I like the idea of mapping out your day so you always have something scheduled to do that doesn't involve alcohol. This concept was really foreign to me at first. I'm not a list person and lived my days by impulse which always got me in trouble. When people told me to fill my days from morning to night so I wore myself out and didn't think of drinking I was like huh? What would that even look like? Developing some structure though did help make sure I didn't veer towards the liquor store coming home from work or spend nights on my couch drinking.
Exercise has also been good for me. Was tough at first to get started but now that I feel better it's easier to get the thought of drinking out of my mind because I have a goal and I know that drinking would completely inhibit me from achieving it. Once I started seeing positive changes mentally and physically, the choice between drinking and my current mental and physical state became a lot easier. My whole world opened up and I find myself asking, "why would I give this up?"