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Share your quitting journey

101 Things to Do Instead of Smoke

YoungAtHeart
Member
145 100 18.4K

By Terry Martin, verywell.com


1. Read a book.

2. Wash the car.
3. Wash the dog

4. Go for a walk.

5. Knit a scarf.

6. Do a crossword puzzle.
7. Take a nap.
8. Call a friend.
9. Post a comment on my page.
10. Play with the cat.
11. Turn the bathroom into a spa and do all those beauty treatments.
12. Listen to a relaxation tape or some favorite music.
13. Go to a store and get a free make-up session.
14.Give yourself a manicure and pedicure.
15. Try out a new hair-do
16. CHEW SOME CLOVES!
17. Go to the movies.
18. Hang out at a mall.
19. Do a jigsaw puzzle online at Jigzone.com
20. Breathe deeply!
21. Swig down some ice water.
22. Jump on a treadmill or go to a gym.
23. Give someone you love a huge hug.
24. Plant some flowers.
25. Do some exercise - swimming, aerobics, yoga, etc. Great for releasing endorphins (feel good factor) and relieving stress (physical and mental).
26. Work out how to post a picture in the forum!
27. Take up a new hobby/interest - channel your thoughts into something constructive and interesting.
28. Work in the garden.
29. Retail therapy with the cash you saved from not smoking.
30. Suck on a piece of TART candy (Jolly Rancher is my personal favorite).
31. Slather on a rich, creamy hand lotion and rub, rub, rub! It keeps fingers busy, and reminds you how nice it is not to have tobacco stink on them.
32. Eat a popsicle.
33. Floss and brush your teeth.
34. Make-out with your special someone! Hubby hated kissing me when I smoked, but now he LOVES it. Soooo, when the urge strikes and he's within kissing distance, I plant a big one on him!
35. Chew gum.
36. Chew a toothpick (shiny teeth).
37. Spend time with a kid.
38. Give yourself a treat every day of your quit - no matter how small.
39. Spend an hour filling the paddling pool in the garden on a gorgeous sunny day, only to find that the kids would rather play on the computer.
40. Play several games of Internet Scrabble, and hopefully win one!
41. Walk in an old graveyard with the man you love.
42. Get your jammies on early, and park yourself in front of your computer for the night.
43. Build a REAL closet
44. Hang the sheetrock on said closet.
45. Do the mudding, taping and sanding on that closet.
46. Paint the closet.
47. Add the doors to the closet.
48. And last...when the real closet is finished, create THE CHOCOLATE CLOSET on this site.
49. Hang on dearly to a caramel apple sucker.
50. Sing loudly.
51. Practice smiling in the mirror (releases endorphins)!
52. Make lists of pros and cons of smoking.
53. Find gross smoking disease pictures.
54. Play with Silly Putty.
55. Whistle "Don't Worry - Be Happy."
56. Get a camera, and take some pictures.
57. Write a letter (you know...on paper).
58. Clean OUT the closets.
59. Crank up the radio and sing at the top of your lungs (works great for driving craves).
60. Crank up the radio and dance like no one is watching.

61. Make a puzzle.
62. Organize your boxes of pictures.
63. Alphabetize your CD rack.
64. Come here and read and post.

65. Go to miniclip.com and PLAY GAMES.
66. Do your nails. Hard to smoke with wet nails. I've tried.
67. Take a shower.
68. Take a candle-lit bath.
69. Clean out a messy drawer.
70. Take a day trip.
71. Try making home-made candles or soap.
72. Run in place.
73. Do some jumping jacks.
74. Start a reward fund - put away the amount you spend on smokes every day and use it to treat yourself once in awhile.
75. Write a poem.
76. Go antique shopping.
77. Go plant a flower for every negative thought.
78. Go to church/talk to God.
79. Let your husband cook supper for you.
80. Call your Grandmother!
81. Paint a room.
82. Eat a hot fudge sundae.
83. Go play mini-golf.
84. Clean the basement or garage.
85. Wax the car.
86. Make love with your significant other.
87. Scrub the floor.
88. Treat yourself to a massage.
89. Chop up some veggies for a stir-fry - keep your hands busy!
90. Clean out the litter box.
91. Check your car's tire pressure.
92. Call a radio show and request a song.
93. Go ride a few roller coasters.
94. Take a walk in nature.
95. Watch the sun set.
96. Write a goodbye letter to cigarettes.
97. Donate blood.
98. Color your hair.
99. Make a greeting card.
100. Write a list of things you are grateful for.

