一日之計在於晨：8個方法讓你的上午更高效大綱

Just as it’s rare for anyone to experience overnight success, it’s also rare for our lives to crumble to pieces in an instant. Most unproductive or unhealthy behaviors are the result of slow, gradual choices that add up to bad habits; a wasted morning here, an unproductive morning there.
就像很少有人能一夜成名一樣，我們的生活也不太可能在頃刻間支離破碎，許多低效或不健康的行爲習慣都是由這種緩慢而持續的選擇疊加而成的。早上起來在這裏浪費點時間，在那邊拖延一陣。

The good news is that exceptional results are also the result of consistent daily choices. Nowhere is this more true than with your morning routine: the way you start your day is often the way that you finish it.
但好消息是，如果每天堅持健康正確的選擇，就能產生與衆不同的結果。從早晨的例行程序開始做改變最合適不過了，通常你以什麼樣的方式開始一天，也會以同樣的方式結束這天。

What you do each morning is an indicator of how you approach your entire day. It’s the choices that we repeatedly make that determine the life we live, the health we enjoy, and the work we create. Here are the strategies that I’ve found to be most effective for getting the most out of my morning.
你每個早上的作爲影響着你一整天的生活方式。你平時反覆做出的選擇最終會決定你的生活、健康和工作。我認爲，以下這幾種方法能很有效地利用好上午這段時間。

1. Manage your energy, not your time.
分配好你的精力，而非時間。

If you take a moment to think about it, you’ll probably realize that you are better at doing certain tasks at certain times. For example, my creative energy is highest in the morning, so that’s when I do my writing each day.
如果花些時間想一想，你可能會發現你在某一段時間能更好地完成某些任務。比如說，我在上午最富有創造力，所以我每天會專門在這段時間裏寫作。

By comparison, I block out my afternoons for interviews, phone calls, and emails. I don’t need my creative energy to be high for those tasks, so that’s the best time for me to get them done, and I tend to have my best workouts in the late afternoon or early evening, so that’s when I head to the gym.
相比之下，我會在下午做採訪、打電話，回郵件。這些事情不需要太多創造力，因此把它們放在下午做會更好。我在傍晚前後更適於鍛鍊身體，所以選擇這個時間段去健身房運動。

What type of energy do you have in the morning? What task is that energy best suited for?
你在早晨哪方面能力最強？在這段時間裏做什麼事情最適宜？

2. Prepare the night before.
前一天晚上做好準備。

I don’t do this nearly as often as I should, but if you only do one thing each day then spend a few minutes each night organizing your to–do list for tomorrow.
其實我應該多這樣做幾次纔對，要是你第二天有不止一件要做，還是在頭天晚上花幾分鐘列個清單爲妙。

When I do it right, I’ll outline the article I’m going to write the next day and develop a short list of the most important items for me to accomplish. It takes 10 minutes that night and saves 3 hours the next day.
我這樣做時，會列出我第二天要寫文章的提綱，再記下幾個需要完成的重要項目。這一晚上花10分鐘，就能爲第二天省下3個小時。

3. Don’t open email until noon.
中午之前不要查郵件。

Sounds simple, yet nobody does it. It took me a while to get over the urge to open my inbox, but eventually I realized that everything can wait a few hours.
聽上去挺簡單，但沒人這樣做。我要花很大力氣才能抑制打開收件箱的衝動，但最終發現所有事情都可以等幾個小時再處理。

Nobody is going to email you about a true emergency (a death in the family, etc.), so leave your email alone for the first few hours of each day. Use the morning to do what’s important rather than responding to what is “urgent.”
沒有人會發郵件通知你緊急事件（比如說家人去世等等），所以每天早上的幾個小時還是不要查郵件了。應該利用早晨做重要的事情，而非回覆那些貌似緊急的郵件。

4. Turn your phone off and leave it in another room.
把手機關掉放到另一個房間裏。

Or on your colleagues desk. Or at the very least, put it somewhere that is out of sight. This eliminates the urge to check text messages, Facebook, Twitter, and so on. This simple strategy eliminates the likelihood of slipping into half–work where you waste time dividing your attention among meaningless tasks.
或者放你同事桌上也行，至少要讓它離開你的視線。這樣你就不會一直想着要收短信、上臉譜網或者逛推特之類的。這種做法能防止你工作到一半時精力分散，把大量時間浪費在沒意義的事情上。5. Work in a cool place.
在涼爽的地方辦公。

