01.27.2022 Written by Jeevanr Inbasagaran

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Do you ever put off work because you are scared of the commitment or simply too lazy to do it? A common issue that plagues everyone to different extents, this is what is known as procrastination. An act of ignoring or delaying tasks, it’s dangerously easy to fall into a routine of procrastination. However, there are a couple ways to stray away from this bad habit, one of which can be referred to as ‘The Reward Method’. 

 

This strategy allows one to split their task into small parts while feeling satisfied and appreciated for completely finishing each part of the task. The first step of this is to split all your work into small parts so that it seems easier to tackle, since procrastination usually occurs when a task is too daunting to commit to.

 

Furthermore, another reason people resort to procrastination is because the feeling of accomplishment of finishing the task takes far too long to arrive. Therefore, the last step of this method is to immediately reward yourself for completing each small part at a time. For example, if you have to write a long essay, you can reward yourself for the completion of one paragraph by watching an episode of your favorite show or having a treat.

 

The science behind this method is our brain’s tendency to release dopamine when it senses a reward upon the completion of a task. Looking forward to refreshment and knowing that the amount of work needed to be done for this is small, we do our work faster and immediately. With this strategy, work can be made a lot less intimidating and you can put the bad habit of procrastinating behind you.

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Citations

Halber, Deborah. “Motivation: Why You Do the Things You Do.” BrainFacts.org, 29 Aug. 2018, www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/learning-and-memory/2018/motivation-why-you-do-the-things-you-do-082818#:~:text=The%20answer%20lies%20in%20the,the%20neurotransmitter%20dopamine%20to%20communicate.&text=Neurons%20that%20release%20dopamine%20are,also%20enhances%20reward%2Drelated%20memories .