Caffeine Deficit Alert; How To Stay Productive Without Coffee?

How to stay productive without coffee? I mean I was a “Don’t talk to me until I have had my cup of morning coffee” person. Its rather strange how the world begins to brighten up through the lens of a steaming cup of coffee. First thing in the morning: coffee. Bad day: coffee. Good news: calls for a cup. Close Deadline: coffee. Stressful situations: more coffee. Can’t sleep? Have you heard of a magic elixir: coffee.

Well it pretty well summed up my entire life until I Quit. Cold Turkey.

Yes, you heard that right. I broke up with my lifeline.

The one beverage that never let me down. Got me through those tough spots. Made the world a better place. But at what cost? I was getting too clingy like I couldn’t function without it. The thought of waking up one day and finding out that I had run out of coffee, would get me running to the store to stock up some more. So yeah, when I found that I didn’t need coffee to be productive, I simply moved on from this toxic relationship and found my answer to how to stay productive:

How to Stay Productive Without your Cup Of Joe?

Upgrade Your Physical Health

If you drink coffee to get an instant boost of energy every-time you feel down in the dumps, it may be that coffee is masking opportunities to improve your physical health. You are probably aware of how unhealthy we eat these days. Even I am was guilty of an extremely unhealthy diet. From munching on doughnuts and sugar-laden cereals in the morning, downed with a cup of coffee of course, to a pizza for lunch, my refrigerator used to resemble a teenager’s dream.

However, I have been striving to improve my exercise regimen and diet for quite some time now. Now that I am keeping coffee at arm’s length, I am better aware of the effects that various workouts and food groups have on my body. Coffee gives you an instant energy boost that masks feelings of fatigue, which makes you less prone to eating healthy to achieve the same effect.

If quitting coffee also takes away your focus and energy however, try eating healthier and indulging in some workout. Of course, this can offer benefits far beyond the dilemma of how to stay productive.

Listen To The Right Kind Of Music

If you feel yourself dozing off at work without your usual shot of coffee, you can put on some music to help you recharge. If you know what music gets you going, save it for when you feel your body slumping. For instance, I listen to soft music when I write, but as soon as I feel my wind wandering, I play some upbeat tunes for an instant energy boost. This is how I stay productive without caffeine.

Now, there is no one-song-fits-all for productivity, but generally studies have proven that quiet and slow-paced music, such as classical melodies, befit your creative process, and help in the secretion of neurotransmitters. But of course, music is not everyone’s fuel. Some people listen to interesting podcasts to refresh their minds. Even better, you can tune into an informative podcast about productivity for an added dose of inspiration to make up for caffeine. As for music, further Research indicates that the effectiveness of listening to music is amplified if you sing along. That may get awkward at work but, at least mouthing the lyrics could do the trick!

Bid Adieu To Negative Thoughts

Do you think that you can keep negative thoughts at bay if you think on success? That is not necessary. You may convince yourself that you can tackle that report in an hour or finish the dishes in 15 minutes, but that won’t stop negative thoughts from creeping in and distracting you from your focus.

Most negative thoughts that pollute our minds don’t have an ouch of truth behind them, and caffeine craving can intensify the flow of these thoughts. So, every time, one such thought enters your mind, remind yourself that its nothing more than what it is; a mind-trick. Often, these negative thoughts stem from past unresolved issues that plague us. To help sort your thoughts out, a good idea is to sit down and write everything down. You need to get your things sorted out, so they won’t bother you anymore. In addition to negative thoughts, look out for any self-sabotaging behaviors, and work through them to stay productive without coffee .

Priming To Stay Productive Without Coffee

When you feel your energy draining away, priming is a great method to fill you up with energy by training your mind on how to stay productive without coffee, boosting brain power and altering your physical state. If you can’t seem to hold off thoughts, this technique suits you best. Here’s the method de-jour that Tony Robbin advocates.

You start off by altering your physical state. Now you can do it anyway that suits you such as deep breathing for a few minutes, doing a few jumping jacks, or hoping into a cold shower. Then, sit up on your bed and close for eye. Spend a total of three minutes thinking about three things that you are grateful for. Do a rapid-fire round on yourself, asking questions like who do you love? What’s magical about your life, what’s right, what’s the most beautiful thing you have? Who reciprocates your love? What are your current assets: friends, relationship, books, a great job, technology? What opportunities dot your path?

Next up, conjure up three things that you envision yourself doing or creating. While its only make-believe, think as if you have already accomplished these feats. It could be something like, “I just invented the machine that could enable the blind to see,” “I am an affluent entrepreneur, living life by my own rules,” or “I travel frequently, relishing in each new place, learning something new from the locals”.

Focus On Focus

Yes, I do run low on energy when I don’t get my coffee however, I also recognize the fact that the energy coffee gave me, had a fidgety ring to it, and encourage me to act more impulsively (not always in a good way). While lack of coffee does get to me by late afternoon, the absence of all that nervous energy helps me better focus. I take my time with decisions instead of jumping to conclusions and switch tasks less often.

The energy burst from coffee has its peaks and valleys. As soon as you down a cup, you feel invigorated, ready to take on the world. However, once that energy burst runs its course, you feel more exhausted than you did before drinking it. This makes you crave for another cup, and the vicious cycle continues. Now I that quit, I take a quick stroll when I need energy, or drink a glass or water, or just munch on a healthy snack or fruit. All these options are great alternatives to caffeine and help you stay productive without coffee.

What I am trying to say here is that more energy doesn’t always equate to increased productivity or focus. Your output and its quality are all that matter. Once you improve your levels of focus, your output increases automatically.  

Solve A Puzzle

Sometimes, your mind gets blocked up from monotony and needs to be jarred out of complacency. This especially happens when you have been slaving away at the same task for long hours and your brain eventually descends into a low-power mode. You can unclog your brain by playing puzzles and solving riddles; not only do they stimulate your mind; they are also much less distracting than playing a game. But what they do is to encourage you to think out-of-the-box and teach you how to stay productive without loading up on caffeine.

Even Jigsaw puzzles, no matter how childish and simple they seem, work by activating all the parts of the brain, strengthening them for future use and priming them for use. So, every time you brain is addling, try to find a nice riddle or a puzzle online, or download some app that incorporates mind-boggling challenges to get your blood rushing and stay productive without coffee.

There are many great riddle websites with levels that you have to work through. BrainBashers.com is one such amazing website that offers up all kinds of puzzles, word quizzes, and random logic games to complete with a click or two and combat productivity blues. Amp up the difficulty level based on how productive you would like to be through the day and recharge your mind accordingly.

Read Something Interesting

You know what can jerk you into consciousness and how to stay productive without coffee? It’s a good read. Not just a book. It could be an e-book, a thought-provoking article, an interesting quote, an engaging post, an alarming news piece, a mind-boggling story or so on.  All that matters, is that it should be stimulating enough to get you out of your brain rut. Internet is full of things to read, if you know where to look. Even if you are pressed for time, you can:

• Check out Medium, since it is the hub of interesting stuff to read. Just fire up the website and you will find it brimming over with awesome reads to help you stay productive without coffee.
• Sign up on Tumblr. With recent changes to its interface, it is your go-to place for mind-boggling news.
• Check out Reddit’s Today I Learned sub-Reddit, which has all sorts of fascinating things to read.

If you are an avid reader, make sure not to sucked in too deep into the pool of reads. Set a timer to help you step out of your reverie.