How To Reward Yourself For Good Habits

It is easy to stick to your goals when you reward yourself for good habits. As we all know, forming good habits takes time and consistency. And there will be days when it gets tougher than usual. The one thing that will keep you going through those tough days is no other than a satisfying self-reward. Plus, you deserve a nice treat after all the hard work you’ve put in for your goals.

Rewards are the key to achieving consistency. Countless studies have shared that rewarding yourself for certain acts can encourage you to keep doing them. That is why they have a significant role in habit formation.

However, it is also important to know how to reward yourself properly. This includes picking the right rewards and the right timing. Only then can your rewards enhance your self-improvement progress.

Otherwise, they can backfire on you and ruin your hard work. Hence, we’re here to give you a detailed guide on how to reward yourself for good habits. Just keep reading to learn how to use rewards to upgrade your self-improvement performance.

When To Reward Yourself for Good Habits

Timing makes all the difference in reinforcing your desired acts. It can either solidify the routine you’re trying to build or jeopardise your progress. So, you should plan your incentives as seriously as you are with your routine.

Frequency of rewards

The first thing to consider is how often you should self-reward. It is true that constant rewards can influence you to keep doing your routine. But rewarding yourself too frequently can also destroy your motivation because it dilutes your sense of achievement. As a result, you’re more likely to give up after hitting a few milestones. 

Besides that, over-rewarding can prevent you from pushing your limits. It makes it harder for you to improve when you can get rewards with little effort. Instead, it will get you stuck in a progress plateau.

Hence, you should set small frequent rewards for short-term goals and save big rewards for long-term ones. For instance, you can have a nice evening activity after a week of consistent exercise. Then, reward yourself with a week of vacation after doing your fitness routine for three months.

Keep in mind that it is also not ideal to set a high benchmark from the start. We suggest making your first few milestones easy to achieve. This will build your confidence to start and go through the first few weeks. 

You can do this by breaking your goals into smaller, achievable steps and rewarding yourself along the way. The rewards should be less frequent as you make progress. Eventually, you won’t have to keep setting rewards because completing the task itself will be rewarding.

Delayed gratification

The second thing to consider is whether your self-reward should be granted immediately. It is totally okay to celebrate every achievement. However, you don’t necessarily have to instantly reward yourself for good habits. 

This also depends on the goals you want to achieve or the level of milestones you reach for your goal. Smaller goals and milestones deserve instant prizes. For example, you can treat yourself instantly to celebrate your first day of starting your habit. 

But larger goals and higher milestones call for a much later celebration. This is known as delayed gratification, which trains you to stay persistent and makes your reward more meaningful. Therefore, we suggest taking some time before you celebrate bigger achievements like hitting your financial savings target.

What To Reward Yourself for Meeting Goals

Getting the right rewards for habits can also boost your motivation and prevent you from jeopardising your progress. Similarly, there are several things to consider when picking your prizes. 

Aligned, Realistic and Positive

The most important thing is that the reward aligns with your routine and goals. You shouldn’t get something that wastes your efforts. It must motivate you to keep doing the tasks instead of ditching them. 

Your self reward must also be positive and healthy. However, you shouldn’t get something that you do not like, even if it’s healthy. Remember, the treat should be rewarding for you. It won’t help you stick to your routine if it does not give you a sense of satisfaction or joy. 

Lastly, your reward should scale with your achievement. Don’t set normal activities as rewards for habits because you’ll do it anyway, even if you don’t set any goals. Instead, reward yourself with something special that makes it worthwhile to work hard. Simply put, the treat should make you willing to put more effort into your routine and goals. 

Examples of self-treats

Let us give you some examples on how to reward yourself for good habits. 

Give yourself non-food rewards if you have food or diet-related goals. You can buy yourself a new set of kitchen utensils or a cookbook. These can motivate you to make more healthy meals and enhance your progress. 

For fitness-related goals, try getting yourself a new workout item, such as a new yoga mat or workout outfit. Alternatively, you can book a relaxing massage to soothe all your workout sores.

And if you’re saving money, why not treat yourself to something that doesn’t require spending? It can be spending a day at the park or attending a free event. 

Good Habit Rewards Ideas That Don’t Cost Any Money

You don’t have to spend money just to celebrate your achievements. Sometimes, the most meaningful treats are the ones that are free. Anything would work as long as it gives you joy and a sense of accomplishment. 

If you’re looking for free habit reward ideas, here are some ways that won’t break your bank account:

• Sleep in or take an off day from work to rest
• Go for a walk at a park or hike with your friends
• Play tourist and sightsee around your city
• Make a nice meal out of available ingredients at home
• Visit your local museum or gallery on free admission day
• Paint or draw a masterpiece 
• Have a DIY manicure and pedicure at home
• Watch your favourite childhood film or series
• Play a board game with friends or family
• Go to a free concert
• Schedule your free time to participate in volunteer work
• Borrow the book you’ve been wanting to read from your local library
• Invite your friends over and spend time with them
• Use the beauty products that you’ve been saving for special occasions
• Make home-cooked dishes and set up a picnic with friends 

Rewards for Meeting Goals That Aren’t Food

This might break some hearts, but you shouldn’t reward your fitness or health achievements with food. To do so would be like giving in to the devil’s temptations because they’re more likely to hurt your progress. On the bright side, the right non-food reward can fuel you with motivation and level up your performance.

Here are some of our non-food habit reward ideas that you can try:

• Decorate and reorganise your workspace
• Buy flowers or a new plant from your local farmer’s market
• Enjoy a relaxing bath with bath salts or bath bombs
• Buy one or two items from your wishlist
• Book a spa day with your best friend
• Travel to your dream country
• Take up a new hobby you’ve been wanting to try
• Sign up for the gym membership you’ve been wanting to get
• Sign up for an online class to learn something you’re interested in
• Invest in a new tool for your hobby
• Buy a new workout item (such as a yoga mat or a new pair of trainers)
• Go to your favourite artist’s concert
• Treat yourself to a subscription service (such as Netflix or Spotify)
• Go on a day trip with your friends or family
• Give yourself a mini gadget upgrade (like a new phone, laptop, or headphones)

Beyond Self Rewarding 

Maintaining your focus to form long-term habits involves more than getting payoffs for your hard work. You should also have an effective system to track and review your progress. Such a system lets you thoroughly evaluate your performance and get feedback to improve. As a result, you can optimise your daily routine and secure your success. This is where a habit tracker comes in handy. 

Our Ultimate Habit Tracker lets you review your progress through various visual analytics. There is also a space where you can set intentions for your goals and reflect on your performance. But of course, these are not the only things that it can offer. 

Among other notable features, it has a built-in rewards system. This reward system lets you reward yourself based on your milestones and follows the concept of delayed gratification.

You’ll be able to set rewards for habits you want to form and earn coins every time you complete them. Then, you can either immediately spend the coins on small treats or save them for bigger ones later. 

The coins you get will also multiply every week. This means the higher the milestones you reach, the more coins you will get. Guaranteed, it is the perfect planner that encourages you to celebrate your achievements but also pushes you to stay consistent.