So you’ve decided to cut down on your drinking. Congratulations! That’s generally a good idea. However, in spite of all your good intentions, I know how tough that can be. More likely, your school or workplace has a strong drink culture. Well meaning friends will invite you out and ply you with alcohol. They’ll badger you when they notice you’re not drinking, taking it as a personal challenge to convince you to have a drink. You’re going to need some effective techniques to succeed in your endeavor. Let me share some with you.

1. Make it clear to yourself what your goal is. Do you want to stop drinking altogether or just cut down? Why is your motivation? Is it health reasons, or because you want to concentrate more on your studies or work, or to save money or lose weight? Whatever the reasons, write them down. Place your written statement of purpose in a handy place where you can read it every morning and every evening. Keeping your goal in your conscious memory will go a long way towards keeping you determined.
2. Set limits for yourself. Pick a day or days of the week when you’re not going to drink. You could decide to just drink on weekends. Or if you’re in the habit of drinking every night, then just drink every other night. When you do drink, set a limit as to how many drinks you’re going to have and stick to it.
3. Keep a drink diary. It’ll help you to keep focused on the goal and you’ll be able to keep track of the progress you’re making. You can search the internet for downloadable drink diaries that can help you keep track of the alcohol units you’ve consumed daily as well as the costs to you and other related information.
4. Every time you resist the urge to have a drink, set aside the money you would have spent for that drink you didn’t have. Decide how you’re going to use the money that you’ve saved up. Seeing the money you’ve accumulated after a while will give you fresh impetus to continue towards your goal. Or if your motivation to curtail drinking is to lose weight, count the calories you avoided by not taking that drink.
5. Think of alternative activities to engage in that will take your mind off drinking. If you normally go out drinking with friends on Wednesday nights to relieve work tension, then do some yoga or bowling instead, go to the movies or a book club meeting. Think of an activity that you enjoy doing but haven’t been able to do for a while and take advantage of this situation.
6. If some of the meetings you have to attend are in a place where alcoholic beverages are consumed, suggest an alternative meeting place where the atmosphere is less conducive to the consumption of alcohol.
7. Avoid going out with people whom you’re uncomfortable with unless you have a drink in hand or people who actively encourage you to drink. There will be a time when you can safely get together with them again, but now is not the time. Similarly, avoid situations that tempt you to turn to alcohol.
8. When you do drink, make sure that there’s food in your stomach when you start to drink. As you’re drinking, munch on snacks or hors d’oeuvres. This will slow down the effect of the alcohol in your body and prevent inebriation. Drink slowly, making each one last. Have a chaser with each drink. You’ll drink less if you have some water or soda in between sips of alcohol.
9. Remind yourself of the limit you set for yourself and keep track of how many drinks you’ve had. Stop when you’ve reached your limit. If you’re tempted to have just one more, leave the party or the bar.
10. Don’t give up. If you happen to get derailed, get back on the track once again. Experts in human behavior tell us that it takes 21 repetitions to break out of an old habit or to establish a new one. After the 21 repetitions, it will become a nearly automatic response. So take heart. It doesn’t really take all that long to achieve your goal. It could be as short as three weeks.