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A T-break over the holidays: a December plan that ends on New Year’s Eve

· 4 min read · Not medical advice

December is a strange month for a break: parties, family, travel, time off with nothing to do. It’s also a good one. Start on December 1 and day 31 is New Year’s Eve, so you walk into January already a month clear instead of starting a resolution on the 1st with a hangover.

Pick your dates

  • December 1 to 31: the whole month. 31 days, finishing at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Daily users get the four weeks that brain-scan studies found receptors needed to recover.
  • December 11 to 24: two weeks before Christmas. You arrive at Christmas Eve two weeks clear and decide then whether to keep going.
  • December 18 to 31: the last two weeks. If the first half of the month is already busy, this still ends on New Year’s Eve.

If you’re unsure which length fits, the T-break calculator gives you one with your end date.

Mark the hard days on the calendar

Withdrawal usually starts 24 to 48 hours after the last use and peaks somewhere in days 2 to 6. Starting on Tuesday, December 1, puts the peak on Wednesday to Sunday: three working days, which give the days a shape, and a weekend to plan in advance. Look at what else falls in your first week before you pick a start date. Starting the day before a long flight or a family visit means meeting your hardest days somewhere you can’t control.

Sleep is often the last thing to settle, and December has long nights. Our guides on sleep in the first nights and weird dreams help.

Parties and work events

  • Decide your answer before you arrive. “I’m on a break till New Year’s” is short, true and ends the conversation. Nobody needs more than that.
  • Have a drink in your hand that isn’t a joint. A soda, a mocktail, a coffee. It answers the question before it’s asked.
  • Know when you’ll leave. The smoking usually starts late, out back or on the balcony. Leaving at 11 is easier than saying no at 1.
  • Watch the alcohol. A few drinks make the “one won’t hurt” voice louder, and swapping one habit for another doesn’t help your sleep either.

More on this in a T-break when your friends smoke.

Family and travel

  • Plan the evenings at your parents’ place. Many people used to step out to smoke there. Replace it with something concrete: a walk after dinner, a movie, a game, a late call with a friend.
  • Don’t pack anything. It’s the easiest decision you’ll make all month, and it means you don’t have to make it again every evening. It also keeps you clear of rules that change across state lines and airports.
  • Expect a short fuse. Irritability peaks in the first week, and family is where it shows. Telling one person “I’m a few days into a break, I might be grumpy” buys you a lot of patience.

The quiet days between Christmas and New Year

For many people this is the hardest stretch of the month, not the parties. Days off with no plan are where boredom turns into a craving. Give each day one thing: a long walk, a movie, a gym session, cooking something new, seeing a friend. Our list of evening ideas has twenty. When a craving hits, ten minutes of something else usually gets you past it; here are fifteen ways to fill them.

If you slip at a party

It happens, especially in December. One night doesn’t erase the days before it, and the worst thing you can do is decide the month is ruined. Keep the end date, write down what led to it and plan for that situation next time. More in smoked once during a T-break?

New Year’s Eve

Plan this night first, before the month starts: where you’ll be, with whom, and what you’ll do at midnight. Then decide what January looks like. Some people keep going, some go back to weekends only, some realize the month showed them something. Our guides on the first time after a break and T-break or quitting? help with either answer.

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