I think there’s only a limited number of decisions that any human can make in a given day before nature takes over, your brain drops in to survival mode and priorities, goals, dreams, and all that other important stuff goes out the window. Are you more likely to cheat on your diet in the morning during breakfast or later in the afternoon? I’m my experience, it’s always harder to ‘do the right thing’ as the day goes on. And let’s be honest, most of your bad decisions take place after 10pm.

I love variety. I can’t tell you the last time I bought ice cream and only got one flavor. That’s the best part of ice cream, you can mix and match and it’s just solid enough so you can get each individual flavor on it’s own, but mushy enough that you can mix them together if you want as well. Coffee not so much. If you want variety, you just need to get a different flavor every time. Well, I can admit it…I’m obsessed with P.S. Gourmet. It’s a local coffee shop that just makes great flavored coffee and they have a lot flavors. It’s a pleasant 5 minute walk from my home and a great form of procrastination when there’s a particular task I’m keen to avoid. I go every day. I used to spend almost 5 minutes each day in there, staring at the big chalkboard, thinking about what flavor to get. There’s so many, and almost all of them go from ‘very good’ to ‘really freaking good’. I realized it was a hassle. I noticed that I was getting ‘what flavor?’ anxiety before I even got to the building. “What should I get?” “Did I already get that flavor before?” “What if after spending all this time and effort the flavor isn’t very good? Then it’s a waste.” Not efficient and worse, not effective.

And then I realized it was all for nought. It doesn’t matter. One day, I decided to just try them all. I walked in to the store, looked up at the menu, and ordered the first thing listed. I was not going to waste any mental capital on what was ultimately a pointless decision. Then the next day, I would get the second flavor, so forth and so on until I’ve tried them all. No decision. No thought. Same result. Now my coffee break is truly a break. I spend no mental capital. It’s just a nice break from work. And I think I can actually feel the difference. There are not many parts of my day that are completely anxiety free, but this is one. Except for one small problem…

I’m broke. This whole thing about Passive Automated Renewable Diversified Income… Yeah, I haven’t figured that out yet. My empire is still in its younger and more vulnerable years. So how can I justify spending $2.75 every day on coffee when I have a coffee maker (and coffee grounds for that matter) readily available in my apartment. Well, I remembered that I have a change bowl that was basically over-flowing with non-quarter change. I figured I could solve two problems in one, so I pulled out 17 dimes and 21 nickels… $2.75 for those disinclined to basic arithmetic. It’s the exact cost for a coffee and it’s money that was just sitting there anyway. Every day, I count out the dimes and nickels. Slowly, carefully, and actually somewhat cathartically. I put the dimes in one pocket, the nickels in the other, and then grab handful of change for a tip (you can’t just give a coffee girl 38 coins and not tip her because that’s lame) and walk down to the end of the block to get my coffee.

So now everyday I get a relaxing stroll through my neighborhood, a break from the computer, and a really great iced coffee at practically no cost to me, mental or monetary. Classic win/win.

What’s my point? I guess it’s that every decision you make has a value, and thus a cost. So don’t waste them on the trivia.

Oh, and Cadbury Crunch is the best.