魔兽世界加经验的药水:早起的十个好处，以及如何做到早起

如果你是一个“夜猫子”，并且这样对你的工作很有效，我认为那这样就很棒了，没有理由去改变它，尤其是如果你已经适应了那样的生物钟的话。

但是就我而言，从一个“夜猫子”转变为早起者有着重大的意义。它在很多方面都对我有好处，以下仅仅列举了一些早起的好处：

1. 向新的一天问好。我喜欢起床后，向精彩的新的一天问好。我养成了做晨礼的习惯，这包括对你的祝福说声感谢。这个灵感得自于达赖喇嘛，他说过，“每天，当你起床时要思考，‘今天我很幸运地醒来，我依然活着，拥有宝贵的生命，我将不会在浪费它。我要发挥我全部的能量来提升自我，向他人张开宽广的心扉，去启迪所有受我帮助的人，我将把我的思想授予他人，不会去生气，不要把别人往坏处想，我要尽我所能地去帮助他人。’”
2. 令人惊讶的开始。我曾经从床上急匆匆地跳起来，开始新的一天，就像往常一样晚，冲出卧室，将自己和孩子准备完毕，然后匆忙把他们送到学校，接着很晚才回来开始工作。（工作时）我会走来走去，东瞅西瞅，脑子一片混沌，脾气很暴躁，因为我总是在其他人的后面。这可不是一个很好的方式来开始新的一天。如今，我开始了新的方式，我会在早上八点之前把所有的准备工作做完，孩子起的很早，我也同样，在其他人开始工作的时候，我已经完成了工作的一部分。就我个人的经验而言，没有什么比早起更好的方式来开始新的一天了。（谚语：中国有句谚语——“早起三光，晚起三慌”，说的就是这个道理。）
3. 宁静心灵。没有孩子的惊呼，没有婴儿的哭闹，没有人踢球，没有汽车的声响，没有电视的噪音。清晨早起之后的这段时间时如此的平静，如此的安静。这是我一天中最喜欢的一段时间，我真的喜欢这段安静的时间，这段属于我自己的时间，这时候我可以思考，可以阅读，可以呼吸新鲜的空气。
4. 观看日出。晚起的人错过了大自然最壮观的景面，它每天都在重复——日出。我喜欢看着天逐渐变亮，此时，午夜深蓝色的天空逐渐的变成浅蓝色，闪耀的光芒从天边射出，大自然蒙上了一层难以想象的色彩。我喜欢在这个时候晨跑，我边跑边望着天空，告诉这个世界，“多么美妙的一天啊！”真的，我真的是那样做的。有点野蛮，我知道。
5. 享受早餐。早起的话你肯定就有时间来吃早餐。别人告诉我早餐是一天当中最重要的一顿饭，不吃早餐的话，你的身体在饥饿中工作，直到中午时间，你会因为太饿而吃掉所有的（包括不健康的）食物，像高脂肪的与高糖的食物。但是如果吃早餐的话，你就可以撑的更久。另外，在安静的早晨里，一边吃早餐，一边阅读，再一边喝咖啡，真的是非同寻常享受，这可比在工作的路上或者办公桌旁饿肚子舒服多了。
6. 清晨锻炼。当然，除了清晨以外，还有其他的时间可以用来锻炼，但是我发现，虽然在工作之后再进行锻炼也是非常愉快的事情，但是这样的话，你可能会因为其他的事情而取消掉它，而晨练一般不会被其他事情所干扰（因为你一起床就开始晨练，这时候其他的事情还没有过来烦扰你）。
7. 提高效率。早上是一天当中效率最高的一段时间，至少对我来说是这样。在阅读邮件和博客之前，我喜欢在早上写作，因为这时候没有什么事情使你分心。早晨就开始工作能够让我完成许多事情，这样的话，当夜晚到来时，我已经完成了一天所有的工作，就可以和家人一起共渡这美好的时间。
8. 为完成目标设定时间。设定目标？是的，你应该设定目标。没有比早晨更好的时间来回顾目标、安排计划，并且去完成目标的任务。你应该给自己设定一个这周想要完成的目标，每天早晨起床时，你就要决定你今天能做那些事情可以让你离目标更近一些。如果可能的话，早晨起来做的第一件事情就是它。
9. 早起的补偿。谁都不喜欢交通高峰期，除非它是Big Oil。早起的话，交通非常的通畅，你可以更快的到达工作场所，也因此可以为你节省更多的时间。或者更好的话，你可以骑自行车上班。（最好的情况是，像我一样在家工作。）
10. 准时赴约。如果你早起的话，就能很轻松地应付那些很早的约会（与顾客或者合作商的会议等）。赴约迟到的话，对于你要见的人可不是个好的信号。提前赴约的话会给他们深刻的印象。另外，你也有更充分的时间进行准备。

