How to Quit Smoking When You Work From Home

So you want to quit smoking? The smoking cessation process is difficult enough without the added stress of working from home. At a job site, you’re restricted by your schedule, the supervisor, and the environment; you can’t exactly take a smoke break whenever you want.

Many workers are finding that their new working from home conditions are preventing them from ditching the habit and challenging their discipline. Let’s cover some helpful tips for leaving behind the smoking habit, even if you’re confined to your home for the foreseeable future. 

Setting Boundaries

Boundaries are crucial during the cessation process. Without good boundaries and the discipline to respect them, you’ll fall back into bad habits and find yourself subconsciously getting in the car to buy cigarettes.

The key to quitting is setting and respecting the boundary of “I must not smoke.” 

Respecting your boundaries is more complicated than it sounds. Humans are often made weak by their vices, and smoking is nothing less than an addiction to nicotine, which can be a hard thing to shake.

Tobacco products are designed to keep you hooked, and they do an excellent job of it. Tobacco companies have been studying the plant for decades, genetically altering it, in some cases, to be even more addictive.

When you set a boundary, it can help to write it down and keep it close by as a reminder.

For example, let’s say you’re setting a boundary that you won’t take several breaks before 11 am. You can put a sticky note or even a calendar reminder somewhere, so you’ll remember your commitment. 

Removing Temptation

The problem with working from home is that you’re surrounded by temptation. The TV is just ten feet away, the snack cupboard is beckoning to you with tasty treats, and the pack of cigarettes is…wait, why is there still a pack of cigarettes in your house when you’re supposed to be quitting?

Removing temptation can help you quit. Yes, you can hop into your car, drive five minutes, and buy another pack at the gas station. The idea behind removing temptation from your environment is that you’re putting distance between you and the desire.

Yes, you can drive and get more cigarettes, but it makes the process of acquiring that much more difficult, which, in turn, makes the habit less desirable.

Vices are all about satisfying a want in the easiest way possible. That’s why it’s so easy to get hooked on lethargic behavior like watching TV or snacking throughout the day. Put some distance between you and the desire, and you’ll find you desire it far less than if it’s right in front of you.

If you must have nicotine, at least replace the cigarettes with something like tobaccoless chew or nicotine gum.

Keep A Schedule

When you have a strict schedule to maintain, you’re less likely to take time out of your day for things like smoking.

Treat your homework environment as if you were at the office; you can’t take a smoke break every 10 minutes because you’re on a schedule. Make it the same at home.

Schedules are crucial to focus, quality of work, and resistance of temptation. Without one, you’ll wind up drifting away from your work and towards your cigarettes, the couch, or the tasty cookies on top of the fridge.

Learn Stress Management

When you quit smoking, stress is going to be your new best friend. Nicotine withdrawal is unpleasant and can make for a stressful month after you’ve had your last cigarette.

You’ll feel anxious, tired, and irritable, potentially all at once. Now is an excellent time to learn stress management tactics.

Too much stress can affect much more than just your concentration and good mood.

Stress is hard on the heart and can cause hypertension. Enough stress can cause damage to cardiac and blood vessels, increasing the risk of a heart attack, stroke, or some other heart condition. Combine it with a sedentary lifestyle, habits like smoking and poor eating, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for disaster.

Make sure you’re taking time out of your day to wind down and manage your stress. If that means taking an extra-long lunch to calm down properly, do so, as long as you’re not reaching for a cigarette instead.

Final Thoughts

Quitting cigarettes isn’t exactly easy, especially when you’re working from home. You may suffer from a discipline deficiency without the structure of the workplace, but you can create habits and environments to make up for it. We hope these tips help you quit smoking while working from home, and good luck! 

What has helped you overcome addictions?