Have you ever noticed how you feel groggy and sluggish in a hot room? Turning the temperature down or moving to a cooler place is an easy way to focus your mind and body.
你是否注意到在炎熱的房間里人會變得頭昏眼花，懶散無力？想要集中精力體力做事，最簡單的方法就是把室內溫度調低，或者搬到涼快的地方。

6. Sit up or stand up.
坐直或者站起來。

Your mind needs oxygen to work properly, and your lungs need to be able to expand and contract to fill your body with oxygen. That sounds simple enough, but here’s the problem: most people sit hunched over while staring at a screen and typing.
大腦需要氧氣才能更好工作，肺部需要擴張收縮才能讓氧氣充滿全身。這聽起來很簡單，但問題是，大多數人在盯着屏幕打字時都是駝背坐着的。

When you sit hunched over, your chest is in a collapsed position and your diaphragm presses against the bottom of your lungs, which hinders your ability to breathe easily and deeply. Sit up straight or stand up and you’ll find that you can breathe easier and more fully. As a result, your brain will get more oxygen and you’ll be able to concentrate better.
當你駝背坐着時，胸部處於收縮狀態，隔膜正好壓住了肺的底部，使你不能順暢地做深呼吸。而你坐直或站起來時，就會發現呼吸變得更爲輕鬆順暢。因此大腦供氧充分，你在工作時就會更爲專注。

(Small tip: When sitting, I usually place a pillow in the small of my back. This prevents my lower back from rounding, which keeps me more upright.)
（小貼士：我坐着的時候通常在背後墊個枕頭，這樣能防止後背下方彎曲，從而使我坐得更直。）

7. Eat as a reward for working hard.
用美食作爲努力工作的獎勵。

I practice intermittent fasting, which means that I eat my first meal around noon each day. I’ve been doing this for almost two years. There are plenty of health benefits.
我嘗試過間歇禁食，也就是每天在中午的時候吃第一頓飯。這種做法我堅持了大概兩年，對身體健康特別有好處。

But health is just one piece of the puzzle—I also fast because it allows me to get more out of my day. Take a moment to think about how much time people spend each day thinking, planning, and consuming food.
但健康只是好處之一，我禁食還因爲這樣我一天能有更多時間做別的事。想一想，我們一天有多少時間花在吃東西以及思考計劃吃什麼上？

By adopting intermittent fasting, I don’t waste an hour each morning figuring out what to eat for breakfast, cooking it, and cleaning up. Instead, I use my morning to work on things that are important to me. Then, I eat good food and big meals as a reward for working hard.
開始間歇禁食後，每天早上我能省下一小時想我要吃什麼，做飯和收拾清洗的時間。於是我可以利用早晨黃金時段完成許多重要工作。之後我會好好吃一頓，作爲對自己努力工作的獎勵。

8. Develop a “pre–game routine” to start your day.
培養“工作前例行熱身”的習慣。

My morning routine starts by pouring a cold glass of water, while some people kick off their day with ten minutes of meditation. Similarly, you should have a sequence that starts your morning ritual.
我每天早晨起來都要喝一杯涼水，而有些人則會花十分鐘做冥想。同樣，你也應該在開始上午的工作前做一系列熱身準備。

This tiny routine signals to your brain that it’s time to get into work mode or exercise mode or whatever mode you need to be in to accomplish your task. Additionally, a pre–game routine helps you overcome a lack of motivation and get things done even when you don’t feel like it.
這個小小的例行活動會向大腦傳送信號：現在應該進入工作模式、鍛鍊模式或完成某項任務的模式了。另外，在工作前例行熱身也能幫你克服缺乏動力的毛病，就算你不喜歡這項工作也能完成任務。

You’ve got 25,000 mornings. What will you do with each one?
人一生有25000個清晨，你會怎樣利用它們呢？