Turn chores into treats with temptation bundling

In the late 1960s, researchers discovered that combining an undesirable action with a tempting reward dramatically boosts compliance. This behavioral twist, called temptation bundling, taps into our brain’s love for immediate gratification while still accomplishing the long-term goal. Picture Anna, a graduate student who dreads data entry. She always postpones it until the week before her deadline. Then she learns to bind her favorite true-crime podcast to her Excel sessions—no podcast without spreadsheets. Suddenly, her grudge fades: the soft hum of statistical cells rolling by pairs with the hushed narrative of hidden mysteries.

As weeks pass, her data is perpetually neat, and she looks forward to Tuesday afternoons—the block where podcast meets pivot table. Researchers call this approach a "commitment device"—you commit your temptation to the chore. MRI studies show that expecting the adjacent reward lights up dopamine circuits, overriding the brain’s default aversion to effort. Rather than battling willpower at every chore, you let association do the work.

Temptation bundling thrives on concrete pairings: meet your gym trainer only if you review that finance spreadsheet first; savor the special tea only while proofreading your manuscript. It works because it respects both selves: the present you who craves pleasure and the future you who needs productive output.

By making your least favorite tasks slightly pleasurable, you’ll find yourself inching forward with surprising ease. This elegantly small tweak to your routine can unlock weeks of sustained progress without exhausting your willpower reserve.

Imagine you have a treat you love—a favorite playlist, a special tea, or a slice of cheesecake—reserved exclusively for a specific chore. You slot that pairing into your calendar, and when the moment arrives, you brew your tea, open the playlist, and dive into your least-favorite task. The tang of the tea or the beat of the song makes the dull work feel just a bit more tolerable, and you find yourself humming along as you tick off the chore. By merging the two, you gain the dopamine hit you crave and get the task done—so tonight, try bundling one treat with one chore.