Welcome to the GreenEyedGuide Quick Tips to Start Your Week series!
Today’s topic is Hacking Motivation with Caffeine.
Have you ever thought about why you drink the drinks you do? What guides your hand when you open that glass door at the 7-11 and reach for something caffeinated?
You can use that motivation for caffeine to hack your motivation elsewhere. By “hacking”, I mean tricks to make it easier, like a cheat code.
I’ve been working on a research paper with a group from Cal State Long Beach where we’re looking at why people choose the energy drinks they do. Instead of regurgitating that research, let me just ask you:
It’s fascinating to get into the psychology of consumer behavior, but let’s talk about the 3 most common reasons that motivate people to pick the energy drinks they do, and how you can hack those 3 reasons to make your life easier.
Let’s get the boring one out of the way first…
Don’t wanna read this whole thing?
Reason #1 - To Get Energy
What a concept! Drinking an energy drink…to get energy. Mind-blowing, really. If this is your primary reason for picking the drink you do, go ahead and get your drink.
But THEN go ahead and get my new book. It has several more tips for ways you can wake yourself up without caffeine. And even when you’re NOT feeling awake and energized, you’ll know how to “Get Sh*t Done”. Which is really the goal, right? The point of feeling awake and energized is to get things done. Boom – motivation.
Reason #2 - Cost
If your hand gravitates towards whatever drink is on sale, you want the most bang for your buck.
Ugh – bad pun.
I mean you want the most oompf for your dollars, right? Why buy one energy drink for $5 when you can get 2-for-$4 or even 3-for-$5, right?
Here’s the hack: nurse your caffeine, always. Imagine how much money you can save if you make that one energy drink with 300 mg caffeine last the whole day. I promise, the caffeine won’t disappear overnight, and most energy drinks don’t taste THAT different when they’re flat. Especially when you pour them over ice.
Related Reading: Why teens pick the energy drinks they do – research recap
Reason #3 - Taste
This is the most delicious (pun) in terms of hacking motivation.
If you pick your drink based on the desire to try something you expect to be yummy, you can use that to your advantage!
I don’t know if there’s a term for this in psychology, but tying something unpleasant to something you enjoy boosts your motivation to do that unpleasant thing.
For example, I really don’t want to work out. It’s not that I don’t enjoy working out, it’s just that there are so many things I feel are higher on my priority list right now. But, if I use that brand-new energy drink I’ve been dying to try as my reward for working out – boom- there’s my motivation, and the thing I’ve been avoiding gets done.
That’s it for today!
Stay tuned next Monday for more tips about caffeine, energy drinks, beating fatigue. If you have a question you want me to answer in the next Quick Tips session, you can message me on Instagram or email me at Info@greeneyedguide.com
Have a great week. You’ve got this!
Grab your copy of the best-seller
How to Get Sh*t Done When You Feel Like Sh*t
The Secret to Caffeine, Motivation, and Productivity for the Sleep-Deprived and Overwhelmed