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Comment by goldbeck | Hacker News Reader

Preeeeetty much everyone in our society drinks caffeine [citation needed]. Personally, I find a significant difference in my level of focus between a day in which I had a cup of coffee in the morning and one in which I did not. This is true for me regardless of any dependence.

My advice is to keep tabs on how much you're consuming and consider to giving yourself off days when there isn't work to be done. Definitely try and get a good night's sleep too (coffee late in the day isn't great for this, so worth keeping that in mind).

Most importantly, figure out what works well for you.

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This is the answer I was looking for, thanks! I'm thinking the long-term productivity increase from small amounts of coffee is certainly attainable without developing any major side effects.

Remember that the productivity will tail off as your resistance increases as well. You're probably better off exercising and taking in moderate amounts of caffeine from time to time.

This. For me, exercise is the gift that keeps giving.

Caffeine works for a couple of days and then becomes a requirement. Any ongoing benefit is difficult to discern.

There are other things that make a huge difference to productivity for me :- - have a plan for the day - make sure to work on stuff that is actually important - look back at the day and see where time was wasted or I went off track and think about how to do better next time - stop working at a fixed time (with a little leeway if I am really in the zone and enjoying it.) This leaves me excited to get to work in the morning. Scheherazade effect :-)

Plus on on this. That first cup of coffee after not drinking it for months is amazing. The 200th? Meh. And the effects become less and less, with the result being that you feel lethargic until you drink it, which then is just a dependency. One problem is that people can't take a 30 minute nap when they need to; I highly urge you to find a work environment where you can do that.

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