Sometimes when you’re working towards a goal, the accomplishment and achievement are enough of a reward to keep you motivated. Other times, you need to ‘define the carrot’ so to speak.

I just started a new workout routine, and sometimes I need to get creative with my rewards. I mean, being healthy and stronger should be enough of a reward, but sometimes, it’s just not. When I want the finished product and don’t necessarily want to put in the hard work, I need to know what other reasons I might work hard. Like, what’s in it for me, in the short term!?

The same concept can be applied to household tasks. So you finished your big to do list and now you can relax. Take it a step further, and celebrate by doing something for yourself. Pat yourself on the back, sure, but really take a moment to reward your hard work.

Not being able to muster up the motivation to keep working at a task is sometimes a huge buzz kill. Sometimes you just have to get creative with your rewards when working towards something that seems almost impossible to achieve – like losing a bunch of weight, doing a major fitness challenge, or even decluttering the entire house. The small breakdown of tasks to get to the end result are not impossible but, when you compare the goal to now, it seems too overwhelming to keep going.

So, for my new workout routine, I ruffled things up a bit. I wrote down a bunch of mini goals that I wanted to reward for the journey ahead. Then, I assigned an actual reward to each of those small goals! Often, I used to reward myself with food treats, or fancy coffees, but this time, I am rewarding myself with some of those random things I would never actually bother to spend money on myself for. Things I often take for granted and just simply buy when I see a good deal. Like some new clothes etc. But there are so many things I wouldn’t bother spending on me for…like a brand new workout outfit, or really high quality socks, or a new purse, even a kick-ass dress! Writing it all down BEFORE I even do the work means that I know exactly what I need to do to get each reward before I even start my new program!

It’s all about defining the carrot!

So for decluttering, you may have a random spot in the kitchen that always piles up with stuff no matter what you do! Maybe, if you can keep it tidy for 4 days straight you get yourself a reward. The rewards have to be something you want, but something you would otherwise feel guilty getting for yourself. That’s how you really give the carrot it’s power. Who doesn’t want to guiltlessly splurge a little here and there on themselves? If you can’t think of anything to get for yourself, try looking through Amazon for some ideas, create a wishlist! If you want to keep money out of it, spend your time on things you would otherwise feel guilty doing! Want to spend some time reading a favourite book? Declutter a shelf or cupboard for 15 minutes of reading! Or keep a room in a vacuumable state for a whole week and reward yourself with a bubble bath! Use other activities as rewards like spend the afternoon crafting, go for a hike at your favourite waterfall, do some baking!

Take the guilty feeling out of your guilty pleasures! Just work for it instead!

You work hard, might as well get rewarded by your efforts right?

Whatever your impossible task is, break it down into little manageable bits. Make sure you set your SMART goals so that it is clear when a goal is reached and a reward can be acquired. Then, just do the work and the rewards will start flying in!

It might be worth checking in on your progress and creating some harder to get rewards too, so that the feeling of getting those rewards is that much sweeter!

AND, don’t forget to pick out your big finale reward!

Thanks for coming home!