First thing in the morning get a cup of⊠scratch that. Just take action.
Pexels â Karolina Grabowska
Coffee is energy,
Coffee is irresistible,
Coffee is our life source.
Right when we wake up from a good-enough sleep, a look of glee spreads across our lips when stumbling towards the coffee maker- sitting petitly on our countertop. No matter how we prepare our coffee, it still yields that fresh, stoked smell of invigorating caffeine.
Have I stirred your senses enough? What if I told you that you can be productive without having it so soon after getting up.
Are you telling me to quit drinking coffee?! You might ask.
No, not really. Just change the sequence of events of when we get our coffee.
As you might know, Iâm a Graphic Designer. Well, studying to be one anyway. I take college classes online, study 3D modeling, and brush up on Python programming now and again.
But for some reason, I couldnât find time to do everything without sacrificing one of my hobbies.
What I used to do:
First-thing-in-the-morning Iâd take a quick 5 minutes to prepare a cup of coffee while getting breakfast. Thatâs all there was to my early morning.
But then I realized all that I needed to do that day.
I wanted toâŠ
- Study 3D modeling â canât find time before college âcause I woke up too late (8:00 AM).
- Python programming â too much brain work, I already have college work as is.
What was my problem with fitting these activities in? It all started with how I was starting my day.
Have a gameplan
Take action ahead of time to know what you need to do, how you need to do it, and following through.
Theyâre simple steps, but actually doing it requires consistency- lots of consistency.
When we get our coffee each morning weâve developed a consistent routine every day of getting it first-thing without doing anything else â and thatâs why weâve become needy for it.
Instead, plan the night-before what needs done and wake up early enough to do it. Often times, waking up earlier than we need to will give a burst of energy and help to become consistent. For me, it was because I was being jolted awake by my alarm clock and thinking that the fire alarm was going offâŠ
Until we wake up early for enough days in a row that we start getting sleepyâŠ
and rush right back to get that cup.
What the data says
Statistics show that people who drink coffee are more productive when consumed at later times, like 10 am (for you 8 am-riser folks) as a Healthline article states, â[It is] thought that drinking coffee too soon after rising decreases its energizing effects, as your stress hormone cortisol is at its peak level at this time.â
Cortisol is a natural part of your bodyâs alert system, even affecting your immune system if the levels are imbalanced. Since caffeine naturally raises Cortisol levels, your body does not need to produce more than it needs to as this would disrupt the balance. Though, it ends up doing so because of its addictive components; making us more reliant on it than on our natural cycle. Take a look at this study if you want to get into the nitty-gritty of how this works.
So then, are you convinced? We really donât need to rely on our addictive dose of caffeine to get going, at least, not first thing in the morning.
For me, I stick to waking up at 6 am (finally!!) and drink coffee at 9 am.
Energize
and use what you already got-.
Coffee is only a stimulant, use action to fuel your day to achieve better productivity and take better care of your health.
Hope you enjoyed this read from me, this has been a 2 year process for myself to figure out. But realizing how I can keep better energy management has been worth it! I hope this has been helpful for you too.
Each of us have a journey that consists of transitions full of change and developments. If you like my journey please leave a follow! And come back next week to read a new story from me.
Walle, (May 15, 2020.) When is the best time to drink coffee? https://medium.com/@arinbasu/you-can-use-footnotes-thus-babus%C2%B9-6c485c4eff1e
Lovallo, et al. Caffeine Stimulation of Cortisol SecretionâŠhttps://web.archive.org/web/20181123225247/https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/215201097-How-can-I-add-a-footnote-to-a-post-