount of energy and time you spend working. If you have sick days or vacation days left, take advantage of them. Or, if you're self-employed, force yourself to work fewer hours each day – even if that means turning down new projects.

    Working less doesn't mean you have to slack off or get less done. It does mean that you:

    Eliminate unnecessary tasks.

    Take strategic breaks.

    Stop multi-tasking.

    Seek help from other people.

    4. Define success realistically. There's absolutely nothing wrong with having big dreams and big ambitions. But if you're constantly frustrated by a lack of progress, it might be time to take a step back and examine your goals. Are they achievable? Are you holding yourself to a reasonable timeline?

    Here's a good way to do this. Get a piece of paper and write down your big, ambitious goal. Then write down at least 10 specific, concrete steps that will allow you to achieve that goal. Be as detailed as possible. If you can't come up with a series of down-to-earth steps to get you from here to your dream, that's a sign that you need to either redefine your goals or rethink the way you're pursuing those goals.

    5. Get more sleep. You've heard this before, I know. So have I. But that didn't stop me from going against my better judgment and tiring myself out by staying up late to work. Getting enough sleep takes a conscious decision – and, just like any good habit, takes time to develop.

    One of the biggest barriers for me in this area is procrastination. I have a tendency to put things off throughout the day, then stay up later as a result. What's keeping you from getting the rest you need?

    6. Take it slow（er）. The world tells us to rush things: "Get there faster. Make money quicker. Retire sooner." And while these things aren't necessarily bad, they can easily get us in over our heads. If you're feeling burned out and overwhelmed, it's time to slow down.

    A few ways to take yourself out of 24/7 high gear:

    Spend at least 10 minutes a day in a quiet place, away from distractions. Breathe.

    Put together a playlist of slow, relaxing music. Listen to it whenever you start feeling frazzled.

    Take a butcher knife to your to-do list. Set a limit to the number of tasks you take on each day and stick to it.

    Extend your deadlines. Do you absolutely, positively have to get this done now? Just remember – this isn't an excuse to procrastinate.

    7. Get a second opinion. It's hard to spot burnout from the inside. Your close friends and family are likely to identify the signs of burnout long before you do. So listen to what they're saying. The next time your spouse, parent, or best friend tells you you're working too hard, take it seriously.

    8. Set clear boundaries. Burnout happens when we allow work to overflow its boundaries and interfere with every other part of our lives. So set strong boundaries. The clearer the better. In writing, if possible.

    For example, instead of saying: "I'll spend at three hours every night with my family," make it clearer: "I won't work after 8 o'clock. That's 100% family time." Clear boundaries are easier to stick to and harder to rationalize away.

    Once you've set up your boundaries, make them public. Let your family know that you've set aside time just for them. They'll hold you accountable to your promises. Let your clients know that you'll be unavailable during certain hours. This will reduce the temptation to fudge on your boundaries.

    9. When you're working, focus. I've found that concentrating on work is actually less exhausting than allowing yourself to be wishy-washy about it. When you decide that it's time to work, buckle down, eliminate distractions, and do it wholeheartedly. There's something amazingly refreshing about pure, sharp focus.

    10. Create outlets. If you're a person of diverse interests （and really, who isn't?）, it's likely that you have several very different goals and ideas bouncing around in your head at any given time. These ideas need outlets. If you hold them inside, they'll eventually start interfering with your focus and creating unnecessary frustration, leading to burnout.

    In other words, I think it's okay – healthy, even – to start a few side projects as outlets for creative energy. Just make sure that you keep your priorities straight and your side projects fun. If these side projects become sources of stress, cut them out immediately.

    11. Know when to power through it. This is going to sound out of place given what I've said above, but it's powerful – if applied correctly. Sometimes the solution for burnout is just to power through it. Sometimes burnout can be an illusion. In these cases, the best choice is to refuse to use burnout as an excuse, ignore the fact that you feel burned out, and just work through it. It's like a runner gaining her second wind and coming out stronger on the other side.

    However, just as an experienced athlete knows when to push through the pain and when to pull back, you'll need to be very careful how you take this particular piece of advice. Until you develop a keen awareness of your own tendencies, it's usually better to err on the side of caution and pull back when you start feeling burned out.

    12. Never accept defeat. Burnout is an obstacle like any other. It can hold you back for a while, but it's not the end of the world – unless you let it defeat you.

