为什么长时间工作并不能使你成为优秀的建筑师？
Why Working Long Hours Won't Make You A "Better" Architect

由专筑网李韧，曹逸希编译

本文最初发表于Brandon Hubbard的博客，“The Architect's Guide”。

在前一篇博文“你是否应该成为一名建筑师”之中，我说到了这个行业内长时间工作的现象，因为这个话题在建筑界的地位亘古不变，因此我决定聊一下这个问题。

首先，我们先定义一下什么是“优秀的建筑师”。是指更高效？晋升快？工资高？还是指那些有着卓越设计能力的人？

通常来说，这些特征都兼具共同点。如果你有着卓越的设计能力，那么加薪升职指日可待。那么高效生产力是走向成功的关键因素吗？

生产力的概念往往与设计世界形成对比，“高产的”这个形容词往往让人想到向前冲刺的画面。

以下是多产的这个词的标准定义：

形容词

释义：能够生产大量的货物、粮食，以及其他商品。

所以这听起来像是你理想中的工作吗？

如以上定义所述，以及大众对于这个词的一般看法，这个词代表的意思是数量大于质量。显而易见，建筑项目像其他专业一样也有截止日期。但是一般建筑院校普遍都有着这样的理念，那就是只要时间还剩一个小时，它就应该被好好利用。

This article was originally published on Brandon Hubbard's blog, The Architect's Guide.
In a previous article, Should You Become An Architect?, I touched on the issue of long working hours within the profession. Since this is such a common talking point for architects, I decided to expand on the topic.
First, let's define what is a "better architect." Is it being more productive? Regularly promoted? Highly paid? Someone who produces excellent design solutions?
Usually, all of these characteristics tend to flow together. If you are a skilled designer you are likely to be compensated and promoted accordingly. So if being good at your job leads to fame and fortune, is productivity the key to excellence?
Often the idea of productivity contrasts with the design world. The word "productive" congers up images of a production line stamping out widgets as fast as possible.

Here is the basic definition of productive:
adjective
1. producing or able to produce large amounts of goods, crops, or other commodities.
Hmmm, doesn't really sound like a dream job does it?
As you can see the definition and the general public view of being productive revolve around the idea of production. It is all about quantity over quality. Obviously, architecture has deadlines like every profession. However, the architecture school culture leans toward the idea that if there is an hour left, it should be used.

截止日期

在最后一分钟完成的项目是否能产生优秀的作品？
通过熬夜能够做出更细致的设计方案吗？

工作到最后一秒其实会给你心理上的安慰，你会想，“我没办法再做了，因为没有时间了”。这样的想法会让你不带遗憾，因为已经没有多余的时间了。

然而从个人经验来说，长时间地连续工作无论是身体上还是精神上都让人十分疲惫。只通过时间则无法判断这是否是个好设计。


又到周末了吗？

相比起拖拖拉拉地工作12个小时，你是否能在8个小时内集中精力完成任务呢？你了解什么是一天工作6小时吗？

瑞典国家近期宣布他们将启用工作6小时制，斯德哥尔摩的应用程序Filimundus的CEO Linus Feldt解释了这项决定的原因。

“我认为，每天工作8小时的效率并不高，让一个人8个小时都专注于某个任务非常困难，那么为了应付完成任务，人们会习惯性地在工作中拖沓，这样似乎让时间过得快一些。同时，我们也几乎没有多少时间来顾及自己工作以外的事。”

Feldt说，为了适应工作时间的改变，工作人员不允许在工作中使用社交软件，同时尽量少开会。“我认为这样能更让员工们集中精力，这样你不仅在工作时精力充沛，在下班后仍然活力满满。”

虽然我可以继续谈论健康影响，亦或是工作与生活的失衡问题，但我仍然想将重点放在工作质量之中。


办公室文化

许多在大师工作室的员工们都十分自豪于自己的常年通宵工作。这也许在这个工作室属于其企业氛围，但连续工作到深夜是否真的能取得满意的成果呢？尤其这不是偶尔地熬夜，而是连续几个星期保持每周六十多个小时的工作量。

个人来说，虽然我能按时完成某个项目，但我的完成时间并不是传统的8小时。当你特别疲劳时，整个创作过程会更加艰辛。

这会造成恶性循环。因为我很疲劳，所以工作效率低，导致不得不加长工作时间，但这让我更加劳累。


“建筑师是艺术家”

