In years past,
you couldn't talk to me
before 10:00 in the morning,
much less expect me
to get anything useful done.
過去
在上午10點之前你根本就不可能和我說上話
更不可能希望我完成什么有意義的事

And the weekends? Forget it.
周末？算了吧

If the time had "a.m."
attached to the end of it,
you'd better believe
I was face-down in a pillow.
如果時間安排后面標注著“上午”
你最好相信我正抱頭大睡

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.
但是，現在一過早晨8點鐘
我就怎么也睡不著了。
甚至在睜眼之前，
我就已經開始在大腦中
列數今天要做的事項清單了

I find that my best writing is done
within the first few hours after I wake up,
and my go-getter mentality
has dimmed into a quieter energy
come late afternoon.
我發現我最好的文章
都是在剛醒來的最初幾個小時內寫就的
而傍晚時分我的勤奮精進
會化作一種更為安靜的能量。

So what's my secret?
那么，我的秘訣是什么呢?

1. For starters, night time prep
is half the battle.
首先
晚間準備是成功的一半

A few minutes at night
to set up the coffee pot,
lay out an outfit,
and get your lunch together
for the following day
can be a godsend come sun-up.
晚上拿出幾分鐘時間
設置好咖啡壺
收拾好一套衣服
準備好第二天的午餐
你會感到早晨如有神助

2. Set two alarms.
設兩個鬧鐘
The first one is gentle,
within reach
and set for five minutes
before you really need it.
第一個鬧鐘比較柔和
在你夠得著的范圍內
設置在你真正想起床的5分鐘之前

This soothing sound
will slowly wake you up.
溫柔的鈴音
會慢慢將你喚醒

The second one should be louder,
placed across the room
and set for the time
you actually need to get up.
第二個鬧鐘聲音要大一些
放在房間另一端
設置成你真正需要起床的時間

3. Do something
that is genuinely,
authentically YOU.
真正為你自己做些事
Give yourself a little "me" time
before the hustle begins.
在繁忙的一天開始之前
給自己一點“自我”時間

Enjoy your coffee slowly.
Take a walk
or do 10 minutes of yoga.
慢慢地享用一杯咖啡
散個步
或者做10分鐘瑜伽

If you walk out the door
with peace in your heart,
you'll carry it with you
throughout the day.
如果你在出門時心情平靜
那么一整天都會如此

If you generally thrive
in the evening hours,
don't push yourself too hard
to go against nature.
如果你通常都是在晚上才能精力旺盛
也不要逼自己太緊而違背天性

Lean into your afternoon energy
but use these tips to help you embrace
those tough mornings
with a bit more grace.
繼續利用好下午的好精力
但是可以運用這些小貼士
來幫助你在擁抱痛苦的清晨時
更從容一點

In time
you might find yourself transition
into a "morning person" after all!
假以時日
你可能就會發現自己
最終轉變成“晨型人”了

微信公眾號：英語美文朗讀 孟叔的微博：孟飛Phoenix 孟叔的抖音：184302945