早起还有很多其他的好处，那么应该怎样成为一个早起者呢？

• 不要做太大的变动。慢慢地开始，一次只比原来早起15-30分钟。适应一段时间后，接着在提前15分钟。逐步地这样做直到你能够在设定的目标时间起床。
• 让自己睡的早一点。你可能习惯很晚才睡觉，可能是因为看电视或者上网。但是如果你继续保留这个习惯，要想起得早一点，你迟早得放弃其中的一个（看电视或上网），否则你就要睡到很晚才能保证充足的睡眠。我建议你早点上床睡觉，即使你认为你不能马上入睡，在床上读会书。当你累的时候（在床上读书很容易困），你会发现你比想象中入睡的要快的多。
• 把你的闹钟放在离床远的地方。如果它就在你的床边的话，你会不自觉的把它关上，然后继续打盹儿。千万不要打盹儿。如果它离你的床很远的话，你不得不离开床才能把它关上。但是这时候，你已经站起来了，你就不得不起床了。
• 关上闹钟之后立刻走出卧室。不要允许自己再回到床上，强制自己走出房间。等到洗完脸后，我已经足够清醒来面对新的一天。
• 不要给自己找理由回到床上。如果你允许头脑中有个想法告诉你不要早起的话，你永远也做不到早起。不要给自己任何回到床上继续睡觉的理由。
• 给自己找个早起的理由。为早起准备点事情做是非常重要的。这个理由会给你早起的动力。我喜欢在早晨写作，因此那就是我的理由。同样的，当我做完那之后，我喜欢阅读所有你们的回复。
• 给自己早起的奖励。是的，刚开始时强迫自己做一些事情是很困难的，但是如果你让它变得很愉快的话，很快你就会期盼着早起。一个不错的奖励就是煮一杯热咖啡或者茶，同时读本书。其他的奖励比如说一顿可口的早餐，或者是看壮丽的日出，抑或是坐下来冥想。找到一些令你愉快的事情，并把他们列为每天早晨起床后你要做的事情。
• 充分利用早起的时间。不要将早起一个或两个小时仅仅用作阅读你的博客（或者其他不是很重要的事情），除非那是你的主要目标。不要早起后浪费那宝贵的时间，全新地开始新的一天吧。我喜欢利用这段时间来考虑如何准备孩子的午餐，计划今天要做的事情，做早操或者冥想，以及阅读。大概在6点半左右，我已经做完许多人一天做的事情。

原文：10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – Ben Franklin, famously

“Put no trust in the benefits to accrue from early rising, as set forth by the infatuated Franklin …” – Mark Twain

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.

Recently, reader Rob asked me about my habit of waking at 4:30 a.m. each day, and asked me to write about the health benefits of rising early, which I thought was an excellent question. Unfortunately, there are none, that I know of.

However, there are a ton of other great benefits.

Now, let me first say that if you are a night owl, and that works for you, I think that’s great. There’s no reason to change, especially if you’re happy with it. But for me, switching from being a night owl to an early riser (and yes, it is possible) has been a godsend. It has helped me in so many ways that I’d never go back. Here are just a few:

