I'm not convinced that this amounts to practical advice. As you eloquently argue, the whole problem of akrasia is being unduly influenced by immediate consequences. The way I would put it is that immediate consequences act like a drug that distorts your decision-making. So "change your reference point" sounds like "don't be influenced by this drug". Easier said than done!

There's a parallel debate about this going on here: http://lesswrong.com/lw/33s/antiakrasia_reprise/

PS: Here's a link to a pdf of the chapter “The Intimate Contest for Self-command” from Schelling's book: http://www.nationalaffairs.com/public_interest/detail/the-intimate-contest-for-self-command I believe that chapter subsumes his seminal 1978 AER article on Egonomics: http://www.jstor.org/pss/1816707