Confession: I am not a morning person. No matter how hard I try (or how many alarms I set), I can not seem to get up even a second earlier than I need to. That is mostly fine—except for the three days ...

But even with that extra time, I found that I’d load my mornings with way too many expectations — plans to journal, stretch, meditate, tidy up, respond to emails, and maybe even sneak in a walk.

You know those annoyingly energetic people who seem to have their lives together from the moment they wake up? The ones posting workout selfies at 6 a.m. while you’re still negotiating with your ...