Quit Smoking Step by Step

If you really want to quit smoking, you have to make it your number one priority, just like going on a diet. If it's not your number one priority, you will make excuses as to why you can give up or fail. Once you make one mistake, you will feel unmotivated to continue and you will be right back where you started again.

You have to realize that if you make one mistake, it doesn't mean you failed. giving up smoking is one of te most difficult things to do, so give yourself a break if you mess up.

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You have to make quitting smoking your number one priority. You have to feel that it is the most important thing to focus on that day, or rather, that month.

In order to keep you motivated, you have to write down your goals in detail and follow them as closely as is physically possible. Don't forget to take baby steps. Quitting smoking is like a marathon. You can quit cold turkey, but many people find this to be more difficult. So, if you need to quit gradually, here's a plan you can follow:

If you are going to use this system to quit and you smoke a lot of cigarettes per day, you will need more time to finish quitting. If you smoke a few a day, it should not take too long. But you ultimately decide how much time you're going to give yourself. Let's say you want to quit smoking in 3 months. Write down the date you made that goal, and the date you want to accomplish that goal. Remember that if you don't quit smoking in exactly 3 months, you are not a failure. You just need more time. Don't be hard on yourself. Be positive and believe that you can do it if you keep trying.

Next, write down about how many cigarettes you smoke a day. Let's say you smoke 16 cigarettes a day on average.

Next, write down the times that you are most likely to smoke a cigarette, i.e. after eating, before going to bed, right when you wake up, after (or during) a stressful event, etc. This will help you understand what leads you to smoke. Many people smoke when stressed and after eating. If you can keep yourself from going to a cigarette when you normally would, you will be on track to quitting. Part of quitting is understanding why you smoke in the first place.

For your first day, don't try to quit smoking. Just go along as you normally would, but record the times you smoked and what happened before and after you smoked: You ate, then you smoked. You smoked, then went in for the interview. Etc. Record how many cigarettes you smoked that day.

Now you need to figure out what activity you are going to do when you want a cigarette but can't have one. Maybe you will chew gum. Maybe you will chew Nicorette gum. Maybe you will eat carrot sticks. Maybe you will play a video game, punch a punching bag, eat a lollipop, eat a popsicle, play guitar or other instruent, go for a run, go on a walk, etc. Decide what you are going to do and make it something that you enjoy doing often and something that you would want to do if you were feeling stressed. You can even select many different options and write them all down so when you want a cigarette, you go to your other options page to select a different activity to enjoy instead of smoking a cigarette.

If you smoked 16 cigarettes the day before, today you are only allowed to have 15. In the morning, figure out your day and write a schedule of the things you are going to do, including your 15 cigarettes. Make sure you space them out so that you don't run out by bed time. You may just want a cigarette even more if you know you can't have one. If you always smoke before you go to bed, make sure you leave one of your 15 for bedtime. Follow your schedule to a T. If you mess up, don't get discouraged. This is a difficult task. Just tell yourself it's okay and that you'll do better the rest of the day, and you'll do better tomorrow. Don't stop trying to quit because of one mistake. Keep a strong mental attitude and remember to keep believing in yourself.

The next day, write out your schedule again with only 15 cigarettes. If you messed up yesterday, tweak today's schedule so that doesn't happen. Let's day you didn't give yourself a cigarette after lunch but you just had to have one. And when you got home from work, you allowed yourself a cigarette, but you didn't really need one at that point. Try switching those so that you have one right after lunch, but not right when you get home from work.

For the third day, you need to schedule your day to 14 cigarettes because you need to ween yourself off. When you schedule a cigarette break, you must smoke the cigarette even if you don't want to. This will give you a negative experience with cigarettes which is good for quitting. This is why some parents (oftentimes in movies) will force their child to smoke the entire pack in one sitting if they catch them smoking a single cigarette. The kid will feel so sick that they won't want to smoke another cigarette for the rest of their life.

Let's say that one day you are only supposed to smoke 12 cigarettes, but you smoke 13. Don't stress about it. The next day, do what you are scheduled to do. Don't go backwards. You already made some progress so keep going as if you didn't mess up at all. Always stay on track and follow the schedule and remember to make quitting smoking your number one priority. It needs to come before work, family, entertainment, etc. When you fully quit smoking, you will be able to be more productive in all other aspects of life, so you need to take this time period to focus on one thing: Quitting smoking.

You also need support. So tell everyone else in your life what you are doing. Tell them that you may mess up, but you need encouragement and positive feedback, not discouragement or put downs when you make a mistake. Tell your friends and family that you are going to follow your next day schedule no matter what happens the day before.

One very important thing: Do not be around others who smoke. Run away. If your friends smoke, tell them that they cannot smoke or even talk about smoking when they're around you. If so, they will be an utter hindrance in accomplishing your goal. If your spouse smokes, encourage them to try this with you. It is important to work together on this. If they do not wish to quit, tell them that they cannot smoke around you, or talk about smoking.

Here is your schedule if you normally smoke 16 cigarettes a day. You can change it however you need, but this is a good guide to follow.

Day 4: 14 cigarettes
Day 5: 13 cigarettes
Day 6: 13 cigarettes
Day 7: 13 cigarettes
Day 8-11: 12 cigarettes
Day 12-16: 11
Day 17-22: 10
Day 23-29: 9
Day 30-36: 8
Day 37-43: 7
Day 44-50: 6
Day 51-57: 5
Day 58-64: 4
Day 65-71: 3
Day 72-78: 2
Day 79-85: 1
Day 86-90: 0


YOU DID IT!

CONGRATULATIONS!

For more ways to quit smoking read: Why Not Quit Smoking.