Coffee-Free for 30 Days: Easy or a Challenge?

Imagine a month without your favorite morning coffee - that was my recent adventure. It wasn't easy.

But then again, most worthwhile things aren’t.

After 30 days without caffeine, I have some takeaways to share.

What Drove This Madness?

My wife and I were listening to a podcast when we heard the host and guest say there was no conclusive evidence that caffeine was good for sleep.

Not a huge shocker, but it caught our attention.

We were already discussing ways to sleep better:

• Drink less alcohol

• Less screen time before bed

• Drinking less fluids close to bedtime

As people who limited caffeine to 1-2 cups daily and stopped by 3pm, we hadn’t considered cutting it out completely.

That changed when we heard the podcast and asked, “what would not drinking coffee for 30 days give us?” and the answer was - an idea of life after a complete reset from caffeine.

We found out after the fact it only takes 9-14 days to reset, but we had already committed to 30 days.

Since we have automated sleep and rest tracking from our Garmin watches with heart rate monitors, we started a cold turkey 30 day no caffeine challenge.

Recommended

What Happened

The first day wasn’t bad.

Huge surprise. I thought it would be miserable.

Nope, day 2 was.

And day 3.

Actually, for a somewhat silly recreation of this, check out the video:

There were ups and downs, but we figured out critical factors on our own that helped us succeed:

1. Habit stacking / replacement

2. Planning ahead

3. Accountability / tracking

Without those 3 things, I’m not sure we would have succeeded.

Now, to answer some questions…

Did I sleep better?

I didn’t notice an improvement, and neither did my watch.

Other factors are likely far more influential at our level of caffeine consumption. Others may see a bigger change.

Did I feel better without coffee?

Not always, but I found that I didn’t need caffeine for most situations. It could be replaced with a short walk or another beverage.

Was it worth it?

100%. Discovering what makes me feel better (1 cup in the morning) and what doesn’t (more than 2 cups, and more than 1 cup before running) was incredibly helpful and is helping me consume less regular coffee after the 30 days.

Do I recommend trying life without coffee?

Definitely. If nothing else it’s a good test to see your baseline “you” is like and distinguish needs from wants.

If you’re into self-improvement and believe having a guide can help, check out the 14 Day No Coffee Challenge.

You won’t have to commit to 30 days like I did - we really only need 9 to 14 days.

Ready to start the challenge?

Extra Extra

• On the topic of coffee…should you be drinking it even 6 hours before bed? Studies say no.

One quick question 👋

I love hearing from readers, and I’m always happy to hear feedback from active subscribers. How am I doing with the Productivity Academy newsletter? Is there any content you’d like to see more or less of? Which parts of the newsletter (or articles, or podcast) do you enjoy the most?

Hit reply and say hello, happy to hear from you!

P.S. Looking for resources to improve your productivity? Check out the tools I use right here.