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Keep going · Lesson 7 of 11

Rewards and Temptation Bundling to Start Tasks

Bring a small payoff into today, pair a treat with the task you dread, and learn why rewards help you start but habits keep you going.

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THE WRITTEN LESSONFollow along at your pace

A payoff that is far away is one of the main reasons we delay. In this lesson you learn to bring a small, good thing into today, so the work does not feel like all cost and no payoff. You also learn where rewards stop working, so you can use them wisely.

Bring the payoff closer

The work stays the same. What changes is that something good happens today, not only at the end. Finishing a report may pay off next month, but a small treat can arrive this afternoon.

A yellow card reading The task, Today, with the words Same work under it. A Payoff label and a smiling face sit to its right, and a banner at the bottom reads A small payoff today.(opens the full-size picture)
Same work, but the payoff now arrives today.

Keep a treat just for the task

One way to do this is called temptation bundling. You keep a pleasure only for the task. In one trial at a university gym, people who could listen to gripping audiobooks only at the gym went about half again as often at first. The effect faded after a few weeks.

Headphones, a padlock and a barbell with the words Only at the gym. A bar chart shows visits as Usual, higher At first with the label About half again as often, and lower again Weeks later, marked Faded after a few weeks.(opens the full-size picture)
A strong start, then the effect faded.

Use it for the work you dread

Try it with the work you dread. For example, a favourite playlist only while you do the paperwork, or a podcast only while you fold laundry. Because a treat loses its pull, plan to swap it for a new one before it goes stale.

Two yellow cards under the heading Work you dread: a music note plus a pile of papers, labelled Playlist only for paperwork, and a microphone plus a shirt, labelled Podcast only for laundry. Below, swap arrows and a gift box say A treat loses its pull, Swap it before it goes stale.(opens the full-size picture)
Pair the treat with the dreaded job, and swap it before it goes stale.

Keep rewards small and soon

A good reward is small and comes right after the first step. A cup of tea after the first email. A short walk after the first page. Pick rewards you would enjoy anyway, and skip ones that undo the step, like a drink to cope with the mood.

Two rows. First email, ticked, leads to a cup of tea. First page, ticked, leads to a pair of footsteps. Below, a banner reads Rewards you'd enjoy anyway, and a crossed-out glass is labelled Not a drink to cope.(opens the full-size picture)
Tea after the first email, a walk after the first page.

Pick a reward that does not undo the step

A drink to cope with the mood can work against the very step you just took. Choose something you would be glad to have done afterwards.

Find the part you enjoy

Better still, look for the part of the work you enjoy. Across several studies, enjoying an activity predicted sticking with it better than the long-term rewards people said they were after. So choose the version of the task you like best.

A line labelled Long-term reward, far from a card called The task. Below it, a smiling face and a green bar labelled Enjoy it now run all the way to the task, with a banner reading Enjoyment predicts sticking with it.(opens the full-size picture)
Enjoying it now can matter more than a distant reward.

Rewards have limits

In a huge study of gym members, many small programmes raised visits for a few weeks, but few effects lasted once they ended. So rewards are a way to get started. A habit is what keeps you going once the rewards stop.

A line chart of visits each week. The line rises during a shaded Programme period, then falls after the point marked Ends. Beside it, a membership card labelled Gym members and the words Few effects lasted. A banner reads Rewards start; habits keep going.(opens the full-size picture)
Visits rose during the programme and fell back after it ended.

Tick the box and reward the doing

A simple tick sheet can be a reward too. In many studies, tracking progress helped people reach goals, especially when it was written down or shared. Decide in advance what a missed day means, so one break does not make you quit.

A row of seven day boxes from M to S. Six have green ticks and Thursday is empty, labelled Missed day. Below, the words Tracking progress helped people reach goals, with notes Written down or shared and Decide what a miss means.(opens the full-size picture)
One empty box is not the end of the row.

One more tip comes from a workplace trial. Paying people for workouts at any time worked better than paying them only for workouts in a fixed time slot, both during the payments and after. So reward the doing, not the time slot. If you miss your planned time, a session later in the day still counts.

Two clocks side by side. On the left, a clock with one slice shaded and the words Only this slot. On the right, a plain clock beside a gift box, labelled Any time, with During and After ticked. Banners read Reward the doing and A later session still counts.(opens the full-size picture)
Any time of day counts, not just one slot.

YOUR TURN

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Read the full lesson script

In this lesson, you'll learn to bring a reward into today, so the task isn't all cost and no payoff.

Remember, a far-off payoff is one of the main reasons we delay. So bring a small payoff into the present. The work stays the same, but now something good happens today, not just at the end.

One way is called temptation bundling. Keep a pleasure only for the task. In one trial at a university gym, people who could listen to gripping audiobooks only at the gym went about half again as often at first. The effect faded after a few weeks.

Try it with the work you dread. A favourite playlist only while you do the paperwork. A podcast only while you fold laundry. And because a treat loses its pull, swap it for a new one before it goes stale.

Keep rewards small and soon. A cup of tea after the first email. A short walk after the first page. Pick rewards you'd enjoy anyway, and skip ones that undo the step, like a drink to cope with the mood.

Better still, find the part you enjoy. Across several studies, enjoying an activity predicted sticking with it better than the long-term rewards people said they were after. So choose the version you like best.

Rewards have limits. In a huge study of gym members, many small programmes raised visits for a few weeks, but few effects lasted once they ended. Rewards can get you started. A habit keeps you going once they stop.

A simple tick sheet can be a reward too. In many studies, tracking progress helped people reach goals, especially when it was written down or shared. But decide in advance what a missed day means, so one break doesn't make you quit.

In a workplace trial, paying people for workouts at any time worked better than paying them only for workouts in a fixed time slot, both during the payments and after. So reward the doing, not the time slot. If you miss your planned time, a session later in the day still counts.

So remember: bring a payoff into today, keep a treat just for the task, and let rewards start what habits keep going. Before the next lesson, pick one pleasure you'll only allow while you do the task. Next, you'll learn about deadlines and accountability.