没有人会告诉你一个艺术家应该怎么完成作品。建筑设计任务繁重，其中有许多与其它专业的沟通与合作，因此整个项目的推动过程会偏慢。

根据Salary.com这个网站的调查，有69%的人常常会在工作中浪费时间。

“大多数人（34%）认为，他们每天浪费的时间在30分钟以内。约四分之一（24%）的人则表明，他们每天浪费的时间大约在30分钟至60分钟，而11%的人则估计他们每天浪费在非工作事务上的时间大约有几个小时。”

近年来这种现象在于工薪阶层之中更加明显。我认为这与工作量无关，而是由于一些应用程序、社交软件及媒体信息网站分散了人们的注意力。这种现象在过去的手绘草图时代并不存在。

其实我们这一代人由于无法专注于工作接受了诸多批评。但许多人仍然相信我们的工作与个人生活正在合二为一。曾经有篇文章描述到了这个问题，文章名称为“工作是否会成为一种新宗教？”

“许多人认为工作是自己生活的延续。他们很乐意与同事建立良好的联系，甚至将工作当做自己的家庭，而他们却常常将自己真实的家庭拒之千里。”

对于现代白领来说，工作时间正在逐步增加，建筑师亦是如此。虽然我们还处在整个趋势的早期阶段，但其中问题的本质应该是让人们提升注意力，而非一味的增加工作时间。


为什么建筑师需要长时间工作？

当我们在学校完成日常课程设计，整体模式确实会造成大家熬夜的习惯。因为几个朋友在一起共同完成任务，就会出现这样的问题。这样合作虽然很好，但我们常常会花费时间在做一些与设计无关的事。

因此，我们会将这种习惯带入日后的工作中，有些人也许认为，我们只是没有足够的时间，但事实并非如此，也可能是因为我们放错了重点，亦或是对于整个项目缺乏合理规划。


卓越的设计天赋是否关键？

其实，确实有些人天生就具有艺术思维。然而，这并不是先天决定一切，因为后天通过努力一样能够拥有卓越的设计能力。

事实上，我并不认为伟大的建筑师都是天生而来，他们都是通过多年的专注工作来培养自己的技能与艺术感。因此年轻建筑师常常会坚持长时间的工作，一个原因是他们有些缺乏经验，另一个原因是他们急于证明自己。因此，他们对于每个问题都会花时间去钻研解决。


建筑师们应该怎么做呢？

我暂时没有看到有教建筑师如何提高产量的文章（也许以后会有），但你可以通过以下方法稍稍减少你的工作时间。

1、早点开始
这听起来有点难办，但包括我自己在内的许多人，在办公室的其他同事还没上班之前能做更多的事情，上班时间的电话铃声也会对我们的工作造成干扰。另外，提前一个小时和你的上司一起工作也是很理想的。

2、关闭电子邮件提示音
因此这会非常分散你的注意力。放下手中的事情去回复电子邮件其实会降低你的工作效率。我一般只会每隔一小时去查看一下电子邮件。

3、远离手机
你可以在午饭时或下班后再查看手机。这就像电子邮件一样，弹出的各种各样的信息很容易浪费你的时间。

4、列计划表
每天上午列出今天要做的事。这能够给你一个方向，并且在任务完成时为你带来成就感。

Deadlines
Does rushing to the last minute create a better product?
Does pulling all nighters result in a more refined design?
There is the psychological benefit to working up to the last minute. "Well, I couldn't do anymore since I ran out of time." The belief is that you will have fewer regrets in the future when you know there was nothing more to be done.
Speaking from personal experience, working long hours for years on end can be very draining, both physically and mentally. Just because you are logging the hours does not necessarily translate to a superior final design.

Is it Friday yet?
Can you get more done in a focused 8-hour day versus a meandering 12-hour day? What about a 6-hour day?
Sweden recently announced that they are shifting to a 6-hour work day. Linus Feldt, CEO of Stockholm-based app developer Filimundus explained the reasoning.
"I think the 8-hour work day is not as effective as one would think. To stay focused on a specific work task for 8 hours is a huge challenge. In order to cope, we mix in things and pauses to make the work day more endurable. At the same time, we are having it hard to manage our private life outside of work."
To cope with the significant cut in working hours, Feldt says staff are asked to stay off social media and other distractions while at work and meetings are kept to a minimum. "My impression now is that it is easier to focus more intensely on the work that needs to be done and you have the stamina to do it and still have energy left when leaving the office.”
While I could go on to debate the health effects or lack of work life balance, the purpose of my article is to focus on the quality of the final work.

