I’m a tea person rather than a coffee person. Many colleagues prefer coffee and are experts on different coffee types, which I do not know about. I like drinking tea on many occasions, even though I’m okay with coffee from time to time. I’d say tea by default whenever you ask me what I prefer to drink.
Taking a cup of tea to my desk is like a work routine. Whenever I want to start working, I tidy up my desk, I remove unrelated things from my view area as much as possible, I align the items on my desk so I can focus easily. Beyond achieving focus, these steps implicitly give me a sense of achievement and purpose orientation. Since I feel I have accomplished something, even if it is small, I will be more willing to achieve something more significant. I bet this should have a name in psychology, but it is not the topic now. Finally, I complete the work routine by taking a cup of tea.
I didn’t notice how important this is for me until recently. The weather was too hot, and I preferred drinking cold drinks like fruit juices to tea. I know there could be many reasons for productivity fluctuations. Still, after preferring cold beverages for a couple of months, whenever I drank tea, I felt like I found a missing part of my productivity. It felt like completing my productivity routine somehow. I felt more focused.
Now, I’m preparing my tea before starting the work. This effect could be due to a past habit of mine. I couldn’t generalize this to everyone, but for me, tea is essential.
Enjoy your tea 🙂