1. Greet the day. I love being able to get up, and greet a wonderful new day. I suggest creating a morning ritual that includes saying thanks for your blessings. I’m inspired by the Dalai Lama, who said, ” Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.’ “
2. Amazing start. I used to start my day by jumping out of bed, late as usual, and rushing to get myself and the kids ready, and rushing to drop them to school and come in to work late. I would walk into work, looking rumpled and barely awake, grumpy and behind everyone else. Not a great start to your day. Now, I have a renewing morning ritual, I’ve gotten so much done before 8 a.m., my kids are early and so am I, and by the time everyone else gets in to work, I’ve already gotten a head start. There is no better way to start off your day than to wake early, in my experience.
3. Quietude. No kids yelling, no babies crying, no soccer balls, no cars, no television noise. The early morning hours are so peaceful, so quiet. It’s my favorite time of day. I truly enjoy that time of peace, that time to myself, when I can think, when I can read, when I can breathe.
4. Sunrise. People who wake late miss one of the greatest feats of nature, repeated in full stereovision each and every day — the rise of the sun. I love how the day slowly gets brighter, when the midnight blue turns to lighter blue, when the brilliant colors start to seep into the sky, when nature is painted in incredible colors. I like doing my early morning run during this time, and I look up at the sky as I run and say to the world, “What a glorious day!” Really. I really do that. Corny, I know.
5. Breakfast. Rise early and you actually have time for breakfast. I’m told it’s one of the most important meals of the day. Without breakfast, your body is running on fumes until you are so hungry at lunchtime that you eat whatever unhealthy thing you can find. The fattier and sugarier, the betterier. But eat breakfast, and you are sated until later. Plus, eating breakfast while reading my book and drinking my coffee in the quiet of the morning is eminently more enjoyable than scarfing something down on the way to work, or at your desk.
6. Exercise. There are other times to exercise besides the early morning, of course, but I’ve found that while exercising right after work is also very enjoyable, it’s also liable to be canceled because of other things that come up. Morning exercise is virtually never canceled.
7. Productivity. Mornings, for me at least, are the most productive time of day. I like to do some writing in the morning, when there are no distractions, before I check my email or blog stats. I get so much more done by starting on my work in the morning. Then, when evening rolls around, I have no work that I need to do, and I can spend it with family.
8. Goal time. Got goals? Well, you should. And there’s no better time to review them and plan for them and do your goal tasks than first thing. You should have one goal that you want to accomplish this week. And every morning, you should decide what one thing you can do todayto move yourself further towards that goal. And then, if possible, do that first thing in the morning.
9. Commute. No one likes rush-hour traffic, except for Big Oil. Commute early, and the traffic is much lighter, and you get to work faster, and thus save yourself more time. Or better yet, commute by bike. (Or even better yet, work from home.)
10. Appointments. It’s much easier to make those early appointments on time if you get up early. Showing up late for those appointments is a bad signal to the person you’re meeting. Showing up early will impress them. Plus, you get time to prepare.

How to Become an Early Riser

• Don’t make drastic changes. Start slowly, by waking just 15-30 minutes earlier than usual. Get used to this for a few days. Then cut back another 15 minutes. Do this gradually until you get to your goal time.
• Allow yourself to sleep earlier. You might be used to staying up late, perhaps watching TV or surfing the Internet. But if you continue this habit, while trying to get up earlier, sooner or later one is going to give. And if it is the early rising that gives, then you will crash and sleep late and have to start over. I suggest going to bed earlier, even if you don’t think you’ll sleep, and read while in bed. If you’re really tired, you just might fall asleep much sooner than you think.
• Put your alarm clock far from you bed. If it’s right next to your bed, you’ll shut it off or hit snooze. Never hit snooze. If it’s far from your bed, you have to get up out of bed to shut it off. By then, you’re up. Now you just have to stay up.
• Go out of the bedroom as soon as you shut off the alarm. Don’t allow yourself to rationalize going back to bed. Just force yourself to go out of the room. My habit is to stumble into the bathroom and go pee. By the time I’ve done that, and flushed the toilet and washed my hands and looked at my ugly mug in the mirror, I’m awake enough to face the day.
• Do not rationalize. If you allow your brain to talk you out of getting up early, you’ll never do it. Don’t make getting back in bed an option.
• Have a good reason. Set something to do early in the morning that’s important. This reason will motivate you to get up. I like to write in the morning, so that’s my reason. Also, when I’m done with that, I like to read all of your comments!
• Make waking up early a reward. Yes, it might seem at first that you’re forcing yourself to do something hard, but if you make it pleasurable, soon you will look forward to waking up early. A good reward is to make a hot cup of coffee or tea and read a book. Other rewards might be a tasty treat for breakfast (smoothies! yum!) or watching the sunrise, or meditating. Find something that’s pleasurable for you, and allow yourself to do it as part of your morning routine.
• Take advantage of all that extra time. Don’t wake up an hour or two early just to read your blogs, unless that’s a major goal of yours. Don’t wake up early and waste that extra time. Get a jump start on your day! I like to use that time to get a head start on preparing my kids’ lunches, on planning for the rest of the day (when I set my MITs), on exercising or meditating, and on reading. By the time 6:30 rolls around, I’ve done more than many people do the entire day.