Setting up a reward for quitting is easy to get wrong in one of two directions: picking something so small it doesn't feel worth the effort, or picking something so big and expensive that it feels unreachable and you give up on the whole system before you get there. Here's how to actually pick one.
Why It Matters
A reward only works as motivation if two things are true: it has to feel genuinely worth wanting, and it has to feel reachable on a timeline that matches your effort — the core insight behind decades of research on positive reinforcement. A reward that's too small next to a 40-day streak feels insulting to the work it took to get there. A reward that requires three months of saving before you can even start earning toward it just feels like another form of deprivation.
The right reward system usually isn't one reward — it's several, sized to match different milestones, so there's always something close enough to actually pull you forward.
How to Pick a Reward That Actually Works
- Make it personally meaningful, not generically "good for you." A reward you chose because it excites you works better than one you picked because it sounded responsible. If new running shoes don't actually excite you, don't pick them just because they sound like a "healthy" reward.
- Size it to the milestone. A rough guide: small rewards for the first few days (the hardest stretch), medium rewards around one to two weeks, and a genuinely exciting reward for a full month or more.
- Pick something unrelated to the habit you're quitting, where possible. A reward that just becomes a new version of the old habit doesn't close the loop the same way.
- Decide the reward before you start, not after. Deciding in the moment tends to default back to whatever's easiest — which is often the habit itself.
Reward Ideas by Milestone
Early streak (first few days — the hardest stretch):
- A specific coffee order or treat you don't normally let yourself have
- An hour of a show or game you've been saving, guilt-free
- A long, unhurried shower or bath with nowhere to be after
- Texting or calling a friend just to talk, no agenda
One to two weeks in:
- A meal out somewhere you've been wanting to try
- A new book, or finally starting the one on your shelf
- A small purchase you've been putting off — a phone case, a plant, a candle
- A morning with no alarm and no plans
A full month or beyond:
- New shoes, a jacket, or something you've genuinely wanted for a while
- A massage or spa treatment
- A day trip or weekend somewhere close by
- Tickets to something — a concert, a game, a show
Free rewards, for any milestone:
- An evening completely off from chores or errands
- Choosing what everyone in the house watches or eats for a night
- A "no" day — permission to turn down any request that isn't urgent
- Writing down exactly what you resisted and why it mattered, and rereading it later
Common Mistakes
Setting one big reward and nothing in between. Without smaller wins along the way, the gap between "started" and "big reward" can feel too far off to stay motivated through.
Choosing a reward that quietly undoes the point. If you're quitting drinking, a bar night as a reward works against you. Pick something that doesn't pull you back toward the habit you're breaking.
Making the reward contingent on perfection. If a single slip disqualifies you from a reward you were close to earning, the system starts to feel punishing again — which is the exact problem a reward system is supposed to fix.
Best Practices
- Set rewards at multiple sizes before you start, not just one big one at the end.
- Keep a running list somewhere visible — a note on your phone, a jar of slips of paper — so you're never deciding in the moment when motivation is lowest.
- Let a slip reset the streak, not the reward you're working toward from that point forward. A clean restart is still forward progress.
- Revisit your reward list every few weeks; what sounded exciting on day one might not be what you actually want by week three.
Quitly builds this in directly: you set your own rewards and their point values from the start, streaks multiply what later check-ins are worth, and claiming a reward is a real moment in the app, not just a mental note you might forget to follow through on.