i gave up coffee (but it's still all rushes and crashes)

tuesday morning. it was the second day of the semester and i was feeling stretched already. i needed time alone to plod through a bazillion mundane tasks, but it couldn't be. by the afternoon, i noticed that the day's fast pace had left me grumbling: i had already succumbed to The Semester (more on the phenomenon in a moment). i was becoming a machine, bent on using my superpowers to Accomplish, to Finish.

 but then i drove home. my commute to work is, one way, about 55 minutes, and during this drive, even though it was coming two hours later than i anticipated, and probably only because the year and the semester are still young, i checked myself; i easily remembered that i gave up coffee because i gave up anxiety, that i've practiced yoga for the last three weeks because it is supposed to keep me physically and mentally calm and flexible, and that i even started a blog intended to keep my spirits "up."

a rush of gratitude: everything is ok. in fact, the past two days have been down days, predictably quiet following tuesday's climb to near-madness. what goes up... you know the saying.

of course, it's silly to think that this minor victory will last. a single afternoon in the first week is no true test of The Semester's vicious grasp, which tightens with time. No, for a better metaphor: The Semester is toast. Each day, you slather a new glob of honey on soft warm toast until it's a heavy, sticky, cold hard mess. at the end, you throw it all away, wash your hands during the break, and get out a new slice of bread. the honey flows, syrupy sweet and unrelenting, but then stops, cold turkey, to pause for the christmas break, the spring break, and the massive ebbing of summer vacation.

ah, summer and the dreams i weave. time to reflect, to really live in the present; coffee or no, i can take life's stresses with a wink and a nod. but now, in january, as the honey starts to drip, i'm wondering if yoga and hot tea and the power of positive thinking will be enough to keep me from losing perspective and failing to notice the poetry of life between now and may.

how do you manage the daily rush of a semester/quarter/project?  does coffee make you more anxious or does it give you the energy you need to survive?