A few months ago, Barooah began to wean himself from coffee. His method was precise. He made a large cup of coffee and removed 20 milliliters weekly. This went on for more than four months, until barely a sip remained in the cup. He drank it and called himself cured. Unlike his previous attempts to quit, this time there were no headaches, no extreme cravings. Still, he was tempted, and on Oct. 12 last year, while distracted at his desk, he told himself that he could probably concentrate better if he had a cup. Coffee may have been bad for his health, he thought, but perhaps it was good for his concentration.
Barooah wasn’t about to try to answer a question like this with guesswork. He had a good data set that showed how many minutes he spent each day in focused work. With this, he could do an objective analysis. Barooah made a chart with dates on the bottom and his work time along the side. Running down the middle was a big black line labeled “Stopped drinking coffee.” On the left side of the line, low spikes and narrow columns. On the right side, high spikes and thick columns. The data had delivered their verdict, and coffee lost.
This doesn’t mean you don’t get a boost, but it might be worth checking.
My experience is quite similar to what is described in the first article—no coffee leads to better concentration for me. The caffeine ‘boost’ I was talking about reduces my concentration but makes me more inclined to action—I found it useful for breaking through procrastination periods. The effect of Red Bull on me is similar but more pronounced.
The effect seems to be physical, but I don’t rule out placebo (and frankly, it’s fine with me either way.)
Coffee and concentration experiment
Article about self-measurement
This doesn’t mean you don’t get a boost, but it might be worth checking.
My experience is quite similar to what is described in the first article—no coffee leads to better concentration for me. The caffeine ‘boost’ I was talking about reduces my concentration but makes me more inclined to action—I found it useful for breaking through procrastination periods. The effect of Red Bull on me is similar but more pronounced.
The effect seems to be physical, but I don’t rule out placebo (and frankly, it’s fine with me either way.)