A lot of people drink soda, or coffee or tea, or some other caffeinated drink. The usual reasons are the same: they either need the energy boost or like the taste (which means they need the energy boost and want an excuse). I personally don’t drink coffee and rarely drink soda or tea. But this wasn’t always the case. I can remember a time not too long ago (a few months) where I was drinking several sodas every day. Most people are fine with this or even need it, I know someone who gets almost sick when he goes through soda withdrawal. I went through withdrawal when I “quit” soda and it is terrible, but I managed to do it and here’s why I did it.

Back even longer ago I wasn’t getting much done. I subsist on liquids mostly because I’m either to lazy or not hungry enough to make food (I haven’t eaten breakfast in months). I only got soda when we went out, I had none at home because my house is the type of house where you only get things if you write them down on the list or ask for them just before (which is a good thing). I decided one day that getting soda would be good, and might even improve my productivity.

When I got it for the first week or two I was fine, nothing really changed, I thought. But soon things started to change. I started wanting more and more soda every day, kinda like an addict. I would save my soda for when I was working, which ironically made me work less because I would just drink the soda and then stop working. I tried to compensate for this by working only at certain times when I wanted soda, which cut my work times even more because I wasn’t motivated. The worst thing though I didn’t even realize was happening. I was staying up later because of all the caffeine, (or just the sugar) which meant that I was getting up later. As I have discovered, getting up and being fresh and awake is one of the major components of working and enjoying that work. Soda was slowly but surely destroying my sleep schedule.

Most of you don’t know me so I’ll just tell you that when I don’t get things done I start to get mad. Not getting things done infuriates me. I didn’t fully realize that I was now a tired, angry, and lazy individual until I stopped soda all together. I had been “addicted” to soda before and quit several times, but that was when I was in school and didn’t care about what I was doing (it also served as a good distraction when I was quitting). I finally quit again by reducing the amount I drank a day slowly. I then had about a week of head and body aches where I was even less productive and really tempted to go back to soda. When that ended however I got ten times as much done per day, I was more focused and even more alert, provided I had gotten enough sleep the night before.

I know that I’ve been making soda drinking sound very serious. It really isn’t and I’m sure it doesn’t affect some people. I still do drink soda when I go out or on a trip. But just be warned that it can cause some serious problems, and I believe that my life is better now that I’ve gotten it out of my house. Think of some things you “can’t” get through the day without and see if you really need them, or if they really are helping you. The answer may surprise you.