Habit technique · Reward & enjoyment · A few minutes
Make the activity itself enjoyable
Level: Beginner · Free — no account needed to read
Choose the version of the habit you actually enjoy — the kind of exercise, the place, the music, the company.
Why it may help
Enjoyment during the activity predicts persistence better than long-term benefits. An enjoyable habit needs less motivation.
When to use it
- A habit feels like a chore
- Boredom has set in
- You keep choosing a version you dislike
How to apply it
- List what you dislike about the current version.
- List versions you’d enjoy more.
- Try one that still meets the habit’s purpose.
An example
Rahul swapped solo treadmill runs for a weekend group run, and kept running.
The common mistake
Believing a habit only counts if it’s unpleasant.
Practise it
Try one more enjoyable version of a habit this week.
What the evidence says
Research-supported: Good studies support it, but there are fewer of them, the effects are modest, or they come from a narrow set of situations.
Research found immediate enjoyment predicted persistence more than delayed rewards did. Enjoyment is personal — test what works for you.
Sources
- Woolley & Fishbach (2016). For the Fun of It: Harnessing Immediate Rewards to Increase Persistence in Long-Term Goals. Journal of Consumer Research. doi:10.1093/jcr/ucv098
Problems it helps with
- “My habit became boring.” — It still happens, but it feels flat, and you’ve started skipping it.
- “I don’t feel motivated.” — You know it matters, but when the moment comes you just don’t feel like it.
Lessons behind it
- Something good, right now — Immediate rewards, temptation bundling and making the activity itself enjoyable. (6 min · Beginner)
- Boredom and novelty — Why new habits feel exciting, then flat — and how to handle the flat part. (5 min · Beginner)