    If you have a great goal in mind, don't give up on it, no matter how apathetic, exhausted, or frustrated you might feel. If everything I've said up until this point fails, do this: hold on to your dream – even if it doesn't feel like much of a dream at the moment. Hold on to it anyway. That way, when the storm clears, your dream will still be intact, ready for another try.

    "做你喜欢做的事。"

    我们都曾听过这个建议。这是一个很伟大的建议，虽然不是很多人真正的将它放在心里。

    不过，有时候即使是干你所爱的事情也不能足以让你一直保持热情。灵感、热情和理想是那种难以坚持的东西。它们似乎经常在你最需要它们的时候溜之大吉。

    你很清楚那种感觉。在差不多搞定一个项目，或接近一个目标、或将你一项任务从你的待办清单拿下等等的那些时刻，但你就是不能提起劲来。你变得毫无兴趣，筋疲力竭。而你不知道这是为什么。

    这就是怠惰。一个大多数人都非常非常熟悉的现象。我很乐于向你分享一些我战胜怠惰的方法--或者说，防止它从一开始就发作的方法。

    1.完成微小的叠加。当你只将注意力放在一个大目标的时候，很容易你就被日常单调的事情磨得筋疲力竭。这就像开着车朝着远方的山前进一样。你可能开几个小时了，但那座山看起来一点都没有靠近。你的轮子一直不停的转啊转，当然很快你就累了

    解决方法是，用一种方式来测量和记录在前进道路上的每个小小的一步。这里是建议：

    *拿起一本日记、笔记本或日历。写下事情是很重要的。

    *找出朝着你目标前进的道路上的里程碑。如果你在写一本书，你可以将每个章节视为一个里程碑。或者，可能会更好，将500个字或1000个字视为一个里程碑。

    *如果里程碑不是很明显，创建它们。举例而言，如果你在正在进行马拉松训练，给自己设定一个渐进距离作为目标吧。如果一开始就设定你能跑的最远距离作为目标，那么你很快就会到达平台期。相反，如果从一个较短的距离开始-即使这对你而言相当容易-你会慢慢地取得进步

    *以一种简单的、可视的方式来跟踪你的里程碑。想象一下，你下载东西的时候，出现的进度条。只要你瞥一眼就能知道你现在的进度是多少。你所选择的方式，不必拘泥于细节或在内容上有多么广泛。它所要做的，只是告诉你每天你进步了多少。

    学会去欣赏你每一小小的成就。享受那种完成某件事的感觉。

    2.训练你的灵感。灵感是不可捉摸的，这是一个最大谎言。在前一天你还充满灵感和活力，第二天你就开始筋疲力竭--别无他法。这就是他们所说的。

    实际上，灵感和其他的技能一样。在一开始，它可能不那么能靠得住，但是它可训练的，具备成为你信任的能力的发展性。

    如何训练你的灵感？我所找到的最好的方法就是，沉浸到你的目标中去。仅仅围绕着你自己的东西，全部都是能激励你和反映出你的目标的。伟大的作曲家努力地听音乐。伟大的作家贪婪的阅读。伟大的经营者努力的参与各式各样的讨论会。伟大的高效者，订阅Zenhabits,如此等等。沉浸到你目标中去，能训练你的头脑，让它以你期待的方式，变得高效。

    当你的灵感越来越融入你的生活，它就越来越不会在你需要它的时候溜掉。要变得有创意，记住这一点。究竟什么方式能让你每天都与灵感接通？

    3.少工作。砍掉那些你花在工作上的时间与精力。如果你病了，或你有工假，利用它们。或者，如果你是个自由职业者，每天强迫自己少几个小时去工作--即使这意味着你拒绝了新计划。

    工作得少，并不表示的变得懒惰或完成得少。它的意思是让你：

    *去掉不必要的任务。

    *获得关键性的进展。

    *停止同时多任务的方式。

    *从别人那里获得帮助。

    4.给成功下明确的定义。拥有一个大大的梦想，或抱负是没有任何错的。不过如果你经常为缺少进展而感到沮丧，那么可能是时候回过头去检查一下你的目标了。它们都达到了么？你是否一直坚持一个合理的时间表？

    这里有一个好方法。拿起一张纸，在上面写下你大大的梦想、抱负。然后写下至少十个特定的、具体的能让你达到目标步骤，越详细越好。如果你不能务实的暗处一系列能让你从这里到达你目标的步骤，这就表明你需要去重新调整你的目标或重新考虑你去实现这些目标的方式。

