Field Notes 7 // Caffeine, meditation, and Japan

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Welcome back to Field Notes!

I’m trying a different format for the newsletter this year, combining tech and business with personal observations from my own life, along with notes and impressions from the books I read, films I watch, and places I visit.

This month: My findings after drastically cutting my caffeine intake and introducing meditation to my morning routine, and an unusual book documenting long walks across the Japanese countryside.

Caffeine and meditation

I’m not a member of the “grindset” crowd. I don’t have a ridiculous morning routine that starts at 4am. But I have made a couple of changes for 2026.

Firstly, I cut my daily coffee intake from four or five cups to just one, early in the morning. In some ways, it’s made that first coffee more special. I look forward to it specifically, and mark the occasion by reading books or articles, reviewing my notes, or writing. Since I no longer drink coffee at work, it’s become a point of reflection, rather than a signal that the day has begun.

I’ve also introduced some basic meditation. Sam Harris, whose beginner’s instructions I followed, compares the practice to walking on a tightrope, but the image that comes to mind for me is balancing on one foot on top of a ball for perpetuity – a perilous stance where one slight twitch or shift of your weight can send you tumbling. Clearing my mind of thought is sometimes an absolute battle, and trivial concerns about work and writing – even down to details like phrasing and punctuation – must be pushed away constantly.

After a settling-in period (early caffeine withdrawals are rough), I felt greater calmness – a sense of enough that carried me through my days focusing on individual tasks and completing them at a walking pace. That has faded somewhat since returning to work in January and waking with my wife’s early shifts, but I still hope there will be longer-term benefits. At the very least, an extra coffee is now a superpower I can tactically deploy if needed.

Craig Mod’s Things Become Other Things

I enjoyed Craig Mod’s conversations on a few podcasts last year, so I started 2026 by picking up a Kindle copy of his memoir Things Become Other Things, which ties his walks across Japan with his relationship with a now-deceased childhood friend. It’s a unique book. If you read it then I’d recommend a physical copy – it’s full of photos that the black-and-white Kindle display can’t possibly do justice, and there are luxury editions if that’s your thing.

When I think of travel writing, I usually think about long passages describing a place and its history. There is some of that, but rather than meticulously documenting every path and tree he encounters, Mod notes smaller details that made him think – a sign on a restaurant door, a tall sea wall, an empty children’s playground – and then delves further into those thoughts.

The Japan that Mod encounters is a world away from the major cities Western tourists usually visit. On the Kii Peninsula he finds great care – people who quickly warm to him after some initial suspicion and share their passions and quirks – but also haunting reminders of the demographic crisis eroding at country communities and the ever-present risk of natural disaster.

What struck me most in his conversations with innkeepers and kissa owners is their attentiveness and love for their businesses. These places have their quirks, signature dishes, and stories spanning decades – rarities in a world increasingly owned by faceless corporations and staffed by people paid close to minimum wage, with no real attachment to role or place. It’s the kind of care that’s impossible to scale – it’s too personal, in more ways than one.

Things that left an impression

• It’s not a new podcast, but if you found my notes on Craig Mod’s book interesting then you might also enjoy his conversation with Rich Roll. One concept he discusses repeatedly is yoyuu – the spare mental capacity, bountiful in Japan, that allows you to deal with hardships in your own life and support others through theirs.

• The late Scott Adams was most famous for his Dilbert comic, but also published several books spanning productivity and psychology (expect them to appear in future Field Notes). Shortly after his passing, I spotted a recording of a COVID-era livestream in which he lays out the core tenets of his worldview and the things he thinks everybody should know to get the most from life.

• Staying on the psychology theme, I enjoyed Adam Mastroianni’s article on how to be less awkward. Interestingly, he says most people underestimate their social skills and believe they’re to blame for awkward moments. His remedy is to enter interactions focused on the people and things around you, not to dwell on missteps, and to know that the ego heals just like the body does.

• Arthur Brooks’ appearance on The Tim Ferriss Show was part of the inspiration to re-evaluate my morning routine. His days start earlier (at 4:30am), but it was fascinating to hear him step through his schedule: exercise, reflection, protein, and focused work.

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