Easygoing Features

Right we all know that fags are bad, but they kill your productivity too and giving them up gives you back a huge chunk of your life.

First things first; I am an ex-smoker and not a day passes when I don’t think about going back on them. This summer it will be 10 years since I quit so you would think I would be over it by now but no, it lingers like last night’s hangover. Forever. Apart from the odd, very brief, lapse (usually drink related) there has been no going back.

The reason I quit was that I moved to a new place, sharing with non-smokers, and spending half my time freezing on a poxy balcony was kind of sucking the fun out of something I really enjoyed. Imagine having to go outside to play your Xbox or check Twitter, that’s how I felt about smoking. So I cracked and quit.

And while the health aspect is an obvious selling point of quitting (you won’t die a horrible early death, hurrah), it is the time you get back that I noticed most. That and the wonderful, wonderful taste of chocolate.

If you smoke you will know that a lot of your smoking is done on the go these days. Waiting for a bus, walking to the shop, walking the dog, these are all activities beloved of smokers as they can enjoy their deadly addiction in peace. But in almost any other situation these days, smoking involves a lot of effort, time-absorbing effort, one that would only be endured by a chronic addict.

At work you have to run outside to smoke but those pesky lawmakers keep moving the smoking area further and further from the building. If sucking down your filtered friend takes about five minutes the walk to and from the smoking area will probably double that and if you light up before the designated area a man in a Hi-Vis vest will chastise you. Nobody needs that on Monday lunchtime.

Even if you only have a few smokes in work, it eats into your day and the time spent thinking about your next one or dreading the trip out to the world’s windiest car park only does further damage to your hopes of getting any work done.

If you work from home it’s even worse and the ‘quick smoke break’ becomes the biggest enemy of all, leading to endless procrastination and endless refrains of ‘after this one I will get cracking’.

If you just stopped smoking in work you would probably get back a couple of hours per week. Ideally you would give this back to your dear employer with added effort but we know how hard it is to stop smoking so by all means spend the time checking Facebook or playing WELDER on your iPhone. You deserve it.

Even if you just smoke 10 a  day that is a minimum of 50 minutes that could be saved in every 24 hours and probably a lot more.

Away from work if you’re not constantly running out to have a smoke your evenings and weekends become blank slates to plan whatever you wish, not strictly regimented timetables with at least one visit to the outdoors every hour.

Even if you just smoke 10 a  day that is a minimum of 50 minutes that could be saved in every 24 hours and probably a lot more. You’re talking six hours a week no matter how fast you run to the smoking shelter and back. Think of how good your Fantasy Football team would be if you spent just one more hour a week on it. Imagine how much further you could get in Skyrim. Maybe, just maybe, The Wire boxset would finally get watched.

You all know that smoking is bad, you don’t need me to tell you. But the end of the grind to find a safe haven to spark up is almost, almost, as good a reason to quit. And with all that extra free time you can spend all the money you are now saving. It's a win, win. Now, pass the chocolate.