I chose my quit time to be 6:30pm (16 days ago). This wasn't a randomly chosen time. By choosing 6:30pm, it was late enough in the day that since I immediately showered after that last smoke, there would not be so many waking hours left in the day that I would feel like going out to buy more cigarettes, because then I would have to shower again. The advantage to this was that when I woke up the next morning, I could tell myself I already had a half day under my belt. I was already thinking in terms of being an ex-smoker when I woke, not in terms of whether I had the strength to start my quit. AND, all I had to do was not smoke for 12 hours (until 6:30pm) and I would be able to say I had 1 day of the chemical withdraw over with. Much better than waking up and thinking I have 3 full days to go and wondering if I even had the strength to get started. Psychologically, waking up in ex-smoker mode and knowing I was only 12hrs from having 1 day over with really meant a lot to me. And after going that 12hrs, at 6:30pm, I immediately put a red X on my calendar so I could go to bed knowing I was already into my second day.
The point? Plan your quit, do it strategically.
