Tie yourself to the mast

Ulysses knew two things: that he wanted to hear the sirens' song, and that the moment he heard it he could no longer be trusted. So he didn't negotiate with himself. He plugged his rowers' ears with wax and ordered them to tie him to the mast, with one precise instruction: if I beg you to release me, tighten the knots.

Behavioural economists call it precommitment, or a Ulysses pact: using today's clear-headed self to tie the hands of tomorrow's tempted one. It works because it starts from an uncomfortable truth: willpower is a bad plan. At the moment of temptation, the one deciding is no longer you; it's your appetite speaking in your voice.

The modern versions need no rope. Deleting the app instead of promising not to open it. Keeping biscuits out of the house instead of rationing them. The automatic transfer into savings on payday, before the money ever passes through your hands. The phone charging in another room from ten o'clock on. There are even platforms where you bet money against your own relapse — and if you fail, your stake goes to a cause you despise.

The rule fits in one sentence: don't fight the siren. Arrive at your weak moment with the decision already made and the knots pulled tight.