How to develop daily habits? As tempting as it is to try and change more than one habit at a time to reach your goals more quickly, the opposite is true. Doing poorly with one habit will have a domino effect on the habits you’re doing well with. The house of cards will topple over and the level of discouragement you’ll feel will make it that much harder to get back on your feet.

如何养成日常习惯？为更快达到目标，一次尝试和改变多种习惯颇具诱惑力，但结果却适得其反。在养成某种习惯的过程中没做好，会产生多米诺骨牌效应，影响其他进展顺利的习惯养成。前功尽弃和挫折感可能让你一蹶不振。

Here’s the habit-building process that’s working for me:

下面是适用于我的习惯养成过程：

Focus on building one habit per month.

每月养成一种习惯

Don’t give yourself a deadline: Some daily habits will be easier to build than others, and it doesn’t matter how long it takes to build the habit, as long as you build it.

不要给自己设定期限：与其他日常习惯相比，有些更容易养成，所以只要你能养成某种习惯，花多长时间其实并不重要。

Commit fully and don’t back down.

倾心尽力，不无功而返

Go easy on yourself if you stumble. Instead of getting angry with yourself, use it as a learning experience. Figure out what caused you to stumble, deal with any external influences causing you problems, and try again.

如果走了弯路，对自己要宽容。别跟自己叫劲，权当在获取经验。但对错误要追根求源，消除产生问题的外在因素，再次尝试。

Each time you hit a milestone—one week, one month, six months, etc.—reward yourself in some way. How is completely up to you.

每当有所成就之时——一周、一个月、半年等等——以某种方式酬劳自己。方式自选。

Once you’re able to complete the habit without having to think about it, it’s time to move onto establishing your next habit.

一旦不加思索就能按某种习惯去做，那么接下来就是攻克下一习惯的时候了。

Here are daily habits that will make an immediate difference in your lifestyle and help you reach your goals sans Xanax prescription:

下面这些日常习惯，会对你的生活方式产生立竿见影的效果，并助你马到成功：

1. Visualize

视觉化

I used to find it hard to fall asleep until I began visualizing how I wanted the next day to go. Instead of my mind wandering from topic to topic, focusing on what “might” go wrong, I started focusing on what “would” go right. If you not only list in your mind what you’re going to do the next day but visualize yourself doing it, this matter-of-fact planning process helps keep uncertainty at bay (and the next day goes much smoother!).

过去有时候我晚上总是辗转难眠，直到有，我开始构思第二天的工作计划。我不是心不在焉地从这个问题到那个问题，思考什么“可能”出错，而是开始考虑什么“将”不会出错。如果你不仅对第二天要做的事烂熟于心，而且构思出具体行动步骤，这种讲求实际的计划过程有助于排除不确定性（第二天事情工作进展会顺利得多！）。

2. Define Your Priorities

明确优先顺序

One of the big reasons why you’re not reaching your goals is likely to do with how much you have on your plate, professionally and personally. It’s likely you’re trying to do too many things at the same time. Ask yourself: what are your ultimate goals? Once you’ve defined them, drop everything that doesn’t cater to them. You can always come back to these things later, after you’ve established what’s most important to you.

没有达到目标的最重要的原因之一可能是由于你手上有多少与专业和个人有关的任务。你可能想一次做好太多事情。问问自己：你的最终目的是什么？一旦明确了目标，放下无足轻重的事情。等你搞定最重要的事情后，再收拾它们也不迟。

3. Get Up Earlier

早起

I now get all of my important work done before everyone else is even awake—you would not believe the difference this makes! There’s no better feeling than knowing no matter what happens for the rest of the day, you’ve accomplished what you set out to. Bring on the interruptions and distractions; you’ll be armed and ready!

