Time release lock

I found a healthier relationship to chocolate and other sugary snacks through the use of a commitment device that helped me make responsible choices on behalf of my future self.

Background

I feel grateful to live in a time and place where food is abundant. In theory, I could enjoy eating just enough food. I could enjoy sharing meals with family and friends. I could enjoy the health benefits good nutrition brings. In practice, the draw toward delicious tastes is powerful. Sugar especially offers a strange temporarily escape from stress and sadness. In my younger years I ate chocolate by the bar. I ate ice cream by the carton. I ate it in the morning. I ate it alone at night. Together with aging and a more sedentary lifestyle, my choices began to affect energy level and mood. Eventually they began to affect my weight.

Even though I wanted to eat less sugar, I could not control myself. Willpower helped somewhat. People encouraged me, which helped somewhat. I eventually learned about commitment devices - mechanisms that enabled people to make a choice in the present to limit what choices they have in the future. A time release lock is a classic example of a commitment device. It is a lock that requires no key or combination; instead, it opens automatically when a timer expires. Time release locks are often used to control access to cigarettes and addictive prescription medicines. They work well for junk food too.

Procedure

I buy any junk food I like and can find at an acceptable price. I keep it all in one container. Any container with a hole for the shackle of the lock to slip through would do, but I use a large repurposed toolbox. I had it on-hand, and it allows me lots of space. In the morning, I enjoy choosing a reasonable amount of junk food from the container to last me the day. I give myself plenty of leeway about what reasonable means. After all, I only want to avoid overindulgence, not to punish myself. After that I make my commitment by locking the container. I allow myself to eat my chosen junk food any time I want, but I usually eat some after breakfast and the rest after lunch.

Basic features

I bought this time release lock on Amazon. It is sturdy and has worked reliably for several years. It has a simple digital display, and buttons for setting and starting the timer. It beeps, but the beeping can be silenced.

Stocking the container

I restock infrequently to minimize my free access to junk food; but when I do, I fill the container completely. This way I can also take advantage of good sales and bulk deals.

Setting the timer

I set the timer for about 20 hours. The lock releases overnight, giving me flexibility around when to collect junk food in the morning.

Charging port

I charge through a USB cable every couple months. If the battery runs out of charge, the lock cannot open again until it is at least partially recharged.

Reflection

My future self sometimes experiences cravings. He sometimes feels upset that the rest the junk food is locked up. When that happens I take a little time to remember how my past self limited the choices I have now because he cared about me, and how in the morning I will get to choose more junk food and then make the same commitment all over again, limiting the choices my next future self will have because I care about him.

References

• Commitment devices
  Brief introduction to what commitment devices are and are not. Examples of commitment devices.
• Time release lock purchase page
  Product similar to the time release lock I bought.
• Ferrero Rocher
  Hazelnut surrounded by nutella in a crunchy chocolatey shell with nuts on its surface. Not the most environmentally friendly packaging.
• Extra dark chocolate baking chips
  Normally used in cooking, but a good standalone snack as well. They blend nicely with nutella.
• Sanders Sea Salt Caramels
  Caramel inside, not painfully chewy. Covered with dark chocolate and small grains of salt. Relatively cheap at Costco.