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Preparing to quit within the next month: Steps to success
Steps to success
Having a specific action plan can improve your chances of quitting smoking for good. A good plan should be written down because it requires you to think more carefully about what you need to do and how you will do it. A good quit plan should include things that will:
- remind you of the important benefits of quitting
- help you to identify your strengths, resources, challenges, and options for dealing with those challenges
- increase your confidence that you can quit and stay smokefree in any situation
- help you to identify when you are making progress and when you may be falling back
- help you to develop new skills and support to cope with temptations to start smoking again
- provide a method to reward yourself for achieving small steps along the way to quitting for good
Here are some specific suggestions on how to develop your plan.
Write a clear statement about why you are stopping smoking
Indicate who else will benefit from your decision to quit. Try to imagine how you will look. How will you feel about yourself? For example, you may want to quit because you are tired of coughing all the time. You may want to quit to set a good example for children. See the sections on the benefits of quitting and the health effects of smoking and second-hand smoke for more ideas. Carrying a small piece of paper listing your reasons or other cues such as a picture, or medical test result can be helpful when you are tempted to smoke.
List your concerns about quitting.
Next to each concern write down one or more things you will do to overcome this challenge. For example, are you concerned about what your smoking friends will say when you announce you're trying to quit? This website has several suggestions on how to deal with various common concerns.
Learn what to expect.
Take a moment to learn about the symptoms of withdrawal that some smokers experience. Take a moment to write down one or two strategies you can use to deal with each symptom, in case it happens to you. Being able to recognize withdrawal symptoms will also help you to remember that the effect is only temporary and that most symptoms pass after 7 to 10 days.
Identify what has caused you problems before and how you will overcome them.
If you've tried to quit or you've had to go without smoking for longer than usual, try to recall what you were thinking, feeling and doing during that time. What things seemed to make the situation worse? How will you avoid thinking, feeling and doing these things in the future?
Acknowledge the skills and knowledge you already have.
Think about the times you've gone without smoking in the past. What did you do to keep yourself from smoking? Which of these strategies seemed to be most helpful? Have you become more physically active, changed your diet, started wearing your seat belt, stopped putting things off? Most people have had to change some behaviour in their life. How did you do it? Did you have to temporarily rearrange your schedule or social patterns? Did you reward yourself with something? Could these skills help you to change your smoking behaviour?
Identify your social support.
Most people underestimate the support they think they will get from their family and friends. In reality, most families and friends are willing to help when asked for something specific. Help them to understand what you are going through and how important it is to you to succeed. List the people you can count on to help you. Who can you call for encouragement? Who will help distract you when you crave a smoke? Who can help you avoid tempting situations?
Identify your smoking patterns and triggers.
Before you quit, set up a journal to record how much you smoke, where you were when you smoked, who you were with, as well as what you were thinking, feeling and doing immediately before, during and after you smoked. Review the diary after one week to see if you can find any patterns to your smoking. For example, does the amount you smoke change according to who you were with, where you were, what you were doing or how you were feeling? These may serve as important clues about what things you may have to change in order to reduce your temptation to smoke. After you quit, keep using the journal to identify situations that are most difficult for you and remind yourself of what strategies worked.
Determine how to change the things that remind you of smoking.
If coffee reminds you of smoking, switch to tea or juice. If you tend to smoke in a certain chair, sit in another chair or room. If you keep your cigarettes in a certain pocket, start by changing their location. On your quit date, discard all your cigarettes, ashtrays, lighters.
Identify things to reward yourself.
Think about what kinds of small things give you pleasure. Do you enjoy a good mystery book? Do you like to take car rides in the country? How about a nice hot bath or watching a good video? Make a list of small things that you can use to reward yourself for each day or week that you remain smokefree. Take the money you saved from not smoking, put it in a jar, and after three months buy yourself something special.
Set a quit date.
The final step of your quit plan should be to set a date to begin your life without cigarettes. Try to pick a specific date within the next three weeks. Select a date where your day will be fairly routine and relatively low in stress. If you are a woman who suffers from PMS, pick a date during the first two weeks after your period begins.
Remember that it is unlikely there will ever be a perfect day to quit smoking. We all have stress and distractions in our lives. Instead of continuously putting off your quit date, use unexpected circumstances to your advantage. For example, sometimes having to deliver a big project can help distract you from cravings and urges to smoke. If you are going through a stressful period, remind yourself that smoking actually increases the effects of stress by increasing heart rate and breathing. Over the longer term, quitting will reduce your stress.
If you want a structured daily or mothly quit plan, try these links:
