If one of your goals post lockdown was to back off the mid-week drinking, here’s how to make it easier for yourself.

If you rely on willpower alone to tame your mid-week drinking cravings, I am willing to bet that your willpower starts getting put to the test by Wednesday (if not before!) and by Thursday you are telling yourself, ‘well you know, it is nearly Friday?!’ If you have created a mid-week drinking habit, then with that habit, comes a craving – a desire, a want that can almost feel like a NEED, especially when you have had a hard day right?!

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Make it MUCH more difficult to access alcohol in your house. Spirits, in the garage. Wine, nowhere near the fridge if it's white which you know only tastes nice when it's cold. If it’s beer, or whatever else you are into, make it less easy to find. Reduce the temptation.

2. Make it EASIER to access something else that you can drink. Herbal tea bags out on the bench, kombucha at the ready and easy to see. Sparkling water in the door of the fridge, good to go.

3. Look at what is driving your mid-week drinking. It is one thing to remove the alcohol and swap for the kettle, but it doesn’t solve the problem of how we FEEL.

If you are drinking because you are feeling stressed, then I do understand, sparkling water isn’t going to cut the mustard in the same way a LARGE glass of red would. Lonely? I know a peppermint tea doesn’t fill the same gap that a gin might. But here, we are using alcohol to manage our feelings and that really isn't helpful because – in the long term, it doesn’t help you feel better.

Take a closer peek to see what is motivating you to want to drink and look to find alternatives (that are NOT food/drink related) to help manage your feelings. Call a friend, start a new hobby, learn how to box, get into art, have a long shower, join an online course – find something that helps you feel what you are craving, without defaulting to the option of alcohol, as that often will only make you angry at yourself for not following through on your intentions.

Change your habits first, don’t rely on your willpower. Let’s stop beating ourselves up over these things, that sucks. Life is hard enough without making ourselves feel bad.