Your brain has a filing system that makes absolutely no sense. Important things like where you put your keys or what you had for breakfast? Gone. But that one awkward comment you made at a party in 1998? Crystal clear, full HD, with surround sound.

Scientists have a fancy name for it. Intrusive memory. It sounds very official and clinical, like something that belongs in a lab report. But what it really means is your brain randomly decided to pull up your most cringe-worthy moments at the worst possible times. Standing in line at the grocery store. Trying to fall asleep. Just existing peacefully on a Tuesday.

Your brain does this when it is running low on fuel. Not motivation, not willpower, not some deep philosophical purpose. Actual fuel. The kind your brain needs to filter out the useless noise and stay locked in on the present moment. When the tank gets low, the brain starts pulling up random files, and unfortunately, your greatest hits collection of embarrassing moments is apparently always at the top of the pile.

Coffee does not fix everything, but it does a surprisingly good job of quieting those unnecessary background programs running in your head. It is like hitting refresh on a browser with 47 tabs open. Suddenly things feel sharper, calmer, and a whole lot less 1998.

Which is exactly the kind of thing we aim to talk about in the Black Coffee Please Newsletter. You are reading (hopefully) this email version but we also have a site where all these nuggets of wisdom reside, along with a few other things that don’t make the email

​Come read it​. Your brain will thank you.

Keeping it grounded