This week we’re going back to basics. Tools to help when you’re drifting toward the “I really need a drink” moment.

If you’re an end of day drinker, there’s a moment—maybe around 6 p.m.—when your brain taps you on the shoulder and says: “Let’s do what we always do.”

It’s not weakness. It’s wiring. Your brain is built for efficiency, and it loves habits—especially the ones you've reinforced a few hundred times. Simply telling yourself “don’t drink!” at the moment the habit kicks in is like grabbing at the air as you fall.

You don’t need more willpower. You need a system interrupt. Here’s one that works, and takes only 10–15 minutes:

Step 1: Breathe Like You Mean It

Before the habit kicks in—say at 5:30 p.m.—set a timer and breathe for 3–5 minutes. Try:  

• Box Breathing: Inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4.
• 4-7-8 Breathing: Inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8.
• Double Inhale: Slow inhale, quick top-up, long exhale.

Controlled breathing lowers blood pressure, reduces anxiety, and calms the nervous system. A calmer brain is less likely to dive into old patterns.

Step 2: Write It Down—Just a Bit

Grab a notebook or your Notes app.

Write down whatever is bothering you—frustrations at work, with yourself, with your drinking, with your relationships, with your finances, your worries. Whatever is spinning in your head and causing agitation, GET IT OUT. No filter. Bullet points are fine.

After a few minutes of screaming in writing, as you start to relax, write what life could look like for an extended stretch (90 days, 6 months, a year) alcohol-free: waking up refreshed, connecting more with people, having energy for things you forgot you loved. Start with just a few sentences. You can always write more tomorrow.

Writing helps shift focus from craving to clarity. It puts you back in charge.

Step 3: Visualize the Good Stuff

Now take 3–5 minutes to visualize the life you just wrote about. Imagine the version of you walking in the door and going for a run instead of reaching for a drink. Cooking or baking something you love. Laughing with your kids. Sitting still and liking your own company. And waking up and clearly remembering the evening before.

Your brain doesn’t treat this as fiction—it treats it as rehearsal. The more clearly you picture it, the more easily you’ll live it.

This tiny practice—breathing, writing, visualizing—is a simple brain hack to reroute your evenings, then your days, then your life.  It’s how you stop sliding and start steering. You’re building a new default setting little by little. Remember that you don’t need to change everything at once. You can start by just disrupting the script.