Measuring and Recording Many quitting programs have an element where where you sit down and quantify the effect that smoking has on your life. For example, you work out how many cigarettes you smoke per day, per week, per year, and how much this costs you. For some smokers this is often their first "reality check".
For instance, if you smoke 20 per day at a cost of 4.95 a pack, then you discover that:
a wallet of money - savings if you quit smoking
In a day you spend 4.95 on cigarettes.
In a week you spend 34.65.
In a month you spend 148.50.
In a year you spend 1,806.75.
In 5 years you spend 9,033.75.
In 10 years you spend 18,067.50.
Some people find it helps to keep a quit journal. You can use it to jot down your plan or little notes to remind you about why you want to quit, and to record snippets of your quitting experience. For example, you may wish to list your triggers and your options for alternative action to avoid taking up smoking again. You could list what you think will be your biggest challenges, such as keeping the weight off: how might you prepare for and deal with that?
Once you've reached your quit date, use your journal to keep track of how you are doing. How did you deal with those challenges?
Some people find their journal helps them put things in perspective. On bad days things can look much bleaker than they really are. Looking back through the journal you can see that there have been good days too: what was it about them that you can use in the bad days to help you along? Many countries have "quitlines" where you can call an expert who understands the health effects of smoking, the quitting process, and how difficult it can be to give up.