How to Reward Yourself for Studying (a Points System That Works)

Pay yourself points per focused session, spend them on a reward menu, plus 50 study reward ideas

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  • Habit Rewards team
  • October 12, 2026 • 6 min read

Studying pays off at the end of the term. That’s weeks away, and tonight the couch is right here. A reward closes that gap: it gives each study session a payoff you get today, so the session has to compete with less.

“I’ll treat myself after” usually doesn’t work, though. The treat is vague, it comes whether you studied or not, and an evening of “just one episode” eats the time you were meant to study. What works is a small system: you earn points for focused work and spend them on rewards you priced in advance.

The system in four steps

  1. Pick a unit of work. One focused session: 25 or 50 minutes, phone in another room, one subject. Count sessions, not hours at the desk. An hour of half-scrolling shouldn’t pay the same as an hour of real work.
  2. Give each unit a price. A plain session earns 4 points. Harder work earns more: a past paper, a full essay draft or a problem set you’ve been avoiding earns 8. A tiny start (open the notes, read one page) earns 1, because some days starting is the whole battle.
  3. Write a reward menu with prices. Small rewards cost 10–20 points, an evening off costs 40–60, something you’re saving for costs a few hundred. Ideas below.
  4. Spend only what you’ve earned. Keep a running balance on paper or in an app. When the balance covers a reward, take it without guilt. When it doesn’t, you don’t.

Fixed prices matter more than they look. If you decide the price of a reward on the night, you’ll always find a reason it’s cheap tonight.

A sample week

A student with exams in a month, studying evenings plus a weekend block:

Day Work Points
Mon 2 sessions 8
Tue 3 sessions 12
Wed 1 session + past paper 12
Thu rough day: opened the notes, one page 1
Fri 2 sessions 8
Sat 4 sessions 16
Sun essay draft + 1 session 12
Week 69

With 69 points they could take a 15-point coffee out on Wednesday, a 40-point free Saturday night, and still bank 14 toward a 300-point concert ticket after exams. Thursday matters too: one point keeps the habit alive, and a rough day doesn’t zero the week.

50 study reward ideas

Between sessions (5–10 minutes, cheap or free)

  1. A short walk outside
  2. One song you love, loud
  3. A snack you like that you only have while studying
  4. Five minutes of your phone, on a timer
  5. A proper coffee or tea, made slowly
  6. Stretching or a few minutes of yoga
  7. A message to a friend
  8. A few pages of a novel
  9. A shower
  10. Stepping out to the balcony or garden

After a day’s sessions (10–30 points)

  1. An episode of the show you’re watching
  2. An hour of gaming, timer set
  3. Dinner you actually look forward to
  4. A bath with no phone
  5. A call with a friend
  6. A favourite takeaway drink
  7. An evening walk somewhere nice
  8. A YouTube video you saved for later
  9. A face mask, a long skincare routine
  10. Going to bed early with a book

After a good week (40–100 points)

  1. A free Saturday night, no studying
  2. Dinner out with friends
  3. A cinema ticket
  4. A new notebook or good pens
  5. A lie-in on Sunday
  6. A day trip somewhere close
  7. A new album or game
  8. A class you like: climbing, dance, a pottery taster
  9. Brunch out
  10. An afternoon at a café with a book, not your notes

Bigger ones to save for (200+ points)

  1. Concert or match tickets for after exams
  2. New headphones
  3. A weekend away
  4. A piece of clothing you’ve wanted
  5. A new game you’ve been holding off on
  6. A massage
  7. A good backpack or desk lamp
  8. A trip with friends after results
  9. A course or hobby kit for the summer
  10. Something for your room: a plant, a poster, a rug

Rewards that make the next session easier

  1. A better desk chair or cushion
  2. Noise-cancelling earbuds
  3. Fresh flashcards and highlighters
  4. A study session at a café you love
  5. A good water bottle
  6. A desk plant
  7. A new study playlist (and the time to build it)
  8. A library day with a friend
  9. A paid app or book that actually helps with the subject
  10. A tidy desk: an hour to sort it, then work there

Mistakes that break it

  • Rewards that eat study time. “One episode” at 9pm turns into four. Schedule the big time-eaters (gaming nights, a free evening) for days you’ve planned off, and keep weeknight rewards short.
  • Taking rewards on credit. Once you spend points you haven’t earned, the balance stops meaning anything. If you really need the night off, take it, but don’t pretend it was earned.
  • Paying for hours, not focus. Points per hour at the desk reward sitting there. Points per focused session reward the work.
  • Prices that are too high. If the first reward is two weeks away, the system feels like a punishment. Make sure a good day can buy something small the same night.
  • Never changing anything. Rewards go stale. Every couple of weeks, drop what you stopped wanting and add something new.

If a points menu sounds like a “dopamine menu”, that’s because it is one with prices. Our free dopamine menu builder helps you write the menu, and the 70 ways to reward yourself list has more ideas outside of studying. The same idea works for any habit: see reward charts for adults, or how to reward yourself for working out.

Do it in an app

Habit Rewards is a habit tracker built on exactly this. Set “Study session” as a daily habit, and each check-in pays coins by difficulty (1, 4, 8 or 16). One-off work like “finish the history essay” goes in as a task that pays coins once. Each reward on your list has a coin price, and you claim it when your balance covers it. The app keeps your streak and your balance, so there’s nothing to add up.

Habit Rewards home screen with daily habits and one-off tasks that pay coins

It’s free for up to three habits on iPhone and Android.

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