睡前做这三件事，第二天充满活力

透视领导力是一个在线社区，商界最有思想和影响力的人士会在这里及时回答关于职场和领导力的问题。今天的问题是：早晨上班前你都会做哪些准备工作？回答者是传媒公司XO Group首席执行官麦克•斯泰布。

好领导需要体力。接连不断的会议、出差的疲乏以及每天超过12小时的辛勤工作会榨干你所有体力和情绪。当领导还需要集中注意力和良好的判断，因为你总要面临复杂的选择，样样都事关公司前途。开始工作前的十几个小时则决定了你有多少体力和精神来应付一整天的工作。

要在上班前准备充分，要做到以下三点。

首先，你需要充足睡眠。谁说晚上不用睡七、八个小时，一定是胡说。一项研究表明，连续两周每晚只睡六个小时的人在认知测试中的表现跟连续两天通宵差不多。缺乏睡眠还会抑制海马体，也就是大脑中掌握美好记忆的区域。这就是为什么疲劳时经常会情绪消极。

其次，你得锻炼身体。用锻炼开启新的一天会让你能量倍增，信心十足，还会改善认知和情感。锻炼的投入产出比非常高——锻炼一小时可以让你的生命延长九个小时。当你压力山大时，锻炼能让你头脑清醒。就像知名跑者蒙特•戴维斯所说：“跑步时情绪很难低落。”最后，你需要为一天的工作生活制定明确而且重点突出的计划。

可惜的是，大多数清晨时光都被前一晚毁了。到家后，疲倦的你想着今晚终于能好好睡一觉。结果一转眼又到半夜了，你还在一边发邮件，一边点击网上的链接八卦哪些名人植过发。为解决这个问题，我会定一个重复提醒的上床闹钟。手机上的闹钟响起时，我得离开电脑才能关掉。

准备上床睡觉时，我会看看明天的工作安排，然后在脑海里为第二天设定三个主要目标。为了避免早晨磨磨唧唧，我会把水杯放在床边，把运动服铺好，想清楚第二天上班要穿什么。我还会把充电中的手机放得远离床，这样就不会禁不住玩手机，直接倒头大睡。

在床上我会做三件事。第一，我会在心里盘点过去的一天——三大目标完成得怎样？作为父亲、丈夫和领导，我达到自己的预期了吗？哪些事情我可以做得更好呢？第二，我会感谢自己拥有的一切，感恩让人更快乐，更有成效，而且能让人考虑得更长远。第三，我会读书，而且往往轮番读两类书，一是和工作或个人发展有关的纪实类作品，二是虚构类作品，主要为了开阔思路。前两项任务各花一分钟，阅读则一直持续到关灯睡觉。

第二天早晨我会起得非常早。这是一天中你唯一真正拥有的时间——没有短信，没有电话，没有干扰。我晚上睡得很踏实，所以感觉为新的一天做好了准备。我会喝点儿水，穿上运动服，做拉伸，泡咖啡，开始为三大目标努力。孩子们醒了以后，我会和家人共度一段美好时光。然后我会跑到健身房，冲个澡，再去办公室。

到办公室我会觉得能量满满，更加努力地实现三个主要目标。由于早晨已经打好基础，该做的事都会有条不紊地推进。（财富中文网）

译者：Charlie

审校：夏林

The Leadership Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today’s answer to the question, “What's your morning routine before going to work?” is written by Mike Steib, CEO of XO Group Inc.

Being a good leader requires stamina. The rigors of countless back-to-back meetings, exhaustion of travel, and grind of 12-plus hour days demand every ounce of your physical and emotional reserves. Leadership also requires focus and good judgment, as you constantly make the difficult choices that will determine your organization’s success. The hours before your workday begins will determine how much energy and focus you have to win the day.

There are three pillars to a successful pre-office routine.

First, you need to sleep. Anyone who tells you they do not need seven to eight hours of sleep a night is delusional. In one study, people who slept six hours a night for two weeks performed in cognitive tests comparably to people who had pulled two consecutive all-nighters. Sleep deprivation also inhibits the hippocampus—the part of the brain responsible for positive memories—which is why when you are tired, you usually act negatively.

Second, you have to exercise. Exercising to start your day pumps up your energy, builds your confidence, and improves your cognitive and emotional function. Every hour you exercise has a very high return on investment, adding nine hours to your life. And it gets your head right when you are stressed out: As famous runner Monte Davis once said, “It’s hard to run and feel sorry for yourself at the same time.” And third, you have to set a clear, focused plan for the day ahead.

Unfortunately, most morning routines are undermined the night before. You come home tired, promising yourself that tonight, finally, you are going to get a good night’s sleep. The next thing you know, it is midnight and you are both emailing and clicking on links that promise to tell you which celebrities have gotten hair plugs. To counter this, I have a recurring bedtime alarm. When it goes off, I have to leave the computer to turn off the alarm on my phone.

As I get ready for bed, I look at the calendar for the next day and mentally set three big goals for the day ahead. To reduce friction the next morning, I put water next to the bed, lay out my gym clothes, and note what I will need to wear for work. I plug in my phone away from my bed so I am not tempted to start clicking again, and hit the sack.

In bed, I do three things. First, I mentally take stock of the day: Did I achieve my three big goals? Did I live up to my expectations of myself as a dad, husband, and leader? What can I do better? Second, I express gratitude for the things I have: Gratitude makes you happier, more productive, and engenders longer-term thinking. Third, I read, tending to rotate through a balance of nonfiction related to my work or personal development, and fiction that helps to broaden my perspective. The first two take 60 seconds each. The third one lasts until I fall asleep.

The next morning I wake up super early. This is the only time of the day that you can truly own; there are no texts, no calls, no distractions. I got a solid night’s sleep, so I feel ready to take on the day. I drink my water, put on my gym clothes, stretch out, pour coffee, and begin to attack the most important three things I want to achieve. Once the kids wake up, I get a few minutes of quality time with my family. Then I run to the gym, shower up, and head to the office.

When I arrive at my desk, I feel energized, have a clear focus on my big three important items for the day, and have already made significant progress on them, thanks to a strong morning routine.