The Secret Reason You’re Not a Morning Person

For about a year, I had a Post-it stuck to my computer monitor at work. On it, I’d written: “Discipline is the art of remembering what you want.” I don't know where I heard it, but this stuck with me, and it was something to think about when I got to the office. Did it make me more disciplined? No. Did it make me want to be more disciplined? Yes. I thought about not eating the Cheez-Its before I ate the Cheez-Its.

The value in staring at the Post-it was that it put me in a positive mind frame: Today was the day I was going to be my best self. My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired (Portfolio/Penguin; $25) made me think similarly. The book, by writer Benjamin Spall and product designer Michael Xander, is a collection of interviews with chief executive officers, presidents, founders, entrepreneurs, and other professionals about what they do when the alarm clock sounds. (Or doesn’t: Apparently, successful humans don’t need them.)