Ask HN: What do you use for focus without coffee jitters?

I've been struggling with coffee-induced anxiety and afternoon crashes. Tried matcha (too much prep) and mushroom coffee (digestive issues). Recently discovered puer tea has a better L-theanine:caffeine ratio for calm focus.

I'm exploring whether there's demand for a convenient puer concentrate and put together a quick survey (2-3 min): https://aicofounder.com/research/ElEORiN

Curious what's working for the HN crowd—especially folks doing deep work who've moved away from traditional coffee?

Try consuming less caffeine, regardless of source. The jitters are from too much. So are the crashes. And you’ve probably built up a tolerance to the focus-inducing effects.

You may have a tough time the first week or two after weaning down, but you’ll feel much better afterward. Probably get better quality sleep too, and be naturally more focused when awake.

2 days agoby apothegm

Are you also eating breakfast and lunch? Lots of my colleagues that have struggled with jitters and such also practice fasting.

18 hours agoby wannabebarista

400mg L-theanine with my coffee/caffeine throughout the day. However, I am trying to cut back to 50mg caffeine 100mg L-theanine.

1 day agoby t0md4n

After being addicted to Caffeine for a decade, I quit it completely. I've been mostly caffeine free for a year. My issue is that I would get anxiety.

I actually wish I would have discovered my intolerance earlier in life, because I used to drink 2-litres of Mt. Dew / day in high school and always had issues with anxiety.

I have found that sleep+water+exercise is all I need to stay focused.

2 days agoby billy99k

Is the problem coffee or caffeine?

I'm not the best at this either, but enough sleep really does wonders to focus.

What also helps me with focus is the pomodoro technique in some form, basically setting myself a timer, within which I want to fully focus, no distractions, followed by a short break.

2 days agoby eXpl0it3r

healthy Keto diet is far more effective than anything else, also short bursts of intense cardio throughout the day

22 hours agoby mikert89

I wish there were a magic pill that gives me a block of 3 hours of focus every day.

Hint: this pill is "money".

2 days agoby ferguess_k

Water.

Not being flippant.

2 days agoby EdNutting

Lions man + cordyceps combo

1 day agoby ryanmerket

I get really terrible jitters and anxiety from coffee, and to a lesser extent tea; yerba mate on the other hand gives me the focus other people describe as getting from coffee. It's in the holly family, and has a pretty different chemical profile.

There's a traditional preparation that involves a special type of mug and filtered straw, but steeping the yerba like tea works fine too. Playadito is a good brand. Anecdotally I find there's a lot of variation between brands in terms of effect/concentration so it's worth trying a few.

2 days agoby ksymph

Focus on your breathing.

You also need an environment conducive to focus. Be sure you’re well rested, have some fresh air, and play some calming music. Taking drugs like stimulants (coffee, tea, etc.) will interfere with this. If you want to sip on something use non-caffeinated teas. I like “yoga” blends, which are the same spices used in chai but without black tea.

23 hours agoby fogzen

Exercise

1 day agoby gethly

Try consuming digital content less, especially videos or audios (non-music).

Reset your brain through digital detox, going for long walks without phone, etc. Brain has to wired again for focus. It will take time.

If you want to read something, print it and then read.

What ultimately shoot up my productivity was to read chapter 1 of the book - The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes.

1 day agoby mkbkn