    5.睡多一点。我知道你听说过这个。我也是。不过这没能阻止我违背我正确的判断，我还是每晚熬夜，令自己疲累。充足的睡眠，能让人做出清晰的决定--但睡眠也和其他好习惯一样，需要时间去培养。

    我在这里遇到最大的阻碍，就是拖延症。我喜欢将事情一整天拖着，结果我要熬夜到很晚。那么，是什么阻止你去休息？

    6.慢慢来。全世界都告诉我们要匆匆忙忙做事情："更快。赚更多钱。更早去退休。"虽然这些东西并不一定是坏事，但是它们让我们更容易冲昏头脑。如果你开始感到怠惰，不知所措，那么就到了放慢脚步的时候了。

    这里是把你从一个星期二十四小时高负荷工作里面弄出来的方法：

    *每天都在一个安静的地方花上十分钟，远离那些烦人的事。深呼吸。

    *将那些缓慢、放松的音乐放进同一个播放列表里。当你感到劳累的时候，就开始听它们。

    *干净利落地砍掉你的待办清单。在你每天必须要做的事情上设定一个限度，然后坚持下去。

    *放宽你的期限。你是不是绝对要在这个时候把它完成？不过要记住，这不是拖延的借口。

    7.倾听不同的声音。要认识到自己陷入了怠惰状态，这很难。你的好朋友、家人会比你更早的发觉怠惰的迹象。所以，要听听他们的意见。下一次你的爱人、父母、或你最好的朋友跟你说你工作得太忙，要认真对待。

    8.设定明晰的分界线。当我们让工作超出了其必要的限度，并让它渗透到我们生活中的每一个方面的时候，怠惰就会发生。因此要设立一个强力的分界线，越清晰越好。尽量把它写下来。

    举例来说，与其这样说："我每晚将与家人共处三个小时。",倒不如让这句话更明了："晚上八点之后，我将不再工作。之后的时间100%是家庭时光。"划清界限让你更容易坚持，而且更合理。

    一旦你设立了你的分界线，公诸于众。让你的家人知道，你专门为他们抽出了时间。他们将为你的承诺负责。让你的顾客知道，你在一定的时间段是不在工作的。这将减少你在捏造分界线的机会。

    9.当你工作时，专注。我发现，专注于工作确实是比让自己在工作的时候摇摆不定，更不容易疲劳。当你决定了工作的时候，全力以赴，排除那些让你分心的事物，全心全意的去做它。你就会发现单纯、犀利的注意力，拥有着神奇的恢复力。

    10. 创造出口。如果你是一个兴趣爱好广泛的人（当然，谁不是呢？）,那么很可能在每个规定的时候，你都有几个非常不同的目标和想法，在你的脑袋里面，不停的跳来跳去。这些想法需要一个出口。如果你一直保留着它们，它们最终会干扰你的注意力，造成不必要的困扰，是你变得怠惰。

    从另一个角度来看，我认为启动一些小计划作为创新能量的出口，是很好的，甚至符合健康。只是要确保你一直在做重要的事，以及保证那些小计划都有趣。如果这些小计划，开始变得有压力，立即把它们砍掉。

    11. 知道什么时候撑下去。这个建议与我上面所说的相违背，但这个方法很强大--如果能够正确的运用。有时候，要解决怠惰的问题，就是要依靠撑下去的力量。有时候，怠惰可能是一个幻觉。在这样的例子里，最好的方式就是不要将怠惰作为一个接口，不要理会你感到怠惰的事实，就是不断的工作下去。这个过程，就像一个跑步的人，在他经历最初的疲劳之后，恢复了精力，反而使他的力量得到了增强。

    不管怎样，正如一个经验丰富的运动员所知道的那样，当在经历了痛苦之后和在开始回复的时候，你需要特别细心的对待这个特别的建议。直到对你的意图有了敏锐的认知，这个方法才能让你避免从感到怠惰的时候开始往往犯下的错误。

    12.永远不承认战备。怠惰，与别的阻碍一样。它可以阻挠你一时，但它不能阻挠你一世--除非你让它击败你。

    如果你心里有一个大大的目标，不要放弃，不管你感到别人多么冷淡、你自己多么劳累和灰心。即使我在这里所谈论的每一点都错了，你也要这么做：保持你的梦想--即便它此时此刻并没有那么美妙。不管怎样，都要坚持。在那边，当风暴褪尽，你的梦想仍完美无瑕的时候，再次上路吧！