At a workshop I attended last weekend, the facilitator jokingly mentioned that he’s more of a night owl¹ and his energy doesn’t generally kick in until about 2:00 in the afternoon. I laughed, thinking that my list of accomplishments² post 2 p.m. is about HALF of what I get done in the morning and early afternoon hours.

笔者上周末参加了一个研讨会，当时讲师打趣地提到了他本人更倾向于夜猫子模式，并且他的精力只有在午后2点才能充分发挥出来。当时我就笑了，然后想象自己在午后2点的成功史，就是我已经在早上或午后较前的时间完成了半数的任务。

Then I thought... “When did THAT happen?” In years past, you couldn’t talk to me before 10:00 in the morning, much less expect me to get anything useful done. And the weekends? Forget it. If the time had “a.m.” attached to the end of it, you’d better believe I was face-down in a pillow.

然后我就开始思考……“那是怎么办到的？”在过去的几年里，在早上10点前别人是无法跟我交谈的，更不要期待我完成了什么任务。那么周末呢？算了吧。如果周末的时间以a.m.作为后缀，那么你还是相信我正在枕头下埋头大睡好了。

Nowadays, however, despite my best efforts I cannot sleep past 8, I’m mentally forming my to-do list before I even open my eyes. I find that my best writing is done within the first few hours after I wake up, and my go-getter mentality³ has dimmed into a quieter energy come late afternoon.

然而时至今日，尽管我尽了最大的努力，不让自己睡得超过8点，但我会在脑海里列出自己即将完成的任务，甚至不用等到睁眼的时候。我发现了，在起床后的头几个小时里完成写作任务的效果最好，而我的渐入佳境的心理状态也随着午后时间的延伸变得越来越安静。

So what’s my secret?

那么，我的秘诀是什么呢？

1. For starters, night time prep is half the battle.

1. 首先，夜间的准备是成功的一半。

Again, I’m not much of a night person anymore, so this can be a bit of a struggle for me, but this is a post on being a morning person, not a night person! (Just kidding!) A few minutes at night to set up the coffee pot, lay out an outfit⁴, and get your lunch together for the following day can be a godsend come sun-up.

再者，我已经不再是晚睡的人了，所以这对我来说还是有点难度，但本文在于教大家怎么早起，而不是晚睡啦！（开玩笑的！）睡前花几分钟设置好咖啡壶的时间，把需要用到的器具都摆放好，然后再把第二天的午餐打点妥当，那么第二天起来就能获得极大的恩赐感。

2. Set two alarms.

2.设置2个闹钟。

The first one is gentle, within reach and set for five minutes before you really need it. This soothing⁵ sound will slowly wake you up. The second one should be louder, placed across the room and set for the time you actually need to get up. I set my alarms this way because I’m very sensitive to noise (as I imagine many people are at least first thing in the morning), and the last thing I want is to be shocked out of bed by the cacophony⁶ that is my clock radio alarm.

第一个闹钟的铃声是温和的，在你真的需要的时候随手可及就能设置5分钟的提醒。但这种舒缓心情的声音只会延缓你的起床时间。那么第二个闹钟的铃声就应该声音更大点，放在房间的角落里，然后设置为必须起床的时间。笔者之所以这样设置自己的闹钟，是因为我对噪音非常敏感（正如我能想象许多朋友早上最不想遇到的第一件事一样），而我最不想的就是被收音机闹钟刺耳的声响吵得我从床上弹起来。

3. Do something that is genuinely, authentically⁷ YOU.

3. 做些体现真实的自己的事情。

Too many people give themselves exactly enough time to hurriedly get ready for work and get out the door. Give yourself a little “me” time before the hustle⁸ begins. Enjoy your coffee slowly. Take a walk or do 10 minutes of yoga. Do a little bit of journaling. If you walk out the door with peace in your heart, you’ll carry it with you throughout the day.

有太多人为自己预留足够的时间用于赶忙准备和出门。那么请为自己开始这些繁忙的动作前保留一点“私人时间”吧。慢慢享受美好的咖啡时光。或者散散步，做10分钟的瑜伽运动。写一点点日志。如果在出门的时候能保持心境平和，那么这一整天的状态都能得到很好的保持。

If you generally thrive in the evening hours, don’t push yourself too hard to go against nature. Lean into your afternoon energy but use these tips to help you embrace those tough mornings with a bit more grace. In time you might find yourself transition into a “morning person” after all!

如果你通常只有在晚上才能发挥自己的奋斗精神，那也不要违反自然规律把自己逼得太紧了。调整为午后的精力状态，但采用以上的方法能更优雅地度过难熬的早晨。最后你可能会发现自己已经转变成“早起的鸟儿”啦！