Little Treats: A Science-Backed Motivational Boost When You’re Tired of the Grind

Does it often feel like life is a grind of checking off endless to-do lists, where you barely have a moment for yourself?

The emphasis on hustle culture in society has conditioned many of us to believe that rest and reward must be earned through hard work. 

It’s no wonder “little treat culture,” a trend on social media that encourages us to use small rewards to stay motivated, is exploding in popularity. 

As a little treat gal for many years, I want to talk about the power of motivating yourself by using little treats throughout your day, the psychology behind why they work, and how treats can make life a little sweeter. 

https://youtu.be/9e4fVcnK5_s

Prefer the audio? Listen here.

The Power of a Little Treat

We often think of treating ourselves as being indulgent. In my community, it’s common to find women who feel bad about giving something to themselves.

But having a small reward to look forward to can be incredibly motivating, especially when you feel exhausted from parenting, chores, work, and life in general.

A little treat can be a nice cup of coffee, a walk outside, or an episode of your favorite show. It’s whatever brings you joy. Personally, a good cup of coffee or a little piece of chocolate recalibrates my energy and mood.

Incorporating intentional little treats into your daily routine can be a game-changer because having a treat releases dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter, in our brains.

Dopamine sparks pleasure and satisfaction. It hits the part of the brain that motivates us to pursue that feeling again.

Science Supports Treating Ourselves!

Little treat culture isn’t just a trend- it’s backed by science.

The Premack Principle, developed in the 1960s by psychologist David Premack,¹ explains that pairing a less desirable task with something enjoyable can increase the likelihood of completing that task.

In other words, doing something you enjoy can serve as a reward when you do something you want to avoid.

For example, if you dread cleaning your closet, treat yourself to a delicious cappuccino once you’re done.

Or if you struggle to get through a certain work task, plan to watch an episode of your favorite show afterward.

Giving ourselves a treat to look forward to taps into our natural desire to take a break and have fun doing something we enjoy.

Attaching little treats to things we don’t want to do reinforces the healthy traits we want more of. It also makes the sucky things in life suck a little less because there’s something satisfying at the end of doing them.

A 2019 study by Anaïs Thibault Landry and Ashley Whillans also found that the feeling produced by the reward is more important than the reward itself.²

It’s not about the latte you got, it’s about the feelings the latte produces in your brain and body.

A Shift Away from Grind Culture

According to SELF Magazine,³ little treat culture is also gaining popularity because Millennials and Gen Z are rejecting “grit language” and fear of punishment as motivators.

For years, being a hustler has been a badge of honor. “No rest for the wicked,” “no pain, no gain,” etc.

But younger generations are moving away from this and embracing a more positive response to the promise of something satisfying and rewarding, like little treats.

This SELF Magazine article from 2024 featured a poignant quote from my friend, Brit Frank, a neuropsychotherapist specializing in productivity and stress management:

“We are post-pandemic and in an election year, so life can really feel overwhelming and out of control. My little treat doesn’t fix any of that, but it does give the illusion that I’m in control of my universe and I can do what I want and have what I want.”

There are still many things to worry about in the world, and Brit suggests that little treats can help us feel more masterful in the midst of it.

Anything that regularly boosts our dopamine and makes us feel good about ourselves is good for our nervous and immune systems, which is so important right now.

5 Step Process to Incorporate Little Treats Into Your Life

Are you ready to experiment with incorporating little treats into your life? Here are 5 simple steps to do so:

Set Clear, Achievable Goals: keep your goals small and doable with a defined endpoint. Don’t wait until you finish your PhD to reward yourself. Think along the lines of the everyday things you do, like grocery shopping, meal prep, or exercising.Identify Your Little Treats: what feels like a reward for you? A fancy latte? A walk outside? Reading a book? Watching a movie? Make a list of rewards that genuinely feel indulgent and positively impact your well-being.Pair Treats with Specific Achievements: connect your treat directly to the completion of certain goals or tasks. This will reinforce engaging in the behavior more often. (It’s not just about productivity, though! It’s about getting through things with more ease and grace and less frustration.)Track Your Progress: try incorporating little treats into your life for a week and see how it impacts your motivation and mood. Does it make completing tasks easier or more enjoyable? Do you get more accomplished with less angst?Use Moderation: balance is the key to making little treats work. If you overdo it and reward yourself for everything, you’ll begin to feel entitled to it rather than excited about it, which doesn’t produce the dopamine we’re looking for.

If this is a lot to take in, don’t worry. All of the steps and prompts are in the guide so you can take your time with them.

At the end of the day, this is just about making life sweeter. There will always be things we have to do, and little treats offer us a sustainable way to get through them with more joy and energy.

When you work all the time without taking breaks, life becomes unsatisfying. (Trust me, I know!)

I invite you to try a little treat experiment for a week and see how it goes, especially if you can relate to this description of life by my pal davidji: “You wake up, burn through the day, drop, and do it all over again.”

Many of us can use this shift away from being on the treadmill of work to treating ourselves, and it can also help us uplevel our satisfaction with life.

Tell me: what are the little treats that make a difference for you? Are you willing to try this out for a week and see how it impacts your motivation and mood? Leave a comment or tag me in your stories on Instagram (@terricole).

Don’t forget to grab the free guide where I walk you through all the steps outlined above!

Have an amazing week and as always, take care of you.

P.S. If you love the cozy vibe of my blog, I think you’d love The Terri Cole Membership, where I host four Q&A calls on Zoom every month. Check it out and join at terricole.com/tcm. I’d love to have you!

¹https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-psyched/202404/how-to-use-the-little-treats-culture

²https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0886368719840515

³https://www.self.com/story/little-treat-benefits