How Drinking Tea Again Is Helping My Focus

Picking me up while calming me down.

I needed to slow down.

Work has been pretty busy lately, and I sometimes forget my own advice about not starting the morning by immediately checking my email and thinking about work. As a freelance writer and book designer, I stay busy. Some weeks get busier than others.

I shouldn’t complain. Work is work. But I also know from personal experience that I am as prone to burnout as anyone else.

All the productivity gurus say pretty much recommend the same thing. Start the day with some quiet mindfulness. Meditation, if you can. I’ve found this helpful advice for the most part, and I’ve given it some credit in defending me from burnout.

But even the most disciplined person needs to reaffirm their commitment to mindfulness.

We were talking about tea, weren’t we?

Yes.

As vaguely-typical American, tea has always taken a back seat to coffee. Coffee is convenient. It’s quick. It does the job.

I’d started enjoying tea after spending six months in the U.K. some 30 years ago. Proper British tea prepared by proper British people who knew how to make a proper British cup. When I came home to the U.S., I tried continuing the tea habit, but I made a terrible cuppa. Just… just awful.

Every now and then, over the years, I gave tea another shot with mixed success. Not every cup was terrible, but I still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it.

I’ve recently taken another stab at it, and… this isn’t too bad.

I did some proper research this time. I bought a decent kettle and some decent teas. I looked up brew times and various tips and tricks. I even called a British ex-pat friend of mine who — after some gentle ribbing that went on a little longer than I’d have liked — gave me his step-by-step.

I was serious about getting back into tea, and I think I’ve gotten the hang of making a cup that won’t get my slapped by the lovely tea lady I once knew thirty some odd years ago.

So why the sudden, renewed interest in tea?

Mindfulness.

Oh, yeah. There’s that word again.

I’ve been loaded with a lot of work. Not necessarily too much to handle, but certainly enough where I’m kept busy most hours of the day. I have about a dozen different people I need to coordinate with — authors, publishers, printers, agencies, and writing clients. While I have an excellent system for keeping track of my work, I am in the midst of a heavy period.

That’s good, but it can lead to burnout if sustained too long without taking time for myself.

That’s where the tea comes in.

I have to put the kettle on. I have to wait for the water to boil. I have to select the tea and the cup. I have to let the tea steep.

I’ve turned it into a bit of ritual — a ritual probably no different from the millions of people across the world who already drink the world’s most popular beverage — but it’s a new little ritual for me.

Give me this.

While I’m conducting my little ritual, which takes all of 15 minutes at the most, I have my phone sitting in the other room. The laptop is in the other room. As are my schedules and planners.

I force myself into quieting my inner self while I make my tea.

One thing I’ve learned about this whole tea-making process is that it shouldn’t be rushed. The more care one takes in selecting a cup, choosing the right tea, and properly boiling the water, makes all the difference in the results.

Much like life itself, right?

So while my process is happening, I’m separating myself from work. I’m reflecting on things I’m grateful for, and taking pleasingly deep breaths, and calming my mind.

A nice cuppa.

That’s my reward for remembering to be mindful.

Some mornings, I won’t even take the cup straight to my desk. I’ll go sit on the back porch — weather permitting — and continue this quiet meditation.

Eventually, I’ll get back to work. A little later, I’ll take a 15-minute break and make a second cup.

Oh, I still drink coffee. I love a good cup of coffee as well, and I make decent coffee, but I don’t have the same ritual surrounding that. Later in the day, I’ll switch to more water than caffeine drinks, but for the mornings — when I need that quiet time the most — I’m making and drinking tea.

My ritual will evolve over time. These things tend to.

But the practice itself is here to stay.

Cheers.

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