The Writer’s Energy Drink
June 13, 2008 · Print This Article
Recently, I wrote about writer’s block, offering what I think is the best way to overcome it–take a break to refresh and then come back and begin writing. Period. I believe most writer’s block is actually procrastination and laziness.
I also mentioned that I planned on sharing some things that help me to create the energy and focus necessary to forge through difficult, time-consuming projects.
Today, I’m talking about the writer’s energy drink, a couple of drinks that I look to regularly to give me energy and vigor, especially when I’ve got real work to do.
Water
There are many times I’ve felt utterly exhausted, weak, unable to concentrate, and very sleepy–even though I got a full night’s rest and I’m not sick.
My solution? Drinking water. I’ve found that when I feel as I do above, in almost all cases, about 30 minutes to an hour after drinking two to four full glasses of water, I completely wake up and feel incredibly energized.
Without fail.
Dehydration is a huge zap on your energy levels and ability to concentrate. As the Ririan Project notes, “Even minor dehydration can cause impaired concentration, headaches, irritability and fatigue.”
Green Tea
Being part Japanese, I’ve been around green tea for awhile, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I began drinking it.
It has caffeine, which helps energize you, but the levels of caffeine aren’t as high as those found in coffee or typical sugar-drenched energy drinks.
Al Sears, MD, writes on his experience switching from coffee to green tea in the morning. He says, “I’ve noticed a surprising benefit. The tea wakes me out of my morning stupor like coffee - but unlike coffee, instead of making me feel a little nervous and shaky, the green tea makes me feel calm.”
You can brew your own green tea (which I do sometimes) or buy it bottled (which I do a lot). My favorite bottled green teas are from Honest Tea and Ito En:
Honest Tea Organic Honey Green Tea
Another reason I much prefer to get my caffeine from tea than soda or typical energy drinks is that tea has less (and often no) sugar or calories, and it contains lots of healthy antioxidants–something soda doesn’t.
What Do You Drink?
What do you drink to give you energy and bring on some creativity? Share in the comments. It’d be interesting to see what your fellow writers and bloggers drink to fuel themselves in preparation for upcoming tasks.
Tea is my energy drink of choice. Not only does it have caffeine which ignites the mind, it has theanine which calms the spirit. The perfect duo for writing.
I enjoy making my own tea (mostly green, but oolong and black too). Truth is, I drink about 40 ounces of tea a day. I have been known to enjoy a cup of coffee, but seldom.
Bamboo Forest’s last blog post..Sparkles of the City
Bamboo,
I’ve never had a cup of coffee, but I’ve had tons of cups of tea in the past couple of years.
I’m probably addicted to tea now–green, black, red; hot, cold.
I need to drink more water,
but I certainly agree with you
about writer’s block.
I drink way too much coffee.
However, the drink I use most to boost energy and creativity is cranberry juice. The real stuff, not any of this mixed or light crap.
Honestly, I don’t have the luxury of writer’s block. I have way too much to get done to indulge in it.
But I do get tired, and cranberry juice gives me the boost.
Devon Ellington’s last blog post..Monday, June 16, 2008
Devon,
You’re right–real writers don’t have time for writer’s block.
Cranberry juice? I’ve never thought of that as something to boost energy.
What’s it got in it to do that? I do know it’s healthy.
I agree with you 100% on the water. I had bad headaches and was lacking in energy everyday around 2pm for almost 2 years. One day my fella suggested I drink more water because I was probably dehydrated. At this point in my life I was consuming about 2 glasses of some sort of liquid a day, usually water or juice, so I figured he could be onto something. I increased my intake of water to at least 6 glasses a day, and the headaches, and energy drain were gone, and have stayed away. It’s so much easier to concentrate on design when my head isn’t pounding!
Audrey,
Yeah–water is nature’s free energy drink. It’s so much healthier (no sugar, no calories) than so many other beverages (lots of sugar and calories).
Well I’m a Brit so it’s Ribena for me - and hot! I drink about three or four pints of the blackcurrant stuff a day.
Sarah,
I’ve never had Ribena, but I just checked it out–looks good.