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So in college, I had to write a lot of papers.
上大学的时候，我必须得写很多论文。
Now, when a normal student writes a paper, they might spread the work out a little like this.
正常学生在写论文时，可能会像这样去安排进度。
And I would want to do that. But then, actually, the paper would come along, and then I would kind of do this.
我也想这么做。但实际上，接到论文任务时，我会这样做。
Now, I had a hypothesis that the brains of procrastinators were actually different than the brains of other people.
我估计啊，拖延者的大脑其实跟其他人不一样。
And to test this, I found an MRI lab that actually let me scan both my brain and the brain of a proven non-procrastinator, so I could compare them.
为了验证这一点，我找了一个核磁共振实验室，它可以同时扫描我的大脑和一个已证明不是拖延症患者的人的大脑，进行比较。
So here's the brain of a non-procrastinator. Now, here's my brain. There is a difference.
这是一个不拖延的人的大脑。这是我的大脑。还是有区别的。
Both brains have a Rational Decision-Maker in them, but the procrastinator's brain also has an Instant Gratification Monkey.
两个大脑里都有一个理性决策者，但是拖延者的大脑里还有一个即时满足的猴子。
Now, what does this mean for the procrastinator? Well, it means everything's fine until this happens.
那么，这对拖延症患者意味着什么呢?意味着在这之前，一切都很好。
So the Rational Decision-Maker will make the rational decision to do something productive, but the Monkey doesn't like that plan,
理性决策者会做出理智的决定，要做一些有生产力的事情，但猴子不喜欢这个计划，
so he actually takes the wheel, and he says, "Actually, let's read the entire Wikipedia page of the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding scandal, because I just remembered that that happened."
它会抢过方向盘说，“其实，我们去维基百科上看看南希·克里根/汤娅·哈丁丑闻事件吧，我突然想起了这件事。”
The Instant Gratification Monkey does not seem like a guy you want behind the wheel.
即时满足的猴子并不是我们想要的掌舵手。
He lives entirely in the present moment. He has no memory of the past, no knowledge of the future, and he only cares about two things: easy and fun.
它完全只活在当下。它没有过去的记忆，没有关于未来的知识，它只关心两件事：轻松和好玩。
Now, sometimes it makes sense to be doing things that are easy and fun.
有时候做一些轻松好玩的事情也是有意义的。
But other times, it makes much more sense to be doing things that are harder and less pleasant, for the sake of the big picture. And that's when we have a conflict.
但其他时候，为了大局着想，更有意义的是去做一些更困难、更不好玩的事情。这时候我们就会产生冲突。
Turns out that the procrastinator has a guardian angel, someone called the Panic Monster.
原来拖延者有一个守护天使，是一个叫恐慌怪兽的人。
Now, the Panic Monster is dormant most of the time, but he suddenly wakes up anytime a deadline gets too close or there's danger of public embarrassment, a career disaster or some other scary consequence.
恐慌怪兽大部分时间都处于休眠状态，但每当截止日期临近或出现公共尴尬、职业生涯灾难或其他可怕后果的危险时，它就会突然醒来。
But there's a second kind of procrastination that happens in situations when there is no deadline.
但还有第二种拖延，会出现在没有截止期限的情况下。
So if you wanted to have a career where you're a self-starter—something in the arts, something entrepreneurial—there's no deadlines on those things at first,
如果你想在职业中让自己成为一个主动做事的人——比如艺术、创业领域——起初这些事情都没有截止日期，
because nothing's happening, not until you've gone out and done the hard work to get some momentum, to get things going.
因为在你努力工作并获得一些动力，让一切都运转起来之前，不会发生任何事。
There's also all kinds of important things outside of your career that don't involve any deadlines,
除工作外，还有很多重要的事情是不需要截止日期的，
like seeing your family or exercising and taking care of your health, working on your relationship or getting out of a relationship that isn't working.
比如探望家人、锻炼身体、关注健康、处理感情或者结束一段停滞的感情。
Now if the procrastinator's only mechanism of doing these hard things is the Panic Monster, that's a problem,
如果拖延者做这些难事的唯一动机是因为恐慌怪兽，那就有问题了，
because in all of these non-deadline situations, the Panic Monster doesn't show up.
因为在这些没有截止日期的情况下，恐慌怪兽都不会出现。
And it's this long-term kind of procrastination that's much less visible and much less talked about than the funnier, short-term deadline-based kind.
这是一种长期的拖延，比起更有趣、有截止日期的短期拖延，这种拖延更为隐蔽，也很少被提及。
And it can be the source of a huge amount of long-term unhappiness, and regrets.
它可能就是长期不快乐和遗憾的源头。
I had a little bit of an epiphany. I don't think non-procrastinators exist. That's right. I think all of you are procrastinators.
我有了一点顿悟。我认为这世上不存在不拖延的人。没错。我觉得所有人都是拖延者。
Now, you might not all be a mess, like some of us, and some of you may have a healthy relationship with deadlines,
虽然你们的生活不像有些人一样过得一团糟，虽然你们总能在截止日期前完成任务，
but remember: the Monkey's sneakiest trick is when the deadlines aren't there.
但请记住：猴子最狡猾的伎俩在于没有截止日期的时候。
We need to think about what we're really procrastinating on, because everyone is procrastinating on something in life.
我们需要思考我们真正在拖延的是什么，因为每个人都在拖延生活中的某些事情。
That's a job for all of us, and it's a job that should probably start today.
这是我们所有人都该思考的东西，也许今天就该这么做了。
Well, maybe not today, but you know. Sometime soon.
也许，不用今天吧，晚点儿再说吧。
