Why You Should Get Together For Coffee

coffee dates

I started a tradition last year.

Wait – tradition probably isn’t the right word.

See, last year I moved into an apartment all by myself in a new city. Maybe you’ve heard the story. New school, new city, new, foreign four walls that seemed to like to welcome a cockroach or two. (Eww. Very glad to be done with that season of life!)

I found myself schlepping through my days. Wake up, maybe go to the apartment gym and kill some time before class, class, try to socialize in class while also managing to understand my Spanish 3 notes, study, study, study, sleep. It wasn’t very fulfilling. In fact, it was pretty lonely.

In an attempt to meet people and celebrate the little joys in life that are a perfectly crafted almond milk chai, I decided to challenge myself.

The challenge was this: have at least one coffee date a week.

This was perhaps the best thing I did for myself all year. Whether I was reconnecting with an old pal from high school or meeting up with a new friend I’d bonded with while struggling over creating a SWOT analysis, I was having an unplugged, rejuvenating coffee date once a week. (Well, almost – most weeks I got it in my schedule!)

No matter how busy my week was, I never regretted the hour I spent cozied up with a fun drink and a friend. The conversation, the friend time….it was so beneficial for me. For my stress levels, my emotional well being, etc. etc.

So I just wanted today’s post to leave you with some tips on why you should have that coffee date. It seems that it’s always thrown around: “We should get coffee sometime!”

But really. Send the text. Make the plans. Research the brunch menu. Go. Get. Coffee.

(Or tea. Whatever is your jam.)

So, why is it so beneficial to take this time out of your week for a coffee date with a friend, date, or family member?

Talking through things helps

Honestly, these can be like mini-therapy sessions. (And you didn’t even need insurance, woohoo!) Sometimes when I would get to chatting about my week with a friend, I would open up about what was on my heart. Whether I was stressing over a project or feeling down about a grade I got on an essay, these things would come up, and just talking about them would help me. Plus, I have amazing friends who are always able to put things into perspective for me and remind me of what’s important. I’m a lucky gal!

Interaction with people can fuel you as an introvert

In high school I was always shaking my head and laughing at those personality tests going, “Oh I’m totally an extrovert! I’m a drill team officer, I always participate in our English class discussions, and I’m on the youth leadership team at church!” And it was true, I was always talking. Giving talks, leading practices….I spent most of high school yelling. Haha. I think I probably randomly bark out, “5, 6, 7, 8!” in my sleep.

But I realized as I got older, just because I’m not shy and don’t mind talking, doesn’t mean I’m not an introvert. Personality tests confirmed it: I am an introvert. I like my alone time. I probably even could venture as much to say that I have a teeny bit of social anxiety. I get super nervous in groups because I want to please everyone and make everyone feel involved and heard, so I avoid those. And then I have a hard time reaching out to just one person because I feel pressured to make them like me and enjoy their time with me, so I hesitate reaching out there, too.

I knew that I just needed to take the leap. Just send the text, have the coffee date.

And I found, as much as I liked my solo laptop dates watching Netflix and blogging my little heart out totally solo, it really was nice and served as “fuel” to meet with a friend or friends every now and then and just be in their presence. Introverts, you won’t know how much joy it can bring ya till you try it!

Connections make us happier

Yup – pure joy. I focused on “joy” as my word for 2017 and I believe that for me, joy can come in interactions. I’ve never walked away from conversation with a friend feeling depleted and upset. I’m happy, pumped, perked up, and I like that feeling. So taking the time between studying, working, and blogging to yap with a friend over some sweet caffeine? Yes, please!

Study (and work) breaks are beneficial for productivity

I am a study-a-holic. It’s great for my GPA, but bad for my mental health. I can really drain myself, so I’ve had to force myself to take breaks. Sometimes this is just getting on the floor and playing with my dog or taking a snack break to watch a Youtube makeup tutorial I’ll never attempt, but about once a week – I made this break a coffee date with a friend. And as you can tell from all the content above, it was well worth it 🙂

No one ever said they didn’t want more friends! 

So like I mentioned, sometimes this weekly coffee date was with a new friend. Getting coffee is the perfect way to kick start a new friendship. You get to learn about their background, their likes, dislike, coffee preferences, etc. It’s just nice to meet new sweet souls and I don’t know anyone who would want to turn that down!

So, will you make that coffee date next week? And hypothetically, if we got coffee, what would be your order? (I’m usually a vanilla latte girl.)

X,

Cristina