I gave up hard drinks and coffee for a year and this is what happened.

The former head of design at Spotify and founder of the creative platform Semplice published a note on his blog on Medium about how he stopped drinking hard drinks and coffee and what results he achieved in 15 months.Website publishes an adapted translation of the note.

It’s been exactly 15 months since I completely gave up coffee and hard drinks. And I noticed some interesting consequences of my refusal, Van Schneider writes. In his article, he explained what had changed in his life.



1. Two months after the start of the experiment, the entrepreneur noticed that he saved about $1,000 each month. “That sounds like a lot, but when you think about it, it’s not that big a number. Let’s say I spent $1,000 on hard drinks alone, which is about $33 a day. Suppose I drink 2-3 cocktails a day, each costing $10, tip the waiter and buy a few bottles of wine a month. Here's $1,000, writes Tobias Van Schneider.

The author of the note clarifies that It's not about alcoholism.In fact, drinking a couple of cocktails every day in New York is quite normal.

In addition, Van Schneider says, sitting in a bar, a person usually does not limit himself to a couple of cocktails - he also orders food or snacks ("just because he is a little hungry"), and the order amount increases.

2. Less gossipRefusing strong drinks, the author of the material began to meet less with friends. According to him, it was unpleasant for him to explain every time why he did not drink, and to be in the company of drunk acquaintances sober. “If I agreed to go somewhere, it would be no longer than an hour. These changes have helped me realize how often our friendship with someone is built only on going to a bar together.”

“Nobody calls people they know to ‘discuss the latest news’ sober.” We say, ‘Let’s go have a drink,’ and we don’t have to explain why. Everyone already knows what will happen next.”

3. According to Tobias Van Schneider, after giving up alcohol and coffee, he began to sleep much better. It’s not about falling asleep (“falling asleep after a couple of glasses of wine, perhaps even better”), but about sleep itself.

Van Schneider wakes up much easier and feels more energetic. “Every glass of beer you drink makes itself known in the morning. Now I feel much better and sleep much better.

4. Less stress. It may be something more personal, and it may not be the same effect that giving up alcohol and coffee will have on everyone.” According to the entrepreneur, after refusing coffee, he began to experience less stress. He also normalized his digestion.

Van Schneider now mostly drinks tea. Since the trip to the coffee shop, in his opinion, is more of a social ritual, in this regard, almost nothing has changed in his life - instead of coffee, he orders tea.

The entrepreneur notes that he made the decision to give up coffee and alcohol not because he felt bad, but out of interest. The author is satisfied with the results of the experiment and is not going to return to the use of harmful drinks.

“I am not asking everyone to follow my path. If you are doing well and your life suits you, you do not need to change anything, he writes.



via medium.com/desk-of-van-schneider/no-alcohol-no-coffee-for-15-months-this-is-what-happened-1a2d052be9e7#s0x4ct8ek