Sounds odd, this I understand. When I first started actively quitting, I paid attention to where I was smoking and when. I was focused on location triggers at the time. Many of my triggers were location related, even though some were also occassion or time related. I wrote the locations that were the most serious of offenders, the proceeded to remove them from my permissions list.
No smoking in the car (anyone's car)
No smoking in public (other people's homes were considered public)
No smoking in my own home except for the designated smoke area
What this came down to is that the only place that I could smoke was at the smoke station in my own home. There is one ashtray in the house and it is at this station. All visitors who want to smoke must also smoke in that location. I empty the ashtray once a day, first thing in the morning: this forces me to see how many cigarettes I smoked the previous day.
The positive part comes this way: I don't get cravings for cigarettes when I am out in public. Even during a seven hour shopping tour...nothing. I beleive this is truth because being in public triggers the "I can't smoke here" mentality, so I don't think about it.
I noticed when I am in a place that I am not allowed to smoke, I do not think about smoking. Now, wouldn't it be perfect if I can say: no smoking in my home. Then everywhere would be off limits to smoking. It doesn't work that way. My brain is a logical thing and if Everywhere was off limits that would negate the location restictions. It would change the message from "you can only smoke here" to "you are not allowed to smoke at all." The latter message would light up my inner rebel and I would be smoking more because not smoking at all seems like I am being deprived. The message: you can only smoke here, gives me an option to smoke at that location, but does not force me to. It prevents the feeling od deprivation, while making smoking feel like a bore. When I am in the smoking station, I can only smoke, no wirting in the journal, no convesation, no coffee, no reading, no planning, no activity other than smoking. Smoking is no longer relaxing, it is a boring "have to" that I really consider before doing. Most times, I do not want to stop what I am doing long enough to smoke. Sometimes, I will light a cigarette, smoke a couple draws, then put it out and leave the station because it is lonely there....and boring.
I have taken 12 cigarettes out of the original count this way. 30 - 12 = 18
(I am currently at 9 count and moving toward 6; but that is from other efforts added to this one.)
