I've been trying to stop drinking coffee for a while. I would have two strong coffees a day and a first thing in the morning.
First, I was surprised to find it doesn't make me productive at all. I've been tracking my distractibility levels as a measure of my focus (I have a manual counter by my desk) and record my daily times in spreadsheet with notes for those time blocks when I drank caffeine. My distractibility goes up by 100% on average ...
Yes, you get an energy and alertness boost but in my case it's funnelled into lack of focus. It's tricky because it works but you lose.
Secondly, having black coffee every morning on empty stomach led to some stomach issues that are now gone. I also had regular migraines (turns out migraines are dopamine related - i.e. caffeine)
I went cold turkey - headache for days. Then I put up a spreadsheet on the cupboard in my kitchen and made a commitment with my gf to only drink 3 coffees a week, each logged.
Now I keep it at 3 a week and I drink them strategically.
Instead of going for the coffee first thing in the morning I leave it for the moment, mid day on days when I actually need the boost, instead of ruining my natural energy right in the morning. This makes me super productive.
I have no migraines, good solid energy and better focus throughout the day and when I actually drink a cup I really feel the caffeine in my brain (it feels just like a drug) and benefit from it.
First, I was surprised to find it doesn't make me productive at all. I've been tracking my distractibility levels as a measure of my focus (I have a manual counter by my desk) and record my daily times in spreadsheet with notes for those time blocks when I drank caffeine. My distractibility goes up by 100% on average ...
Yes, you get an energy and alertness boost but in my case it's funnelled into lack of focus. It's tricky because it works but you lose.
Secondly, having black coffee every morning on empty stomach led to some stomach issues that are now gone. I also had regular migraines (turns out migraines are dopamine related - i.e. caffeine)
I went cold turkey - headache for days. Then I put up a spreadsheet on the cupboard in my kitchen and made a commitment with my gf to only drink 3 coffees a week, each logged.
Now I keep it at 3 a week and I drink them strategically.
Instead of going for the coffee first thing in the morning I leave it for the moment, mid day on days when I actually need the boost, instead of ruining my natural energy right in the morning. This makes me super productive.
I have no migraines, good solid energy and better focus throughout the day and when I actually drink a cup I really feel the caffeine in my brain (it feels just like a drug) and benefit from it.