101.  Create a list of your own crave busting activities

100 Comments
nikki77
Member

my favs are play with a cat, and go to church and talk to god. I have done those 2 the most!!!! they are way better than smoking:)

gypsytraveller1

wow what a list. That must have taken a while. Very good suggestions thanks

freeneasy
Member

Thanks Nancy-I will refer to this again. Jim

nursemama23
Member

I LOVE THIS LIST!!!!!!!

image

joyeuxencore
Member

It was Aztec and it still is on my coffee table! I am a jumping jack goddess now! xo

YoungAtHeart
Member

I understand this was originally compiled by Aztec and wanted to give credit where credit is due!

Nancy

marie0991
Member

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS WITH ME. I AM GOING TO TRY SOME OF IT WHEN I AM NOT DOING HOMEWORK AND HAVE NOTHING TO DO.

katrina.rose
Member

This is helpful. Thank you so much for sharing this. : ) it will definitely be used. 

mustangsally3
Member

I may need to refer to this list many times a day. Thank you!

sukey89
Member

Great list! Great post! 🙂

Thank you!

TerrieQuit
Member

I like this list and will use alot of it! thanks for posting it!

MarilynH
Member

Whoo Hoo, yay right on WTG. 

marilyn_marmac

My favorite thing to do, instead of smoke, is to count the money I've saved by NOT smoking! And the best part, after I've counted it----I plan how I'm going to spend it!

I plan out and savor every detail of how I will use the money I saved by not smoking. So far, it's paid for a dream vacation to Key West and I've already got my next vacation plans laid out for this fall. Instead of sending my money up in smoke, I'm going to the great Smokey Mountains!

Money Saved - $7665.28 Ka-ching!

I'd rather be tanning my buns in Key West than burning my lungs with a cigarette!

 

 

joyeuxencore
Member

It was Aztec and you have improved it!!! xo

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/aztec-blog/2012/10/16/things-to-do-instead-of-smoke

I know because I printed it out & carried it with me! xo

prasad2
Member

Thanks for the list of things.

My favouriite things are there inthe list.

But I got some more ideas now after going through the list.

Thanks once again.

prasad2
Member

Thanks for the list of things.

My favouriite things are there inthe list.

But I got some more ideas now after going through the list.

Thanks once again.

prasad2
Member

Thanks for the list of things.

My favouriite things are there inthe list.

But I got some more ideas now after going through the list.

Thanks once again.

joann229
Member

Thanks  these lists made me smile  the first one all day.  maybe that should be on the list  take a selfie of a smile every time you want a cigarette but DONT take one  

fairygrl40
Member

Awesome list, Thanx for sharing

southern-granny

Love it!!!!!!  Wrote down my faves as future reminders!  Thanks!

((Hugs))

shashort
Member

Thank you list very helpful.  Will get a lot of use from this list.  Was doing the exercise for stratgies to detour myself from smoking and was having hard time coming up with ideas.  Then I seen this post.  Wow what a list and will definitely refer to this a lot.  Thanks for creating this list 🙂

str8frogn
Member

Thank you for the post! I have it bookmarked so I can refer to it when I need to! Thanks again! 

plug66
Member

great list thank you

bck55
Member

Thanks. That will be very helpful. I put the patch on. Was trying to do it cold turkey but can't.  I want to feel better and having a smoke is not a step in the right direction. I am hoping the patch gets me through the first week where my craves were the strongest like waking up and lunchtime. I will stay glued to EX for a while till I am stronger.

