Being productive is a reward in itself. You feel good about yourself at the end of the day when you have finished important tasks. But, sometimes a carrot at the end of the stick can help motivate you to push through some tasks that you really have no desire or motivation to do. And, sometimes rewarding yourself can help you become more productive in the long run.
The Benefits Of Rewarding Yourself
Helps You Stay Motivated
We talked about forcing yourself to do something when you feel like doing nothing, but having a reward waiting for you can help you push through a task you really don’t want to do and can’t force yourself to do without some incentive.
It’s how we get kids to do things, and it works for adults too.
For instance, if you love to get out in nature, knowing that you will be able to go for a nice walk in nature if you get your work done will be a huge motivator for doing the task you need to do. It will also help you stay focused so that you can get it done as quickly as possible.
Helps You Associate Positive Feelings To Your Tasks
When you are rewarded for an effort, you associate the positive feelings from the reward with that effort.
The more you reward yourself, the more positive you will feel about making that effort.
As you can see, this would work great for something that you currently don’t feel positive about.
For instance, if you don’t like cleaning the bathroom in the morning as part of your morning routine, then reward yourself afterward with your favorite coffee. Don’t make that coffee until you have cleaned the bathroom and you will start to associate finishing your task of cleaning the bathroom with your reward of delicious coffee.
It Feels Great
We should be rewarded every day that we are doing great things for ourselves. It feels great to be rewarded! Why not do it?
Moreover, when you reward yourself, it lifts your energy into a state where you are more likely to do what needs to be done and attract the things you want most into your life.
Make It A Positive And Healthy Reward
The trick is to make it a positive reward that benefits you and doesn’t hurt you.
For instance, if you are trying to lose weight, and you eat a healthy lunch, don’t reward yourself with a burger and fries at supper. While it may feel like a reward, you won’t feel good about yourself after you eat that food and realize that you have done something against the goal you are trying to accomplish. It would be much better to reward yourself with a walk in a beautiful place or some leisure time online looking up vacation spots where you can wear your swimsuit with confidence.
Make your reward positive and beneficial to your goals and ideal life.
You can reward yourself in another area of life than your task was in. For instance, if you finish a work task, then you can reward yourself with some quality time with a loved one. While you are enjoying some laughs and companionship, it will benefit your relationship goals and health, so it’s doubly rewarding.
Your Reward May Even Be Unproductive!
Sometimes you just need to do things that have nothing to do with your ideal life.
In other words, sometimes it just feels good to sit back and watch Judge Judy.
I’ve found that while it’s great to spend most of your time working towards your ideal life, sometimes a break is in order.
I’ve also found that you usually want to get back to being productive with an increased intensity when you allow yourself to do things that have nothing to do with your goals or dreams.
Just Don’t Let Your Reward Drag You Down
The big tip is not to let your reward drag you down. If you know doing something tends to make you feel bad or lower your energy level, then avoid it. That ‘reward’ is only going to cause you to lose your productivity for the day.
For me, getting caught up in the day’s news is not a reward. If I finish something important or do something great, and then start to get lost in the news of the day, I always come out feeling sad, angry, or downright depressed. That’s not a reward! It’s something that affects my ability to do the next thing on my to-do list or to live my best life. So, I don’t get caught up in that stuff. Instead, I look up stuff that makes me feel good or adds value to my life.
The key is to recognize what doesn’t make you feel good and what does, and then do more of what does.
It’s easy enough to recognize. Just pay attention to your emotions.
If something always makes you feel bad – in any way, then it’s probably something that you should stop doing. Alternatively, if it’s something that makes you feel good, then it’s probably something you should be doing more of.
