How coffee made me a better person

Posted: May 5th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Whoever said “water is the elixir of life” was clearly mistaken. Put plainly, water is coffee’s chauffeur.

Don’t get me wrong, water is a great way of conveying coffee beans directly into my blood stream.  It’s a solid team player in that regard, for sure.

See ya latte! via ryangphx

But if beverages are the ’95 Bulls, water is just Steve Kerr to coffee’s Jordan. Play your role, but know that the fans showed up for the main attraction; sweet, sweet caffeine.

By now you’re probably thinking:
1.) Damn, he’s right
2.) Is this guy following the title at all?

Kudos for being observant on both accounts above; you’re right, I should get back to the agenda here.

Coffee fuels me to Get Things Done

Nothing shakes off the lethargy of the morning like that first cup.  This isn’t news to anyone, I hope.  (Actually, if this is news to you, de nada. Welcome to the rest of your life.)

Even living in the desert as I do, starting a morning without a hot cup of coffee is just a passive way of asking for the hazy feeling of first waking up to stick around a little while longer.  Great for a sweat-pants-on-the-couch day, not so good the other six days a week when you’ve got to get up and go.

Personally, I may have ritualized it, but coffee is really the uniting factor that ties the rest of my morning together.  By the time I’m done with my first cup, I should have already gone through all my email, read my first round of news & blogs, figured out an action plan, and jotted down at least one or two new project ideas. If I pair coffee with a cross-word puzzle, I can kick-start my mental vocabulary and find myself thoroughly prepared for whatever is going to be thrown at me.

Coffee keeps me thinking of that “one more thing”

Some people my call it antsy or jittery, I like to think of it as sort of a pinball energy, ricocheting off one topic and on to the next. For a guy who’s (whose?) brain is most comfortable when doing multiple things at the same time, this is a very welcome state.

I hear that some folks like to meditate for clarity, others like to run through picturesque landscapes and “be at one with nature”; for me it’s all about coffee and a walk through the urban core. Something about the ability to discover a new place, a new piece of street art, or even a new appreciation to for the architecture we usually pass by each day, it brings about a calming effect that allows my subconscious to draw connections that end up leading to my next best idea.

Think about those times when you’ve been sitting at your desk, working through a particularly troublesome project, or any other mental block.  Add 12 to 48 ounces of arabica and you could be inventing the next iAnything instead. Sometimes it may seem that coffee is the enemy of focus and “attention to detail” but the same can be said of inspiration, and nobody ever speaks out against that.

Coffee shops make me more productive than being at home

As I write this, I’m comfortably sitting at one of my favorite coffee & breakfast spots.  Without discussing the particular benefits provided by having a vibrant 3rd place to work at, the setting certainly provides a boost to my ability to Get Things Done. I imagine it’s the helpful level of ambient noise that both breaks the silence and is easily ignored, something that I struggle with when working at home and having the puppy & television both vying for my attention.

Of course, coffee shops are often like a microcosm unto themselves, so your mileage may vary until you find the space that’s just right for you.  Whether it’s post-industrial kitsch, open & airy ambiance, or a dark cave that looks like an abandoned class room jammed behind a bodega, the act of being away from the home adds some extra ooomph to my mental jet engine and contributes it’s own specific kind of focus.

A mug of delicious, velvety wake-up-and-go, some kind of pastry, and my laptop; that’s the recipe for successfully translating whatever is banging around my head into a mass of letters and wit just in time for me to press publish before I have to jet back to the real world.

Enhanced by Zemanta

One Comment on “How coffee made me a better person”

  1. 1 earlyinitiative said at 10:46 am on June 11th, 2013:

    Great post! And I especially love the “water is coffee’s chauffeur” bit.
    I wholeheartedly agree with your premise too – I find that coffee makes everything possible, and certainly can’t imagine doing anything remotely creative without it.
    I enjoy your blog and look forward to returning.