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The Timer Exercise

Smoking is an extremely simple behavior. Initially it was your response to the onset of nicotine withdrawal but it quickly became your primary response to ANY experience that felt like nicotine withdrawal.
   Such as:
     · muscle tension
     · changes in breathing
     · inability to concentrate (physical sources)
     · shifts in emotion (physical source)

Once your smoking response to cravings was established, it then became automatic and you were rarely 'consciously' involved.

You’ve made a conscious decision to quit smoking but part of you still wants nicotine and until you retrain it you will continue to feel as if you are struggling with yourself - because you are.

There is no magic pill, no mystical mantra. The catch, and there is always a catch, is that this is a proactive program. If you want to see results, you have to do 'the work'.

The first step to changing your established smoking response is to become aware of the cues that trigger it. The following is a fairly simple yet very dramatic exercise that will help you accurately identify the subtle physical cues that are at the root of all urges to smoke.

   · Create a Timer Template for your timer notes (Timer Template instructions).
   · Get an hour timer - A simple kitchen timer is ideal (check your local Dollar store). Many digital wrist watches, cell phones, PDAs can be set to beep once an hour.
   · Begin when you first get up
   · First set your timer for an hour later, then
   · Jot down the following information on the Timer Template.
         ( Keep it simple - only a couple of words.)

Time (when the timer goes off)
Situation (what's going on)
   - waking up, eating breakfast, making coffee.
   - hungry, angry, lonely/bored, tired.
Later, you might be at work, watching TV, on the computer, or commuting
Body Cues (look for body 'parts')
   - Are you experiencing muscle tension? Where? i.e. back, shoulders, neck, jaw, arms, legs
   - How is your breathing?-shallow, rapid, etc.
   - Do you notice anything else physical? i.e. churning stomach, tight chest?
Rational Response (what non smoking response would work?)
   - Stretch specific muscles or areas, deep breath properly, eat if hungry, rest/take break if fatigued, etc.)

· Put your notes aside and carry on with your day until the timer goes off again.
· Then reset it for an hour later, and run through that check list again.

At first you may have difficulty identifying subtle body cues. Remember, your autopilot has taken care of all of this for most of your life so it's going to take a bit of practice to become aware of these areas. Just keep at it and do the best you can. You’ll find that each time you go through this exercise you’ll recognize your body cues quicker and in more detail.

Initially this exercise will take about 60 seconds. However, you'll very quickly become adept at identifying body cues at any moment during the day and it'll take less than a minute to make your notes.

Consider that 60 seconds once an hour is less time than it took to smoke a cigarette. Most smokers go through 10 or more cigarettes a day spending approximately 5 minutes to smoke each cigarette. That's 50 minutes or more per day spent smoking.

I'm asking you to stop for no more than 60 seconds, once an hour, 8 - 12 times a day. That's a maximum of only 12 minutes a day.

***VERY IMPORTANT NOTE***
The Timer Exercise is NOT; repeat NOT, an examination of your smoking.
The purpose of the Timer Exercise is to shift your attention back to your body where it belongs and away from smoking.

Follow the Timer Exercise for 2-3 days and you'll have several very accurate and personal lists. Those lists will include-
   1- Situations that you experience every day.
   2- The body cues that are linked to each situation.
   3- Non smoking options for dealing with the body cues.

Why are these lists important? - Because of Cognitivequitting truism number two - "Every cigarette a smoker lights is triggered by some body cue."

In 35 years of smoking I never lit a cigarette because I 'thought' it was needed. Every cigarette I ever lit was because I 'felt' it was needed. What I 'felt' were body cues that my autopilot associated with smoking. The information you gather with the timer exercise is critical for retraining your autopilot.

While the primary purpose of the timer and the lists is to increase awareness of your body cues and get you to make better choices; the secondary purpose is to make your smoking manageable. The following is a common belief: "I was a pack and a half per day smoker - my response to EVERY situation was to reach for a cigarette". I think a lot of us have experienced the constant urge to light up. The problem with the view of smoking as a non-stop urge is that it's overwhelming, particularly because smoking is such an automatic action. However, a list of daily situations and their times with specific body cues shows you when, where, and how you can take back control. It does take a bit of work, but only 60 seconds or less at a time.

If you're tired of experiencing urges to smoke, tired of being vigilant and always on guard, tired of the concern that you might lose your quit some time down the road because of some out of the blue urge, then a bit of time invested in body cue recognition will put you on a new road with different results.

Whether you're still smoking or have already quit, the Timer Exercise is an eye-opener and you will be amazed by what you learn about yourself.