Make quitting expensive before you want to quit
Bind yourself while you are still the version of you who wants this.
Do this
Set up a constraint your future self cannot easily undo: automatic transfers on payday, a deposit forfeited if you miss sessions, a friend holding the password. The cost must be real and the undo must be genuinely inconvenient.
Why it works
Commitment devices address the fact that preferences reverse as the moment approaches. Field studies on savings and smoking cessation show that voluntary binding contracts improve outcomes - in one Philippine savings trial, take-up produced substantially higher balances than the control.
Where it fails
People mostly do not take these up voluntarily, which limits real-world reach. Poorly designed penalties produce anxiety and evasion rather than behaviour change, and rigid commitments handle badly when circumstances genuinely change.
How you’ll know
If you have never once been annoyed by the constraint, it is not binding on anything.