Office Culture
Many employees at "starchitect" offices often pride themselves on putting in all nighters and late nights for years on end. While this may be the culture, does staying until midnight achieve consistent results? I am not speaking about the occasional long day but rather the consistent 60+ hour weeks.
Personally, I found that while I was able to get work done, it wasn't really much more than I could have done in a traditional 8-hour day. When you are tired and mentally exhausted the creative process is much more labor intensive.
This creates a vicious cycle. I am tired so I work slower, so I get less done, so I have to work more which makes me tired.

"We architects are artists"
No one can tell an artist how something should be done. Architecture design is certainly a complex task with many moving parts and is filled with inefficiencies like any other profession.
According to a Salary.com survey, 69% of the people surveyed said they waste time at work every single day.
“Most people (34%) said they routinely waste 30 minutes or less each day while on the clock. Nearly one-quarter (24%) said they waste between 30-60 minutes daily, with 11% claiming they spend several hours per day wasting time on non work-related items on a daily basis. ”
The trend in recent years seems to be longer hours, especially for salaried workers. I believe this is not because of an increase in workload but rather the increase in distracting apps, websites, and social media sites. This was obviously not an issue back in the days of drawing boards and drafting chairs.
My generation of "millennials" seems to get the most criticism for this distracted work ethic. However, there is a belief among my peers that our work and personal lives are becoming one. This concept was covered in a recent article, Is Work Becoming The New Church?
“They see work as an extension of themselves and their lives in general. They are much more likely to socialise and build relationships with their colleagues – seeing them as part of their family, often when family can live hundreds or thousands of miles away.”
Working hours seem to be increasing, this is especially true for white collar workers (architects included). While we are still in the early stages of research on the topic, the issue seems to be more about staying focused than a result of increased workload.

Why does architecture have long hours?
Looking back on my architecture school experience, it really created a model for time-wasting. An open, collaborative space with a group of mostly friends. While this is great and is a fun time, chatting for hours rarely gets much done.
This culture ultimately carries on into the professional world. Some may argue that there just isn't enough hours in the day, usually, it is a case of misdirected focus and lack of planning.

Is pure design talent the key?
There is some truth to the fact that some people have a natural eye for design. However, it is a muscle that can be developed, it just takes more "effort" for some than others.
I don't believe great architects are born but rather through years of consistent, focused work can develop the skills and connections required to succeed. This is why long hours are often associated with younger architects. Not only do they feel the need to "prove themselves" but also they haven't seen many of the design problems before. Therefore they need to learn each solution for the first time.

What can be done?
Without getting into too much detail on how to be more productive (perhaps for a future article) there are a few things you can do to try and minimize your hours.

1. Come in early
This may sound completely counter-intuitive but many people, myself included, can get more done before the rest of the office is in and the phone starts ringing. Also, working out an hour early departure time with your supervisor would be ideal for this situation.

2. Turn off email pop ups
This can be very distracting. Having the urge to stop what you are doing to answer emails can be quite unproductive. I usually try to only check email once an hour or less if possible.

3. Put your phone away
You can check it at lunch or after work. Just like the email pop ups, the countless notifications on your phone will easily eat up your day.

4. Make a to-do list
Create a list of tasks for yourself each morning. This will help keep you on track and give you a sense of accomplishment when you can check each one off.

最后的想法

根据你的办公室文化，想要改变整体工作时间也许不太可能。但你要记住的是，你应当在工作时间办公。这里不是个俱乐部，也不是你家的客厅，这样每日每夜的工作弊大于利。

努力工作并没有错，但你的生活不能只有工作。

Final thoughts
Depending on your office culture it may be near impossible to change your working hours. However, a simple rule to keep in mind is to work while you are at work. The office isn't a country club or your living room, treating it as such will only hurt your career in the long term.
There is nothing wrong with working hard when required, just don't make it your lifestyle.


出处：本文译自www.archdaily.com/，转载请注明出处。