Software is usually built from lots of small pieces, each with a particular job to do. The pieces obey a set of rules when they talk to each other — like a contract for communication. “ If you send me X, I’ll send you back Y “, and so on. This approach allows software developers to focus on one area at a time, without worrying about how changes in one area affect all the other pieces. As long as the contracts are preserved, everything will still work.

软件通常由许多小块构建而成，每个小块都有特定的工作要做。 当彼此交谈时，这些片段遵循一套规则-就像沟通合同。 “ 如果您给我发送X，我会给您发送回Y ”，依此类推。 这种方法使软件开发人员可以一次专注于一个区域，而不必担心一个区域的变化如何影响所有其他部分。 只要合同得到保留，一切仍然可以进行。

I’ve been thinking about applying this approach to other areas of my life. I’m not a software component, but I still present an interface to the world. If I define what that interface looks like, then I’ll be a consistent person to deal with. And I know I find consistency to be one of the most attractive traits in a colleague. Dependable people who deliver what I expect based on a given set of inputs are my cup of tea.

我一直在考虑将这种方法应用于生活的其他领域。 我不是软件组件，但是我仍然向世界展示了一个界面。 如果我定义该界面的外观，那么我将成为一个始终如一的人。 而且我知道我发现一致性是同事中最吸引人的特征之一。 可以根据给定的输入实现我的期望的可靠人就是我的茶。

社会契约会是什么样子？ (What Would a Social Contract Look Like?)

Another trick from software development is viewing things as a black box. Instead of considering all the complexity within a system, you treat it like a magic box that takes inputs and produces outputs.

软件开发的另一个技巧是将事物视为黑匣子。 无需考虑系统内的所有复杂性，而是将其视为一个魔术盒，该魔术盒接受输入并产生输出。

Humans can be viewed in the same way. As complex as we are, we have a limited set of inputs and outputs. For instance, my colleagues can reach me through these inputs:

可以以相同方式查看人类。 尽管我们很复杂，但输入和输出的集合却有限。 例如，我的同事可以通过以下输入与我联系：

• Email电子邮件
• Instant messaging即时通讯
• Text message / WhatsApp短信/ WhatsApp
• Phone call电话

My outputs are the responses to the above inputs, plus anything I create and share of my own accord. If you send me an email, you may get a response. If you call my phone, I might pick up. If you send me a Slack message, I might share the link to a presentation. And so on.

我的输出是对以上输入的响应，加上我自行创建和共享的所有内容。 如果您给我发送电子邮件，您可能会得到答复。 如果您拨打我的电话，我可能会接听。 如果您给我发送了一条Slack消息，我可能会共享一个演示文稿的链接。 等等。

A social contract is an attempt to fit some rules over these inputs and outputs. It creates predictable if-X-then-Y behaviours, that give others confidence in how you’ll respond.

社会契约是对这些输入和输出采用一些规则的尝试。 它会产生可预测的if-X-then-Y行为，从而使其他人对您的React方式充满信心。

Here are some rules you could derive from my behaviour at work:

您可以从我的工作行为中得出以下规则：

• If you email me, I will respond within 24 hours. Even if it’s a holding message.如果您给我发送电子邮件，我会在24小时内回复。 即使是保留消息。
• I won’t send you an instant message unless it’s urgent.除非紧急，否则我不会向您发送即时消息。
• If you send me an instant message, I’ll respond in a few hours. (I switched off my notifications, so “instant” doesn’t mean instant for me.)如果您给我发送即时消息，我会在几个小时后回复。 (我关闭了通知，所以“即时”对我而言并不意味着即时。)
• If something is life-and-death urgent, call me twice and I’ll pick up anywhere. (This rule applies to my family).如果生死攸关的事情紧急，请给我打电话两次，我会在任何地方接你。 (这条规则适用于我的家人)。
• If you send me a meeting invite without an agenda, I will email you asking for an agenda.如果您将没有议程的会议邀请发送给我，我会通过电子邮件向您询问议程。
• If you email me asking for something, I will ask when it’s needed by. If your response fits my priorities, I guarantee to deliver you what you asked for.如果您通过电子邮件向我索要东西，我会问您何时需要它。 如果您的回应符合我的优先事项，我保证会向您提供您所要求的。

A collection of all these rules would be my social contract.

所有这些规则的集合将是我的社会契约。

社会契约的好处是什么？ (What are the Benefits of a Social Contract?)

In the book Essentialism, Greg McKeown talks about the one decision that makes a thousand. The idea is to stop making countless tiny decisions each day and make fewer high-level decisions about how to live your life. Those guiding decisions provide constraints to govern how you behave each day. This reduces decision fatigue and lets you focus on what matters.

在《 本质论 》一书中，格雷格·麦考恩(Greg McKeown)谈到了做出一千个决定的决定。 这样做的想法是，每天停止做出无数微小的决定，并减少关于生活方式的高层决策。 这些指导性决定提供了制约您每天行为方式的约束。 这样可以减少决策疲劳，让您专注于重要的事情。

A social contract is one of those high-level decisions. You spend time, once, deciding how to react to a variety of situations. This is then codified in your contract, which guides the thousands of decisions you would otherwise make each day.

社会契约是这些高层决策之一。 您需要花费时间来决定如何应对各种情况。 然后将其编入您的合同中，该合同将指导您每天要制定的数千个决定。

This means when someone sends you a meeting invite without an agenda, you don’t agonise over how to handle it. You execute your contract — sending back a short email asking for an agenda. No decision required.

