Don’t Buy That Coffee! 30 Days of Free Coffee Challenge
Every once in a while I try to challenge myself. I give myself 30 day challenges and see if I can last 30 days.
This all started two years ago when I challenged myself not to have alcohol for a month. I spent the month of April 2014 not drinking a sip of alcohol. Now, I’m not a big drinker, but I was spending a lot of time at networking events and spending time with friends, where there was inevitably a bar and drinks, not to mention peer pressure. It’s so much easier to talk to strangers after a drink or two.
During that challenge, I learned that 30 days seems like a long time while it is happening, but it’s not really all that long. I also learned that talking to strangers does not require a drink in my hand, and I actually felt more empowered at the end of the month because I got over a lot of that fear. I really can talk to fellow young professionals without the aid of a drink.
During the month of November each year, I participate in NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month, where the challenge is to write 50,000 words in 30 Days. I wrote about this challenge here. I have participated and won this challenge 6 times so far. However, I don’t usually count NaNoWriMo as one of the 30 day challenges like the one above.
Recently, I decided to start another 30 day challenge. I’m calling it “Don’t Buy That Coffee!” Basically, I find myself buying too much coffee. I have a Keurig near my desk as work. In my home kitchen, you will find a K-cup machine, a cappuccino machine, a French press, and one of those pour over coffee makers. Not to mention bags and boxes of coffee. Yet, I regularly purchase coffee at Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, or the local coffee shops.
Now that I have to buy a new car and I have a wedding to plan and pay for, I have become more aware of all the little frivolous items I buy. It’s time to change my behavior. So for the next 30 days, I will not be purchasing any coffee and I will be blogging about my days here.
Day 1: Jan 17.So far so good. I made a cup of Vermont Blend K-Cup coffee at the office. This will be a breeze.
Day 2: Jan 18. I met up with my sister for a coffee. I totally forgot that we had planned this for this day. My youngest sister and I live about an hour and a half away from each other. We decided to start setting aside one day a month during 2016 and hopefully beyond to meet up and have a coffee since we are both fans. I told her about my 30 day challenge and she said she would buy my coffee. This is sort of cheating, but since I didn’t really think of this ahead of time, I am letting myself slide. If it makes a difference, I didn’t buy coffee the day before I started this challenge, so I guess I could swap today for that day…maybe?
Day 3: Jan 19. I had coffee at work. After work, I headed to class to film a show. I’m finishing up a video production class and got to be behind the camera for a music show at the studio. It was really cool. No problems today.
Day 4: Jan 20. Tonight was book club night. In the past this posed no problem, but it just so happened that a coffee shop just opened next door to the book shop where the meeting is held. The book store owner brought my group over to the coffee shop to introduce us to the really nice owner. I stayed strong and had a tea and a cupcake. I did not purchase any coffee.
Day 5: Jan 21. Very busy day. Lots of coffee. Made it all at work. Time to sleep.
Day 6: Jan 22. My young professionals group that I lead held our first event of the year. It was at a bar after work. I didn’t buy coffee or alcohol during the event. I might have had a beer at the after party…
Day 7: Jan 23. It’s the weekend again and that means I make my own coffee at home. Except I woke up and went right to the gym and then came home to a blizzard. The rest of the day was cancelled so I stayed on the couch under a blanket and did nothing. It was great.
Day 8: Jan 24. My wonderful fiance went out to get breakfast this morning. He asked if I wanted a breakfast sandwich and a coffee. I said no coffee and made some instead, deciding to use the French press.
Day 9: Jan 25. Lunch meetings usually mean heading down to the cafe and ordering a salad and coffee. Today it would be a salad and tea. I knew this was going to be a tough afternoon as soon as I sat down. The smell of freshly ground and brewed coffee filled the dining area. Focusing on the meeting was tough, but I did not give into the urge to buy a coffee. The tea was delicious.
Day 10: Jan 26. Another lunch meeting, but this time is was at my office. This made it much easier to stick to this challenge. After work I had a meeting with a client. We met at an office. They had a coffee maker, but I did not have any.
Day 11: Jan 27. Back to the cafe for another lunch meeting (someone different). Again, it was tough smelling the coffee, but the tea and the company were good. After work I met with my personal trainer at the gym, so that motivated me to be extra good all day anyway.
Day 12: Jan 28. After work I graduated from the video production class I was taking. There is this really cute and delicious coffee shop on the ride there and I knew it would be one of the last times I would be heading that way, but I resisted and had free coffee at the studio instead. The temptation to stop and get a latte at the cafe was stronger to resist than I thought it would be. Their coffee is really good!
