Coffee is delicious and caffeine is a wonder drug. On a mild day, I drink three cups. (Mild days are not a consequence of self-control. Like myself, my roommate works from home and he is also a voracious consumer of caffeinated substances. Mild days are the product of him consuming caffeine faster than me and me being to lazy to put on a new pot.) On a typical day, I drink five cups. On a severe day, I drink an unknown amount; after seven or eight I’m not a good beverage accountant. I like coffee.
However, I am currently in the middle of a peak in coffee consumption and a valley in productivity. It is not a new relationship to me nor to most people. Caffeine is a boon to my productivity during boring aspects of a project. Without caffeine, the boring elements induce stress, frustration, and a desire to watch Big Bang Theory. With caffeine and a bit of Di.FM, I can glide through boring jobs that would typically be filled with much friction.
Unfortunately, once safely outside of the badlands, I continue to drink coffee — I need my mana. Even though the new focus of my attention is interesting — or, at least, challenging — I instinctually cling to caffeine. My brain, with it’s absurd insistence of linearity and cause and effect, thinks that caffeine acts not only as a floor to my productivity but is a multiplier.
Sadly, this process spirals out of control. Positive feedback without a dampening force is not great. After using caffeine to pleasantly power through a dull zone, then play in an interesting zone, I eventually land back in a dull zone…only this time the caffeine is functionally useless. At this point, my tolerance has been elevated by unnecessarily prolonged exposure and that pumped up feeling associated with short bouts of high-usage is not their to save me. Taking more doesn’t provide this feeling. In fact, at higher levels it just gets me more flustered and, ironically, causes me to be tired. I watch Big Bang Theory.
The solution is very obvious: keep caffeine consumption low during the interesting bits and raise it when my interest is flagging. The goal is to maintain a steady-state of productivity; the goal is to reduce volatility; the goal is to avoid the crash. Productivity crashes are not paid for by productivity booms.
Note: I write things down and make them public to solidify my ideas and enforce a modicum of quality. This post will probably not be read. It merely states the obvious in an non-novel way. (Then again, things that state things that are both obvious and non-original have been getting attention lately.) Regardless, it’s a lesson that needs to be reinforced in my mind. So what if most people who can dress themselves never needed to be taught something they considered obvious.
P.S. I not only misspelled every occurance of the word caffeine in this article, but I did so with no less than four variations. Stellar.
Or you could stop consuming caffeine at all. There’s no reason for it, and any perceived boost of productivity is an illusion. You only think it works because when you’re going through withdrawal you’re productivity goes down. If you ever let yourself get all the way through detox, you’re productivity would be the same and be more even instead of bursty.
Sure, you like coffee, so do I. That’s what decaf is for. The decaf of today tastes just as good as regular. (In the olden days it was subpar). Anyone who claims different is being a bigot and not objective.
I know what I’m saying is sacrilege to any IT guy, but take it from an IT guy who been around a lot longer than you. I used to be on the “boast about my caffeine usage” treadmill that you’re on in your first paragraph, but have been caffeine free for 10 years. There really is a difference in productivity without it, and the difference is better.
I agree. I am trying to get there myself. To quit. Not easy. Good luck.