Setting up a reward system

When you've set yourself a goal (e.g. to score a distinction average in your studies, or to land a position in a graduate program), setting up a reward system might just be what you need to keep you going through the harder times, and to reward yourself for your efforts.

There are some great tips here, including "reward behaviour, not results. It’s your behaviour that will lead to results." So everytime you perform a behaviour that is in line with your goal, give yourself a point. In the case of trying to land a graduate position, you could reward yourself every time you submit an application, attend an assessment centre, complete a phone interview etc.

Once you reach a certain amount of points, it's time to reward yourself. Jess reckons the reward should be an experience rather than an object. I'd pick climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Of course, sometimes you'll engage in behaviours that lead you away from your goal. Should you take a point away in those situations? This article suggests you track successes, not failures, because in doing so, it encourages you to build on your successes. That's the great thing about having a reward system that focuses on behaviours--it reminds you of your successes and you keep building upon it.

In fact, Jess herself set up a reward system. I think she wanted to prove to herself that she had control over eating chocolate. Each day that was a chocolate-free day was another $1 towards her reward: a Zero Japan teapot. And she achieved her goal :)