The Two Coffee Rule
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I figured out a way to make me 2x more productive with a simple habit change.
First, some background…
I've been grappling with an addiction—Twitter, my poison of choice.
Waiting in line at a coffee shop? Open up Twitter.
Sitting in an Uber? Open up Twitter.
Commercial comes on while watching TV? Open up Twitter.
Replace Twitter with Instagram, TikTok, or any platform, and you might see a bit of yourself in me.
This mindless scrolling had to stop. It wasn't just about the time wasted. The real culprit was the constant distraction and lack of presence. It’s like a cloud, always looming over, disrupting the space for those big, creative ideas.
So, I decided to pull a Houdini, make a radical shift. Over the last 90 days, I've implemented a new game plan.
Enter the "The Two Coffee Rule", a spin on the cheat-day concept, only it's for social media.
I drink two coffees a day—one in the morning and another in the afternoon. During these caffeine highs, I indulge in Twitter—post, engage, explore trends, and absorb information.
It's a contained 20-minute frenzy that aligns with my coffee intake and gets those creative juices flowing. But when the coffee runs out, so does my Twitter time.
And you know what?
The results have been game-changing. Lower FOMO, increased original projects, and less of that competitive social rat race. My productivity? Skyrocketed.
To sum it up, here's a crash course:
Step #1: Identify and acknowledge your digital distractions.
Step #2: Implement the Two Coffee Rule. It doesn’t need to be coffee, it could be tea, water, Diet Coke, whatever but make it some beverage you really look forward to drinking. It should be a treat.
Step #3: Experience the benefits—enhanced presence, creativity, and productivity.
The Two Coffee Rule isn't just about controlling social media usage.
It's about reclaiming your focus and creativity.
Watch what happens when you don’t let push notifications push you around.
Spoiler alert: good things 😎.
Btw, if this post got you thinking, share it on Twitter. I’ll respond on Twitter (only while drinking a coffee though).
Also, no pod for this week. My editor is on vacation. Back next week. You can binge older episodes of the pod on YouTube, Spotify or Apple.
I have a similar habit in the morning. Writing only before 7:30am. No phone, no checking bank accounts, no email scans. Just looking out the window and writing. This helps keep the Twitter habit at bay.
I've also been working on setting parameters with writing on Twitter: mornings only. And responding and commenting: afternoons only. Using Tweetdeck has helped me understand how much noise there is outside of who I really want to read and follow, which I use on my desktop, so I'm less inclined to scroll in the evenings when away from my desk. Seems to be working so far.
Another good hack, especially good for instagram, is to delete the app and only use the mobile web version. You still get to get the dopamine hit but the web version is sufficiently janky you don't spend hours mindlessly scrolling.