If you ask around outside any office what the hardest part about giving up smoking is, they’d say the work smoke break.  Non-smokers will complain that smokers get extra ‘time off’, but in reality most bosses wouldn’t mind if their employees stepped outside for five minutes every few hours just to clear their heads – and that is exactly what you’re doing.

Many smokers find that it greatly enhances their productivity and attention spans if they go out for a smoke break and come back to look at a problem differently. A number of studies have shown that our attention spans drop off dramatically after only half an hour, and we’re less than 50% effective at doing the task we started only a few minutes before.

So those are the arguments for taking regular breaks, but obviously those breaks don’t have to involve cigarettes.  Unfortunately, for most smokers a cigarette is the only type of break that makes us feel like we’ve had one.

Here are some ways to replace cigarettes as your quick escape from work:

Nicotine Gum is Your Friend

People who think they can give up without any quit smoking products & aids are fooling themselves, and making an already incredibly difficult task that much more of a challenge. Nicotine gum can really help you in situations where everyone else is smoking around you, and you really just want one right now.  It isn’t quite like a cigarette, but it makes you feel like you can go without one for now.

Inhalers can also work, but a patch won’t really satisfy that immediate situational craving you get by being around smokers or when it’s time for your smoke break.

Go Down With the Smokers

If you usually go down for a smoke break with a few other people, carry on doing this, but take your nicotine gum or inhaler with you (even better as it gives you something to do with your hand).  Not only will you not feel the loss of your little social group, but you’ll get outside and get some (reasonably) fresh air to clear your head.

Go For a Walk

Take your nicotine gum and go for a brisk walk around the block.  It takes less time than a cigarette, and when combined with nicotine gum gives you both the chemical kick and the time away from your desk that you need to keep going for the rest of the day.

The biggest part of losing smoking is getting rid of the routine of having a cigarette.  Eventually you will need to phase out these breaks, unless you know you can always take them without wanting to have a cigarette.