SDS 514: Does Caffeine Hurt Productivity? (Part 2: Experimental Results) — with Jon Krohn

Experiment Results

Jon Krohn conducted an experiment to assess caffeine's impact on productivity, using his own data from 2016. He tracked his productivity through the number of Pomodoros, 25-minute focused work sessions, completed on coffee and no-coffee days 1. The results showed a significant increase in productivity on no-coffee days, with an average of 15.4 Pomodoros compared to 10.9 on coffee days. Jon explains, "The no coffee group has a very statistically significant increase in the number of pomodoros that I complete" 2.

   

Findings Interpretation

Jon reflects on the findings, noting a nearly 50% increase in focused work hours without caffeine. He acknowledges the limitations of his experiment, as he was both the subject and experimenter, which could introduce bias 3. Despite these limitations, Jon finds the results compelling enough to continue abstaining from coffee. He states, "It's extremely likely that not drinking coffee is much better for my productivity" 3.