How I Made Caffeine Actually Work For Me Again
Turning caffeine from a survival necessity into a secret weapon for productivity
Like many people, I was addicted to caffeine; the kind of in-denial addiction that makes you scoff and say ‘’Addicted? Of course not. I just like the taste’’ while as soon as you fail to pour your morning cup of joe, your productivity is doomed from the start.
I had been drinking coffee every day like religious clockwork for about six years, and I’ve never thought to question it.
That was until I was diagnosed with Lyme disease.
Long story short: Lyme disease can take many different forms for different people. If you walk around with it long enough you can eventually even go blind or paralyzed but I found out after about two years I think, so I was relatively early. For me, Lyme mostly resulted in brain fog, concentration issues, fatigue, anxiety, and unstoppable tremors in my hands.
I’ve been treating and fighting it for about six months now, and I’m starting to notice the results.
My brain fog, concentration and fatigue are pretty much gone (woohoo!) but the anxiety and trembling hands are a bit more stubborn.
It seemed suspicious. Anxiety and trembling hands — the dynamic disaster duo that’s often paired with too much coffee. Could it be that part of my Lyme symptoms was at least partially inflicted by having coffee every day?
I’ve tried a couple of days without caffeine in the early stages of my tremors and it didn’t seem to affect it. (After my experiment, I now know it still doesn’t — it’s not the caffeine, it’s the Lyme — but it never hurts to be sure, right?)
But due to this experiment, I went a full two weeks without caffeine. I’ve literally never done that since I started drinking coffee.
The First Few Days
I won’t sugarcoat it for you — the first few days suck big time. There were very few activities beyond spending my day horizontally watching YouTube videos that I felt inclined to do, even with a pile of work begging to be done.
That being said, I feel like I got off lucky. I wasn’t feeling any major headaches, I wasn’t feeling dizzy, the tremors I had were already there so I can’t comment on that, and I wasn’t an awful person to my roommates (I hope).
The only real downside was that I was more tired, slow, and groggy in the morning. But above all, the thing I missed the most was the taste. If ‘home’ had a taste, I always imagine it would be coffee. Not having that sucked. But I got over it, as will you.
The Afterlife
I’ll refer to the period after the sucky days as the afterlife because it feels like you’re suddenly living in another dimension.
Once I got over the yearning for coffee (which took a few times of caving, drinking one single cup, and then quitting again), I somehow completely dropped that need. The next two weeks were incredibly easy — I felt energized in the morning, I had much more stable energy production throughout the day and I didn’t miss coffee at all, apart from a few moments in the office after lunch when I could use a little pick-me-up. I’ve never had much trouble falling asleep at night, so I don’t think this changed a great deal.
All of these improvements are great, but the biggest change for me is the difference in my anxiety levels. My anxiety would mostly manifest itself into social nervosity, jitteriness, restlessness, and a heartbeat that’s consistently around 100–110bpm.
I still get these things every now and then, but nowhere near the level that they used to be at. I am generally much more calm, contained, confident, and clearheaded.
Secret Weapon Activation
Let’s get this straight: my intention was never to quit coffee forever. That idea alone would simply be too much to bear. There had to come a time where I felt like my body kicked the addiction, after which I could start using caffeine for what it was supposed to be used for all along: as a productivity booster.
When your body is addicted, you need it to complete you and to get you to a level where you can function. When your body is not addicted to coffee and it’s not used to the sudden caffeine kick, magic things happen.
Yesterday, I had a cup of coffee during a meeting at the office. While pouring it, I was smiling like an idiot. The smell hit my nostrils and I swear I could nearly cry. I had to tell my colleagues about my experiment and that they were about to witness a special reunion moment, or else they’d think I was a complete nutcase for grinning at my coffee the way I did.
And you know what? I had a real f**king productive day. Quite possibly the most productive day I’ve had in a very long time.
It wasn’t until later in the day when I started connecting the dots. Is one cup all it takes for normal non-addicted people to have a fantastic day? One thing is for sure: I never would have thrived that much on one single cup if I was still in the habit of consuming 3 cups per day.
Cutting Ties with My Enemy
You know the saying.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
This experiment proved the truth I was so scared of all along: caffeine is my worst enemy, and I was literally chained to it. I thought I needed it. It turns out that I needed nothing more than to kick that addiction.
By losing the bodily addiction, I gave myself the gift of a secret weapon: a productivity boost when I actually need it, instead of a tool for basic functionality.
If you’re one of those people who read this and think ‘’I love coffee too much, I could never quit’’, I dare you to try it. For two or three weeks. And yes, I LOVE the taste of coffee too, but my rare coffee moment is even more special now. You won’t know the damage that constant caffeine intake is doing to your physical and mental health until you lay off it for a while.
You might have been sleeping with the devil all along without even realizing it.