现在我甚至在大家醒来之前，就做完所有的重要工作——这样做带来的改变，你简单无法相信！的其余时间，不论发生什么，你的既定目标已经达到，有什么比得上这种感觉。各种干扰与琐事尽管来吧，你整装待发！

4. Create a Morning Routine

早晨有安排

Wake up and do the same things in the same order before you start your day: have a glass of water, exercise, read, etc. Do things that you normally don’t have time for that make you happy. Easing into your day instead of rushing to get started not only depletes your stress level significantly, but puts you in a proactive frame of mind for the remainder of the day.

醒来后，在开始的工作之前，先按同样的次序做同样的事情：喝杯水、晨练、读书等等。做做那些你平常没时间做的事情，这带给你幸福感。心情放松，而非匆忙地开始的工作，不仅显著降低你的压力水平，而且在接下来时间里，大脑运转积极灵活。

5. Drink Water

喝水

Having a glass of water first thing in the morning helps rid your body of toxins that have been stored overnight. Not only does it aid your digestive tract, it also boosts your metabolism, helping you feel energized sooner.

早晨起来，喝一杯水，有助于清除晚间睡眠时滞留在你体内的毒素。它不仅疏通消化道，还促进新陈代谢，神清气爽之感由此而生。

6. Singletask

单一任务

Only 2% of the world’s population can successfully multitask. The rest of us posers are serial-tasking: flitting from one task to another, nudging ourselves forward with each instead of focusing on one at a time. I broke this habit by choosing one item on my to-do list, then hiding it in a drawer until I was done. It’s a tough habit to break, but once you do your mind feels clearer, you feel less restless, and the quality of your work skyrockets across the board.

全世界的人口中，只有2%的人可以成功地一心多用。我们其他人都是系列任务型：在不同的任务之间周转，每一个任务都浅尝辄止，而不是每次专注解决一个任务。我打破这种习惯，从必做清单中选出一项，然后把清单放进抽屉里，直至事情做完。之前的习惯根深蒂固，但一旦改掉这种习惯，你头脑就会更清醒，不再焦躁不安，工作质量也势必火箭般攀升。

7. Go Minimal

追求简洁

External clutter leads to mental clutter. Do a clean sweep of your home and get rid of everything you no longer use or have never used. By the end of my own clean sweep last year, it looked like I’d been robbed! There’s no better feeling than knowing you actually need and use everything you’re surrounded by. Bonus: you also save time by not having as much to clean!

混乱的环境导致混沌的思维。好好清理一下房间，把不再使用或从来没用过的东西收起来。去年一次complete大扫除之后，我的房间就像遭了劫！知道你到底需要什么，围绕你的都是用得着的东西，感觉真好。额外奖励：东西少了，清理起来自然省时省力。

8. Set Online Boundaries

控制在线时间

It’s too easy to get sucked into an online world of status updates, memes, list posts, and videos. Before you know it, over half your day is gone and you have nothing to show for it. This is especially difficult for those of us who work on the Internet. One of the best daily habits I’ve established is not checking my e-mail or social media accounts first thing in the morning. Create specific windows of time for your online tasks. It’s okay to check your e-mail periodically in case you receive urgent requests from your boss or co-workers, but if you check and there aren’t any, abort and get back to your day.

状态更新、留言、贴吧、视频，人们易于沉浸于网络世界。当意识到时，大半天已经过去了，你还什么都没做。尤其对于我们那些通过互联网工作的人。我养成的日常习惯之一，早晨件事不查看邮箱或社交媒体帐号。为在线任务设立特定的时间区间。当然，定期查看邮箱，看是否有来自老板或同事的紧急邮件，很有必要，但如果没有，马上退出，返回现实世界。

9. Create an Evening Routine

晚间有计划

Your evening routine is just as important as your morning routine, as it prepares your body for a solid night’s sleep. Create a relaxing routine that starts about an hour before you go to bed, and use it as your body’s “signal” that it’s time to go to sleep.

晚间安排和晨时安排同样重要，因为它为睡个踏实觉做身体上的准备。上床1小时前做些放松的事情，把它当作该上床睡觉的身体“信号”。