这意味着当有人向您发送没有议程的会议邀请时，您不会为如何处理而烦恼。 您可以执行合同-发回一封简短的电子邮件以询问议程。 无需决定。

Your colleagues will appreciate your social contract even if you don’t share it with them. By following a set of rules, you’ll become a predictable person to deal with. They will send you an email, confident you will respond in a reasonable timeframe. This means you’ll get fewer chaser emails or instant messages, which colleagues resort to if they don’t trust you’ll get back to them.

即使您不与他们分享，您的同事也会感谢您的社会合同。 通过遵循一系列规则，您将成为一个可以预测的人。 他们将向您发送电子邮件，确信您会在合理的时间内答复。 这意味着您将收到更少的追逐者电子邮件或即时消息，如果同事不信任您会回信给他们，他们会求助于这些消息。

如何订立社会契约 (How to Make Your Social Contract)

To start building your social contract, think about the forms of communication you use. These may include:

要开始建立社会契约，请考虑一下您使用的沟通形式。 这些可能包括：

• Email电子邮件
• Phone calls电话
• Web conferencing网络会议
• Text messages / WhatsApp短信/ WhatsApp
• Instant messaging即时通讯
• Social media社交媒体
• Shared documents (Word, PowerPoint etc.)共享文档(Word，PowerPoint等)

Where it makes sense, decide what your response time will be. For instance, you might decide to answer email within 48 hours, but answer instant messages during the same working day.

在有意义的地方，决定您的响应时间将是多少。 例如，您可能决定在48小时内回复电子邮件，但在同一工作日内回复即时消息。

Having established the timeframes, make sure your notification settings and calendar reflect this. For instance, if your goal is to respond to emails within 48 hours, you can check email once a day. Similarly, if you will respond to instant messages within a few hours, you don’t need notifications switched on. Instead, schedule short blocks to process these.

确定时间范围后，请确保您的通知设置和日历反映了这一点。 例如，如果您的目标是在48小时内回复电子邮件，则可以每天检查一次电子邮件 。 同样，如果您将在几个小时内回复即时消息，则无需打开通知。 相反，请安排简短的代码块来处理这些代码。

The next steps depend on your circumstances, but broadly speaking you need to dive into each item and define how you’ll behave in various scenarios. Here are some example scenarios and corresponding rules to get you thinking:

接下来的步骤取决于您的情况，但从广义上讲，您需要深入研究每个项目并定义在各种情况下的行为方式。 以下是一些示例方案和相应的规则，可帮助您进行思考：

• You’re on the CC list of an email → You will automatically file in a folder and will read if you have time.

  您在电子邮件的抄送列表中 →您将自动归档在文件夹中，如果有时间会读取。

• You’re given an action without a date → You will respond and ask “When do you need this by?”.

  您将获得没有日期的操作 →您将回答并询问“何时需要此功能？”。

• Someone starts an instant message with “Hi” and nothing else → You will ignore this.

  有人以“嗨”开始即时消息，而没有其他 →您将忽略此消息。

• You’re invited to an internal web conference → You will join with webcam enabled, regardless of everyone else.

  邀请您参加内部网络会议 →无论其他人如何，您都将启用网络摄像头。

• Someone calls from an unknown number → You will let it go to answerphone but will listen immediately to the message. If it warrants a response, you will call back immediately.

  有人从未知号码打来电话 →您可以将其转到应答电话，但会立即收听该消息。 如果需要答复，您将立即回电。

• A piece of work you have promised is going to be late → You will email as soon as this is apparent, setting a clear expectation of the new date.

  您已承诺的工作将要迟到 →您将在出现这种情况后立即通过电子邮件发送电子邮件，从而明确期望新日期。

Defining these rules is an iterative process. Don’t worry about completing it on the first pass. The idea is to make mindful choices each time you encounter a new scenario. If it’s likely the situation will occur again, codify it in your social contract.

定义这些规则是一个反复的过程。 不用担心在第一遍完成它。 这样做的想法是每次遇到新情况时都要做出明智的选择。 如果情况可能再次发生，请将其编入您的社会契约中。

Whether you write this contract down is up to you. I’ve been inadvertently building my social contract for several years, so most of this is cemented in my brain. But if you’re just beginning to think about this stuff, jotting it down in a table is probably helpful.

是否写下此合同取决于您。 几年来，我一直无意间建立了社会契约，所以大部分都牢牢地扎在了我的脑海中。 但是，如果您只是开始考虑这些东西，将其记在桌子上可能会有所帮助。

发布您的社会契约 (Publishing Your Social Contract)

As a final thought experiment — what would the world be like if we all published our social contracts?

作为最后的思想实验-如果我们所有人都发布社会契约，世界将会是什么样？

Let me start by saying I haven’t done this (yet). But I’m tempted. Sharing a detailed description of “this is how I work” with your colleagues and family could be very helpful. Or disastrous. I can’t decide.

首先，我要说我还没有做。 但是我很受诱惑。 与您的同事和家人分享“这就是我的工作方式”的详细说明可能会很有帮助。 还是灾难性的。 我不能决定

I often think back to an auto-response I received from a colleague that said:

我经常回想起我从同事那里收到的自动回复，内容是：

Thank you for emailing me. Because I was CC-ed, I will only read this if I get the time.

谢谢您给我发电子邮件。 因为我是CC编者，所以我只有在有时间的时候才会阅读此书。

If you’d need me to definitely read it, please re-send with me on the TO-list.

如果您需要我一定要阅读它，请在“收件人”列表中与我重新发送。

I loved receiving that.

我喜欢收到那个。

If you enjoyed this article, you might like my weekly newsletter on mindful productivity: https://anothertaskdone.com/newsletter/

如果您喜欢这篇文章，那么您可能会喜欢我关于提高生产率的每周新闻： https : //anothertaskdone.com/newsletter/