Becky

mohamed11
Member
Thank you it is helpful .
PrincessJasmine

I loved going to do a free make-up session the most. That is one of my biggest concerns- my healthy looking skin. I still have it, and people still think I am younger then I am, but I know if I keep smoking I will begin to look so much older then I am!

rjwinner
Member

Wash garments that smell of smoke, your cars interior, walls and ceiling of were you did smoke and place ash trays in a bag and SMASH with a big hammer!

Heather1979
Member

I liked all of the suggestions personally

jbliesmer
Member

I cannot wait to do every single one of these things instead of smoking

hrandolph
Member

This was perfect I just beat a craving!!

YoungAtHeart
Member

Good for YOU!  You only have to beat one at a time -- this isn't easy, but it IS doable!!!

katenalbert
Member

thank you that about sums it up we can never say were bored lol those are very good ideas 

Diannnnn
Member

YoungAtHeart‌ Thank you!

xjamarkx
Member

I'm going to save this list to my favorites! I may print it out later. Gotta get more ink. WOW, though! That's an awesome list!

wendyh
Member

Nice...thank you so much!Awesome ideas! 

WDWfan
Member

This is an awesome list of very creative ideas! I'm so loving this support group!

Anite
Member

Nice ideas, but I don't think I want to walk in a graveyard and I dislike cleaning anything. I  work full time and dont always have the time for these but I do chew on CLOVES and it burns like hell but the craving is gone.

How long must one do all these things to forget about the filthy habbit?

Thanks.

DonnaMarie
Member

For a while, my cheeks (the part of your cheek that you used for inhaling and exhaling) are screaming for something to happen, so I will add to the list:

Massage my cheeks for 15 seconds or so.

Anite
Member

Yea our cheeck bones are going to dissapear

Gma_Bernie
Member

Thanks for posting this Nancy. I like your posts. And I would like to stay in touch with you because we have a lot in common. I am on day 19 today! Dangerously close to the time when I relapsed last time I quit. I had gone to Mayo Clinic for their 8th day program and paid a lot of money for it. I managed to stay smoke-free for 3 weeks. Then I had a scheduled trip to Europe for a Viking river cruise with my brother. Between the excitement of going and the anxiety of dealing with chronic pain I gave in and bought some cigarettes. You know the rest of the story. I was back to my normal amount within a day.

This time is different. My body is sick. And I know that I cannot continue to smoke. Not one puff ever again. As I approach Christmas Eve, I am a little bit worried as there will be two smokers there. My daughter and her partner. But they both know I am quitting and they are very respectful so I'm sure that they will sneak out quietly. But I will still smell it on their clothes. The last time I smelled it on her it smells good but it didn't make me want a cigarette. It just smelled good.

How are you doing? Are you dealing adequately with taking care of your health? Maybe some of this should be in a private message I don't know. But I wish you all the best and Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to all of you out there. This site has helped me a lot. And I hope to contribute more as time goes by. I have just been so busy lately.

PRAIRIEROSELADY

VERY USEFUL LIST  to refer to when ready to crack! TY very much for sharing it.

viv_kincaid_vk1

Writing a goodbye letter to cigerittes.

traceylyn
Member

Good list i wrote most of them down.

WereAllMadHere

Thank you for sharing!

Lauralives
Member

Just printed this list out again.  I will refer to it tomorrow when I get caught up in the stinkin' thinkin'!!  Thanks, Laura

Lesliegreen
Member

Play with cat, take a nap, clean out closet and other things

Kimba60
Member

I have been talking to God alot these past hours to take the taste from me.  This is an awesome list and will definitely be used.  Thanks so much!

Waterbottle
Member

What a great list!  Thank you!!!!

karenthill
Member

Thanks for sharing this list!  Lots of great ideas!

Karen

Jo1234
Member

I am going to print this out and add anything else I can think of. My quit date (when I start my NRT) is 7/12. So I am getting all my tools ready!!

About the Author
I smoked until a vascular surgeon informed me of the damage I had done to myself by doing so. I quit 11 years ago, and I can swim laps virtually FOREVER now, walk most other days 40 minutes to an hour and a half. What a difference quitting has made in my life! I strive to help others find this wonderful freedom from addiction, too.