When you’re the new girl at work, you do everything in your power to stay on your best behavior. You show up to the office early, leave late, dress conservatively, and absolutely never, ever check your Facebook page from your work computer.

　　作为一个职场新人，你每件事都会尽力做到最好。你每天早到晚退，穿着得体，从来不会用办公电脑浏览社交网站。

　　But, as the weeks go by, it’s easy to slide into a sense of comfort and let your guard down, following in the footsteps of your co-workers. And soon, you’re missing deadlines, tweeting covertly, making excuses as to why you’re not as productive as before, and in general, setting yourself up for a not-so-great performance review.

　　但几个礼拜之后，你就会像其他同事一样，不知不觉地松懈下来。很快你会开始错过截止日期，偷偷地刷刷微博，还为自己做事效率大不如前找借口。总之，你的业绩考核不佳，但那都是你自己造成的。

　　So what happened? Well, it’s simple—you forgot the basics. If you’re looking for a way to get back into gear, revisit the advice you got when you were first starting out in the professional world, and follow these easy (but often ignored) bits of advice.

　　那么到底是怎么回事呢？很简单，因为你忘记了职场上最基本的法则。如果你正在寻找一个回到正轨的方法，那就去重温一下你刚步入职场时得到的忠告，尝试以下几个简单（但常被忽略的）建议吧。

　　1. Stop Using Excuses

　　1.别再找借口

　　Just like your puppy dog eyes didn’t work to convince your 8th grade teacher that your little sister threw away your math homework, excuses don’t go very far with your boss. And no matter how genuine your intentions are (“but I had so much on my plate—and then I came down with the flu!”), all your manager will hear is that you don’t use your time effectively.

　　借口在你老板那里是行不通的，就像你上初中时再怎么装得楚楚可怜，老师也不会相信你的妹妹扔掉了你的数学作业。同理，无论你看上去有多真诚（比如：我有很多事要做，但我去不幸得了流感！），找借口只会让你的上司觉得你不会高效利用利用时间。

　　So here’s a no-fail way to impress your boss: Do what she says. When you have an assignment, don’t make her remind you about it, and don’t ask for an extension. If you have questions, ask them well before the deadline, and if you need help from teams in other departments, engage them with time to spare. Do quality work and turn it in on time.

　　这里有个万无一失的方法，会给你老板留下深刻印象：照她说的去做。有任务，不要等她来提醒你，更别奢求延期。如果你有问题，在期限内去向他们请教；如果你需要其他部门同事的帮助，在他们有空的时候去找他们。提高工作效率，准时完成任务。

　　By completing your work without excuses or constant reminders, you’ll gain your boss’ immediate trust and respect, and you’ll be well on your way to gaining more responsibility—or even a promotion.

　　如果你在工作中不找任何借口，也不需要老板经常提醒，你很快就会获得老板的信任和尊重，同时你也会承担更多的责任，当然还有晋升。

　　2. Show up on Time

　　2.准时上班

　　You may think it’s endearing to be labeled the “late one,” who never seems to make it to a meeting before the fifth PowerPoint slide. So you laugh and give a little shoulder shrug as you noisily bustle into the conference room, assuming that everyone just writes it off as, “Oh, that Suzie.”

　　你也许会认为被贴上“迟到大王”的标签是件好玩的事，所谓的“迟到大王”总是要等到第五张幻灯片放映时才赶到会议室。所以你急匆匆地闯进会议室，笑着耸耸肩，想象着大家会满不在乎地说：“哦，是苏希来了。”

　　Well, it’s not cute. And no matter how much you feel it’s a part of who you are, lateness is not an inherent trait—so excuses along the line of, “I can’t help it!” won’t work. If you’re serious about your job and impressing your team and boss, make it a point to show up on time—or better yet, early. Whatever it takes (e.g., an extra alarm, a working coffee pot, a puppy who needs attention at 5 AM), make it happen. It’s worth it.

　　但是迟到一点也不好玩。无论你多么坚信自己有懒惰的基因，但事实并非如此。所以类似“我没办法”这样的借口是行不通的。如果你认真对待你的工作，想要让你的老板对你留下好印象，那就记住准时上班。要是能早到的话，那就更好了。不管付出什么代价（如：多设个闹铃，准备个定时操作的咖啡壶，养只在早晨5点需要照顾的小狗），都要去做，因为这些都值得去做。

　　3. Return Emails

　　3.回复别人的邮件

　　When our communication is so readily at our fingertips, there’s no excuse for leaving your email unanswered for more than a day or two. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve written an inter-department email to get no response. Not in one week, not in two—never.

　　现在交流变得如此方便，只要动动手指即可，我们没有理由过了两三天还不去回复邮件。我不知道有多少次我写给各个部门的邮件没有得到回复，一周过去了，两周过去了，就这样石沉大海了。

　　So, it’s no surprise that you’ll earn instant respect from your entire team (and anyone else who contacts you) if you answer emails in a timely manner. Don’t know the answer? That’s no excuse to leave the email sitting in your inbox. Write a quick response anyway: “Hi Jan, I’m not 100% sure about this, so let me look into it, and I will get back to you by the end of the week.” Then, get back to her before the end of the week.

　　所以，如果你能及时回复邮件，你会得到整个团队（还有其他任何一个跟你有联系的人）的尊重，这一点也不足为奇。不知道怎么回复？那也没理由让你的邮件一直待在你的收件箱里。无论如何写个即时回复：“你好，简。关于这件事我还不是很确定，给我点时间让我去查一下，我会在周末之前给你回信。”然后，你要做的就是在周末前回复她。

　　I know—we’re all busy. And I’m not saying you need to answer every email the moment it arrives in your inbox (that’s certainly not an efficient way to work). But when you ignore an email, what you’re conveying to the sender is: “You’re not important enough to warrant a response.”

　　我知道，现在每个人都是大忙人。我也不是让你一收到邮件就去回复（这样实际上不是高效工作的方法），但是如果你不去回复邮件，给发件人的感觉就是，他还没有重要到值得你去回复邮件。

　　Easy tips, right? Well, tell yourself that a few months into your new job, when you realize your boss usually forgets about the deadlines he gives you, and nothing bad ever happens when you forget to answer an email or two. But don’t fall into that trap! Go back to this basic advice and you’ll never fail to impress your team, clients, and boss.

　　都是些简单的建议，不是吗？在你着手新工作几个月后，如果你意识到你的上司经常忘记他给你的期限，或者你忘记回复一两封邮件却没有任何不好的事发生，你就要提醒自己注意以上讲的几点建议了。千万别落入陷阱！回顾这些最基本的建议，你绝对会给你的同事、客户和老板留下良好的印象。