Day 13: Jan 29. Work and home today. My after work plans were cancelled, so I made dinner and some coffee in the French press.
Day 14: Jan 30. This is the day I was waiting for. I was able to wake up late today, which was nice, but I woke up too late. I had to eat the pancakes that were waiting for me (thanks to my fiance) and run out the door. I went to the studio and edit my TV show, which ended up taking 4 hours. I really had to resist stopping for coffee on my way. Like, really resist. I felt the urge for a latte and it was strong. I settled for a free cup of java at the studio during a short break. My father called me on my way home and said he was almost to my apartment, which was good because I had to get home quick to let him in and therefore could not stop for coffee. But I wanted to. I really wanted to.
Day 15: Jan 31. Am I really only half way through this challenge? That sucks. What makes it even worse it that I met up with a friend today that I haven’t seen for months. We met at a coffee shop. I realized that coffee shops are the bars of the morning. That’s tweet worthy! They are the places we go to meet friends and have a drink before the bars open. These drinks don’t have alcohol, but they do have caffeine. Anyway, the rest of the day was spent running around watching my friend’s dogs and running errands.
Day 16: Feb 1. Another work week has started. I had three cups of coffee at the office and then went back to my favorite cafe for a meeting. I purchased a salad and tea.
Day 17: Feb 2. I went car shopping after work. They provided free coffee. It was the least they could do.
Day 18: Feb 3. Today I sort of bent the rules. My boss and I went to another building to get a few photos. On our way back, he stopped at Starbucks and asked if I wanted a coffee. It would have been rude to say no. Technically, I did not buy the coffee, but I still feel like this was a little bit of a cheat.
Day 19: Feb 4. Safe! I worked, I let my friend’s dogs out at lunch, and then we went to a pizza place for dinner. No opportunities to be tempted.
Day 20. Feb 5. Snow day! I went to work, but I’m not going anywhere else! Although, there is a hockey game tonight. We might go.
Day 21. Feb 6. The hockey game was fun! Our team won! I had some ice cream, but no coffee at the game. Today I made some coffee at home and then we went to his parent’s house.
Day 22. Feb 7. Today was off to a rough start. It is my fiance’s birthday and he wanted to go see Star Wars again but failed to wake me up early enough. He is a morning person and I am so not. We rushed out the door as soon as I was dressed. His brother bought me a coffee at the theater before the movie started. Even though I did not buy it, I still feel like I cheated on this challenge.
Day 23. Feb 8. I believe I had 5 cups of coffee at the office today. I lost count. After work, I stayed home due to the snow and did not have any coffee.
Day 24. Feb 9. A week left. Seriously? A full week left? It definitely feels like it’s been more than 30 days already. I went out for a second night of car shopping. They did not offer me any coffee, but I didn’t want any anyway. We went to a pizza place after and it was amazing.
Day 25. Feb 10. Had some coffee at work. Going to pick up my new car tonight. No worries today.
Day 26. Feb 11. Work was fine and then I went to a networking event after at a bar. I had a drink, but it was not of a caffeinated nature.
Day 27. Feb 12. There is usually a point near the end of a 30 day challenge where it starts to get so easy that I consider continuing beyond the 30 days. I’m not there yet. Making coffee in the Keurig at work has almost become an obsession.
Day 28. Feb 13. It’s another Saturday and I don’t actually have any plans to go anywhere, which is even better because it is supposed to feel like -30 degrees. However, I did end up going to pick up a book for book club and purchased some bagels for brunch. I went to a cafe where they have coffee but I got a small tea instead. I can’t wait to try their coffee.
Day 29. Feb 14. Happy Valentine’s Day! I made some coffee at home with the French press. My fiance and I enjoyed a very cold day indoors.
Day 30. Feb 15. Finally! The last day! I made it…sort of. I will admit that I feel like cheated a couple (few) times, but I technically did not purchase coffee for 30 days.
Lessons: This is the part where I try to figure out what I have learned by participating and completing this 30 day challenge. Let’s see. There is the fact that I spend more time than I realized in coffee shops, which isn’t a bad thing. In fact, coffee shops are great places to meet with friends and loved ones. They are perfect for meetings since each person can get what they want and you don’t feel pressured leave. Caffeine can be a bit addictive, but the cafe culture has endured for hundreds of years for a reason.
I do believe that I will cut way back on my mainstream chain store purchases (Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks) and save my purchases for those times when I will be spending time at the cafe during meetings or when I am meeting a friend or sister.
Overall, I liked participating in this challenge and look forward to doing more in the future. I have been reading more Medium articles tagged with #30DayChallenge, so look for me over there.
