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The goal is to get myself out of bed each morning, AND to prevent myself from eating too many cookies, but also to reward myself with a cookie every so often.

If I have a reason - "You can eat a cookie tonight if you get out of bed to get the cookie out of storage now" - then I feel like I'll be much more likely to get up.

I think the ideal solution would be a box that can't be broken into without breaking it, that has a clock on it, and can only be opened between 8am and 9am each day.

I've looked at "The Kitchen Safe" which is a box that locks for X amount of time, then opens, which would prevent me from eating my reward until it's time to, but it doesn't automatically lock afterwards, you have to manually re-lock it.

I have seen very expensive and professional lock pads that I don't fully understand that unlock at certain times each day, but I don't even know where to begin installing those or learning how to use them. From what I understand they attach to your safe and prevent the safe from being opened, but... I think I'd need some training to understand how to install and use them.

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  • I saw this on a Popeye cartoon: connect a stationary bicycle to a food-grade conveyor belt. As you pedal, the treats move toward your open mouth. Space the treats apart to get a "timed release."
    – John Canon
    Commented Apr 16, 2021 at 4:07
  • There are solutions such as locking and mailing yourself the key, or encasing the key in ice so you can't get at it till it melts, but none of these can guarantee an exact time.
    – Stuart F
    Commented May 4, 2021 at 10:03

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You should separate the tasks and find independent solutions, otherwise you'll replace your problems with others, like

  • eating junk food for breakfast

  • eating a whole pack of cookies when they become available.

Be careful too not to fall into the XY problem where you get training in how to use a safe, when if you need training the real problem isn't about safes, but personal motivation.

My solution to getting out of bed is

  • place a loud alarm clock out of reach

  • place a second alarm clock in another room

They can only be turned off by getting out of bed, and leaving the bedroom. If you still need sleep, either go to bed earlier, or get some counselling, or make a more extreme alarm as a colleague once did:

  • connect a vacuum cleaner or other loud appliance to a timeswitch, again it must not be possible to switch it off without getting out of bed.

My solution to eating too many cookies is one or more of

  • buy one small pack each day so it won't be too bad if you eat them all

  • every time you desire one, just put it off for a little while

  • ration the cookies by putting one in separate tubs marked with the time you can have one.

Above all, be sure to identify the causes of these problems, as well as dealing with the symptoms.

Edit: following the comment posted below, another solution to rationing the not-cookies is

  • Get the help of a trusted neighbour. Tell them the idea, give them the not-cookies, and when and how many to let you have. If you ask at other times, they must say NO.
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  • I mentioned getting out of bed to give context, but the main issue I'm trying to solve is locking <SOME_THING> away and having it only be accessible for a certain timeframe each day. Also, I don't struggle with not eating in the morning, it's only late at night that I struggle, so there'd be no issue with eating them in the morning. I currently don't keep snacks in the house at all, because I will definitely eat them in less than a day. My lock idea is not just for snacks either, there are other things, but rather than elaborate I just kept it to snacks. Thanks for your help.
    – byronaltice
    Commented Apr 14, 2021 at 2:04
  • The question begins "The goal is to get myself out of bed each morning, AND to prevent myself from eating too many cookies" so I naturally assumed you are trying to solve two problems with one solution. Moreover you now say that eating in the morning isn't an issue, so it is hard to see what the context is for getting out of bed, why you are connecting them.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Apr 14, 2021 at 7:03
  • Understandable, maybe I provided too much context. I should probably resubmit this with a narrower focus. Thanks for all your help.
    – byronaltice
    Commented Apr 20, 2021 at 0:58
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Rather than investing in home security equipment and facilities, you could put appropriate snacks (dry, wrapped, not needing refrigeration, etc.) in a rented bank safety deposit box.

You will have access to it only when your branch is open and the vault is available. That should limit you successfully.

Insofar as getting you 'up,' there's very little chance you can get to the bank and your snacks otherwise.

Good luck.

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    I doubt that this is practical because the bank will not welcome their boxes being used as a food bank. Why not temporarily handling the treats over to your room mate instead (assuming s/he does no eat the snacks away), and work / study together as sparring partner?
    – Buttonwood
    Commented Apr 12, 2021 at 17:27
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@weather-vane helped me realize that my question is a bit too broad. But, I'm going to try to provide info on what I found that works for at least part of the problem.

The Igloohome smart padlock now allows you to set a recurring PIN that is only accessible for a certain amount of time each day. Note that there are some caveats, but in spite of these caveats, this is the ONLY padlock I could find that would let me lock something except for a certain duration each day.

  • You have to use a separate PIN for each day of the week. One for Mondays, one for Tuesdays, etc.
  • You'll have to set up your igloohome account, set up the recurring PINs, then give your account info to a friend so you can only access the padlock with your recurring PINs. They'll have your master PIN and account login to unlock the padlock if you ever decide to use it for another purpose.

As for a container to be padlocked - I'm still working on that. The "Plano Storage Trunk - 68qt" I got from amazon is the size I wanted, but the padlock doesn't fit through the opening, and the container can be opened from both sides, so I'd need two padlocks, which is just more trouble than it's worth.

As for keeping a reward locked away for a certain time each day - I believe the combination of padlock and box, when I find one, will work out. Will keep you posted.

As for getting myself out of bed each day - again I think that the padlock and box may work out, when I find the right box. Will keep you posted.

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