The afternoon without it

You've moved the cut-off, and the afternoon now has no dose in it. Ten past three arrives, and there's a natural dip, and possibly a leftover shortfall while the taper works through. This chapter is about what to do with that hour. It's my own list.

First, know what it is. For the first couple of weeks it's partly withdrawal, and it passes. After that it's the natural dip, and it's smaller than you've been used to, because it isn't sitting on a shortfall any more. Naming it helps. "That's the dip" is a different experience from "I can't function".

Take the break anyway. Stand up, walk to the kitchen, put the kettle on, and stand at the window. Decaf, herbal tea or water in the mug. Chapter 15 argued that the break was made of the walk and the window, and this is where you find out.

Go outside. Ten minutes of daylight and movement does more for an afternoon dip than anything in a cup, in my experience. Round the block, to the postbox, to the end of the car park. Daylight in particular, because the afternoon dip is partly a matter of the body clock and light is what the clock listens to.

Drink water. A surprising share of afternoon fog is mild thirst, and a regular coffee drinker who's cut down is often drinking less fluid than before. A glass of water at three, on its own, is worth trying.

Eat lunch properly. A skipped or tiny lunch makes the dip worse. So does a very large one. Something ordinary, eaten sitting down, in the middle of the day.

Do the dull job in the dip. Don't schedule the meeting that needs you sharp for three o'clock if you can help it. Put the filing there, or the emails that don't need thought. Put the hard thinking at ten in the morning, which for most people is the best hour of the day, and which you'll now be awake for.

Fix the night. This is the real answer and everything above is the interim one. The afternoon dip is much smaller after a proper night, and the proper night is what the cut-off and the taper are giving you. If after a month the afternoon is still a struggle, look at how much sleep you're actually getting, because the coffee may have been hiding a shortfall that's simply hours in bed.

And if you're driving a long way at half past five and you're tired, have the coffee. One cup, for a real reason, on a day that needs it, is not the habit. It's a tool. What makes it the habit is having it every day whether or not the drive is long.