Drawing from the wondrous wisdom of Tom Haverford and Donna Meagle—once again—I invite you to
 

 
This is Part 3.
 
Part 3 provides concrete ideas for how you might implement a reward system—complete with visual aids.
 
Feel free to use one of these examples as your system, or use these examples to fuel your creativity in designing your own system.
Part 1 describes how and why a reward system can be so powerful.
 
Part 1 is not mere theoretical fluff 'n stuff.
 
Understanding the how and why will help with practical application. Plus, it's only a 4-minute read.
 
To read Part 1, simply clickity-click on its image below:
 

In keeping with the spirit of this "Treat Yo Self" series, Part 2 is bite-sized.
Part 2 helps you identify action steps you might reward to give yourself that little boost of dopamine.
Identifying those action steps will help you structure your overall reward system.
To read Part 2, give the image below a quick little tippity-tap:

Reward Ideas:
Self-Talk

A reward can be anything that will spur you to action and make you feel good about what you’ve accomplished.
For some people, this can be as simple as thinking to yourself, “Well done. You did it.”
If sincere, that might be enough for your brain to release a bit of dopamine and spur you to action.
For others—self-talk might still help—but it might need to be more involved positive affirmations.
Visuals: Analog
 
To-Do Lists
 
Sometimes a good, old-fashioned to-do list does the trick.
 
For some, it can be cathartic to carve the to-do list with lead until no trace evidence remains of the completed task.
 
For others, making a crisp line in a tidy to-do list provides that little boost of dopamine. #studygram?
Star Chart
Do you remember star charts from your elementary school days?
Those worked for two reasons.
First, you got a star. You got a visual representation that you did well.
Second—if the teacher set up the chart so that students might “miss” a star on a given day or for a given activity—you had an incentive not to break any “streak” in the stars.
Points on a Spreadsheet
 
This is my personal favorite.
 
I like this method because I can refer back to it and see patterns. Plus, I find it easier to adjust the point values or switch out mini goals.
 
This can be set up however you would like. You can certainly give it a bit more PiZzaZz.
 
The basic—pre–PiZzaZz—structure I use is as follows.
Jar of Pebbles
 
Two notable similarities with the Star Chart:
 
First, you can see it fill up.
 
Second—if you’d like—you can plan for a more tangible reward once it is full.
 
Two notable differences with the Star Chart:
 
First, for some, it simply feels more tangible when the reward is not on a piece of paper.
 
Second—unless you’ve measured and counted it out beforehand—you don’t really know for certain how many pebbles it will take to fill the jar.
 
You can decide for yourself whether that uncertainty is a positive or negative attribute. There's no right or wrong answer here.
Visuals: Digital
 
Habit Tracker Apps
 
These are well-suited to daily recurring mini goals.
 
However, you can use these apps even if your mini goals change daily.
 
For the purposes of the app, simply make a “habit” to do undefined mini goals daily.
 
For example, you might choose to tackle 3 mini goals daily.
 
Then, in the app, you could simply enter the habit as “mini goal #1,” “mini goal #2,” and “mini goal #3.”
 
There are far too many habit tracker apps for a meaningful review here, but I might review some in the future. Stay tuned.

Visuals: Digital
Gamification Reward Apps
There are some apps that will reward certain behaviors by furthering your game play.
These apps help when you goals are more about completing a process—rather than achieving a result.
For example:
Result: Run 3 miles per day.
versus
Process: Run outside for 30 minutes per day—regardless of the distance covered..
For the result-based goal, rewards are determined by a "yes" or "no" answer. "Did you run three miles? Yes or no?" Even if you ran 2.5 miles, the answer is still, "no."
However, a gamification app might award you points based on how far you go.
Pokémon GO is actually a great example for the cardiovascular process goal above.

Feel free to chuckle about that. Just know: according to a study by the American Heart Association, on average, players walk 2,000 more steps per day when playing Pokémon GO.
Again, there are far too many apps for a meaningful review here. However, there is one additional app I would like to mention.
The app is called “Forest.”
Essentially, when you want to focus, you plant a tree. The tree will grow as long as you remain in the app. The tree will die if you exit the app before your allotted time is up.
I am NOT affiliated with "Forest." If I ever become affiliated with "Forest" in the future I will let you know (and hopefully get you a discount if that’s the case). However, a discount really isn’t all that necessary because—last I checked—the app only costs $1.99.
Shout out to @big_mama_show on Instagram for sharing this app! I am also not affiliated with @big_mama_show. I simply wanted to acknowledge her for bringing this app to my attention.
"Forest" could be helpful if you find yourself getting distracted by your phone—particularly notifications.
 
There is also a chrome extension for those who get distracted by their web browser.
 
Even better, "Forest" partners with an organization called “Trees for the Future.” Through this organization, coins that you earn for staying focused can be used to plant real trees.
Money: Analog
 
Money can provide a direct reward within the system.
 
You could fill that pebble jar with pennies—or whatever other monetary denomination you feel is appropriate.
 
If you don’t have cash on hand, you could track the money you’ve accumulated for each task and either withdraw it or transfer it at the end of the week.
 

Money: Digital
 
There are actually apps that will pay you—or require you to pay—depending on whether or not you achieve to your stated goals.
 
There are also apps which simply make it easy for you to transfer money, whether it’s your bank app or an app that helps you save and invest.
 
Again, going over these apps is beyond the scope of this post, and I hope to do a post on this in the future. In the meantime, I’m sure you’ll be surprised what a quick google search will yield.
Other Tangible Immediate Rewards
These can be as creative as your imagination.
Some ideas include:
Favorite Snack
Favorite Beverage

Watching a funny or interesting youtube video
Scrolling through pictures of puppies
Word to the wise: you might want to set a timer for “scrolling” rewards.

Stretch Break
Dance Break
Meditation Break
Coloring Break
Or
Any other brain break!
If you need ideas, check some out here:

Adjustable Rewards
 
No matter which reward you choose, the reward must be desired enough to...
 
spur you to action
 
&
 
allow you to feel good about what you’ve accomplished
 
This means the rewards need to be adjusted to the activity.
 
This also means the reward might need to be adjusted to how you’re feeling that day.
Let’s pretend you decide to use the jar of pebbles reward system.
 
In the above example about going to bed early, you might give yourself five pebbles for exercising.
 
Conversely, you might only give yourself one pebble for setting the temperature lower at night.
 
If you’re having a particularly sluggish day, you might need to bump up the number of pebbles you reward for exercise to seven pebbles.
Personally, I like using a point system in a spreadsheet.
 
There was a time I had to write an incredibly daunting email, and I knew it was going to take a lot out of me.
 
So, I thought to myself, “How many points would I need to award writing this email for me to feel either excited to do it or good about having done it?”
 
If memory serves, I had to award 40 points.
Ready to Design Your Rewards System?
Each person’s reward system is unique.
The rewards that get dopamine flowing varies from one person to the next. The preferred system also varies greatly.
Designing a rewards system is a process for which one-on-one coaching is particularly helpful.
However, I cannot coach everyone. So, it is my sincere hope that—when combined—this three-part series provides enough assistance for you to design and implement an effective reward system yourself.
Feel free to post thoughts or questions in the comments to this post on instagram:

Regardless of whether you design and implement a reward system, if you are reading this you are likely in law school or studying for the bar exam. As such, you could likely benefit from at least some small reward.
So, I will end this just as I began it.
From the wondrous wisdom of Tom Haverford and Donna Meagle, I invite you to