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Welcome to I Quit So can You...
Lets start by Taking a look at how smoking controls are lives
Smoking took up a lot of time in your life. Smoking is an addiction, but it’s also a habit. As you stop smoking, you begin to notice how much of your life was arranged around smoking.
Let’s not even mention how much money you spent on this habit - yet. While you’re in the process of smoking cessation - and even after you’re smoke-free - you have to find new, healthy habits to replace the smoking habit.
If you just quit smoking without forming new (positive) habits, you’ll be back to smoking in no time. Start with a piece of lined paper, folded in half. On the left half, write the hours of the day that you are awake.
If you get up at 7 A.M., then the first line is 7 A.M. and on down to your usual bedtime, say 11 P.M. On every other line, list an hour from 7 A.M. until 11 P.M. (or whatever your daily schedule is).
Mentally review your day by the hour. Make a note of every hour that you typically smoked. Did you take smoke breaks during work hours? Did you smoke at lunch or dinner? Did you smoke while driving?
Next, take the right half of the folded paper. Write the places that you were whenever you smoked. Be precise. If you took a smoke break at 10 A.M., were you outside the office building or in your car?
This simple exercise will show you the places and times that you need to replace smoking with another activity. You also have to remove the signs and smells of smoking because these can be powerful cues to lure you back into old habits.
Get the carpets, drapes and furniture steam cleaned. Wash any other curtains, bed linens or pillow covers. If you can’t get the smoke smell out, throw it away. Wash or clean every garment in your closet and drawers.
Have your car fully cleaned - including the upholstery and carpets. Take the ashtray and cigarette lighter out of your car and throw them away. If you spend a lot of time in the car, you want to keep a supply of sugarless gum and sugar-free candy for when cravings hit.
If you usually smoked while watching television, take up a hobby to occupy your hands. You can learn to knit, sew, bead, whittle wood or just fidget with a wad of clay. Learning a new skill also gives you a feeling of accomplishment as well as enjoyment while relaxing at home.
Smoking was probably the go-to stress reliever of choice for you, which is why you probably avoided quitting before now. You need another stress-management option, such as deep breathing, progressive relaxation of the muscles from head to toe or stretching.
If you have time, take a walk or do yoga. Exercise is a natural stress reliever - far better than smoking. Every time you replace the smoking habit with a new behavior or activity, you reinforce your desire to live a smoke-free life.
It takes some thought in the beginning, but in about 21 days, you can break old, harmful habits and choose new, healthy smoke-free habits that you can really live with (and so can those who are around you)!
