Lessons from 50 days (and counting) without coffee.
Smarter Sundays - #239.
The Why:
“Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: “Is this the condition that I feared?”
— Seneca
I first came across this quote sometime during early Covid, on a Tim Ferriss podcast where he was self-referencing this great blogpost.
While I didn’t know the term “Fear-setting” until this episode and blog post, I had been performing some form of fear setting in the years prior.
For some context, I was in some financial strife when I quit working for someone else and started on my own in July 2017. This fear helped me push myself in ways that comfort would never have, but it also did leave me constantly looking over my shoulder fearing that yet another financial issue was just around the corner.
During this period of time when I started making good money I came across the term ‘Lifestyle inflation’, and while I tried hard to avoid it during the early years I did end up making significant changes and improvements to my life. I enjoyed a more comfortable life but at the back of my mind I had a worry that some of these comforts will be snatched away one random day.
And then covid struck and I was on tenterhooks wondering what the coming weeks and months will hold when I came across the above quote, and not only did it strike a chord immediately, I went about putting into practice as often as I could.
Starting March 2020, I went nearly an entire year without a fridge at home adjusting to the constraints that brought with it.1 Was I able to eat everything I wanted? No. However it did bring with it extreme discipline - I only purchased vegetables that I could eat within a day or two, or else they would perish and be wasted. It also drove me to appreciate some of the luxuries I take for granted - making Sundays a no kitchen day and ordering in my meals.
“Is this the condition that I feared?”
The same year I went with no sitting furniture barring a single chair - a family heirloom that was built before I was born, and hence not the most comfortable seat, and I was fine.
“Is this the condition that I feared?”
Nearly 3 years ago I decided to quit alcohol cold turkey2 because:
a) I was tired of being dependent on it during social occasions, and
b) I wanted to test myself to see if I could have fun without needing to have a drink on me.
“Is this the condition that I feared?”
Sounds a bit extreme, doesn’t it?
And yet I like torturing testing myself, and realising that even if I do end up in a tricky situation I do have the wherewithal to brave through it.
This long preamble to help set the context for why I decided to quit coffee.
I had realised through the year that I had become quite dependent on coffee, and whether I got a good cup or not dictated how the rest of the morning - if not the day - went, but 2024 was probably the year where it all came to a head.
The worst of it came when I was in Japan, and on the odd days I couldn’t get a coffee early or the type of coffee I wanted I would end up surly, moody, and in a negative space. I was in Japan (!) and yet I was anything but happy for a few hours, all because I had somehow gotten myself dependent on this stimulant - drug, even - to kickstart my day. So much of the planning for the day was revolving around where I was getting my coffee and it had started to grate my girlfriends’ nerves.
I needed to get rid of this dependency.
The How:
And so I awoke on the 1st of Jan deciding to regain some control.
Coincidentally, that was probably the worst day to have decided to quit because my girlfriend - unbeknownst to her - woke up me around 3:45am and then again around 5:30 or so, which meant I was short on sleep and had the perfect excuse to start my day with a cuppa.
And yet because it was the 1st and I had been meaning to wean myself off of coffee for a while I decided to push it off until at least noon for the first coffee. Noon came around and I was feeling completely fine, neither feeling the effects of the lack of sleep nor craving for the energy kick that caffeine brings with it and so I decided to push it off until the following day.
I have previously written about choice architecture and how environment design is key if you wish to succeed with your goals; I put that into work, and designed my kitchen to help me succeed. No caffeine pods, no coffee powder, no milk - nothing that would make it easy for me to slip into old habits again was in my vicinity. And just like that within a few days not having coffee to start my day just became the norm. 3
The Changes:
Over the past 50 days I have seen some notable changes:
Sleep: My sleep has significantly improved, and now I am sleeping 7-8:30hrs almost every single night, and waking up feeling fresh and rested 8/10 times.
Twitching: Due to my excessive coffee intake (my assumption) I had developed a constant eye twitch that was a nuisance. I would have bad nights of sleep —> I would have caffeine to combat the fatigue —> my twitch would get worse —> I would have a bad night of sleep. In the past 50 days, I have had maybe a single hour where the eye twitched. It’s been a relief.
Gut Health: My gut feels so much better now, which isn’t a surprise considering that caffeine + milk are both known gut irritants.
Bowel movements: I feared that my bowel movements may be affected since one of the side effects of caffeine is that it acts as a laxative, and thankfully that has not been an issue.
The Surprises:
Energy Dip: I had expected a major dip in energy due to the lack of caffeine. 50+ days in, I haven’t experienced that so far, and au contraire, my energy levels have shot up!
Appetite: I knew caffeine was an appetite suppressant but I did not expect to have my appetite rebound the way it has over the last few weeks. I’ve been consuming far more food than I did previously, and that has definitely helped me push the weights in the gym and have energy through the day for other activities.
Midday slumps: Non-existent. Neither a slump in energy nor a slump in productivity. I’ve gotten more done in the gym and outside the gym these past ~8 weeks.
Like for like replacement: I had initially assumed I would replace drinking coffee with something similar - maybe a decaf version - but it turns out, I can mostly make do without it. I do have the occasional Hot/Cold Chocolate, but otherwise I haven’t felt the need for a like-for-like replacement.
The Lessons:
In The Avengers, in a now famous interaction, Steve Rogers asks Tony Stark:
Big man in a suit of armour. Take that off, what are you?4
While the scene is played for laughs - at least in the way Tony’s response is framed - it is a question we could and should ask ourselves.
When was the last time you decide to step back and really question some of the beliefs you have, and where they arose from?
When was the last time you decided to reduce your dependency on something versus assuming it is just who you are?
When was the last time you decide to step back and think about what you feel you’re dependent on?
I did this test because I like examining certain things to see if they’re actually true or do I believe them to be true because I’ve repeated it ad-nauseam?
As an example:
Do I really need coffee to function with energy and get a lot of work done?
Do I really need a comfortable, cushy mattress to get a good night’s sleep?
Do I really need alcohol during social occasions to have a good time? and so on.
A long time ago I believed I wasn’t cut out for running and so I never gave it a shot. And now I can’t not think of myself as a runner (even though I run sporadically).
This change wouldn’t have happened had I not questioned my strongly held beliefs. What benefits and improvements are you missing out on by not questioning yours?
The Future:
“Will you never have coffee again?”
I may, or I may not.
What I have done is given myself the opportunity to decide.
I have given myself autonomy and agency, two things that are crucial for improving and sustaining one’s well being.
I had a fun Diwali that year when two different clients ended up sending me two tubs of ice creams as gifts. Needless to say, finishing two tubs of ice cream within a few hours was a lot of fun.
TBH, it was quite honest because I wasn’t a heavy drinker. I would average maybe 3-4 beers a month and a few more when I was traveling.
I would also credit my sports background for this; playing a sport meant making sacrifices regularly and so I’ve developed the muscle to give things up fairly easily over the years.
Turns out I am pretty normal dude who can live and function without caffeine.
I quit coffee for the month of December and had similar results. Energy better, sleep better and no afternoon crashes. I’m now more mindful of how much and when I have coffee