---
title: Intermittent Rewards Create Stronger Habits
date: 2025-09-02T04:03:14.191422
author: Charlie M.
category: SIGNAL
---
So, I was sitting on my couch the other day, just kind of zoning out, watching the dust move in the light coming through the window. It was one of those moments where you're not doing much, just... existing. And I started thinking about habits. Yeah, I know, thrilling topic while staring at dust, but bear with me. I was just scrolling Instagram for an hour, you know, that rabbit hole where you start with a cute dog video and end up deep in some conspiracy theory thread about ancient pyramids.
Anyway, it hit me. This scrolling thing, it's like, why am I so hooked? I delete the app sometimes just to get some headspace, but I always come back. It made me start wondering about why some habits stick and others don't. Like, I’ve tried going to the gym more regularly, and sometimes I’m super consistent and other times… well, my sneakers gather more dust than I’d like to admit.
Somewhere, I remember reading about, um, behavioral psychology and operant conditioning. I think it had something to do with rewards being more effective if they're unpredictable? Around 3 times more effective, maybe? It's not like I’m doing a lab experiment, but I guess it’s like when Instagram throws a surprise notification your way—suddenly, your phone’s calling out to you with its seductive little ding. Maybe that's what they were talking about in that research? The whole variable schedule thing, like sometimes you get a reward, sometimes you don’t, and that's what keeps you hooked?
Why can't I apply that to going to the gym? Maybe if every third time I went I got, I don’t know, a free smoothie, I'd be more motivated. But then again, who decides the reward? I don't have a smoothie fairy. Maybe I'm missing the point. Is it about the reward, or the unpredictability? Or both?
It’s kind of like life throwing curveballs, and, I guess, that's what keeps us intrigued, right? Like, not knowing what's next is oddly enough what holds our attention. But then, how does that help me form a habit I actually want, without the randomness or... dopamine hits? Does it even apply?
I tried setting fixed rewards too, like if I worked out every day for a week I’d buy myself a nice coffee. But I’d usually self-sabotage by day four. So maybe I’m my own worst enemy. Or my own worst scheduler? I don't know. It’s like there’s always this weird dance between knowing what you should do and what you end up doing anyway.
I guess what I’m saying is, if there’s some secret sauce to this whole habit thing, it’s buried under a pile of dust motes and unread articles. Do I really want to go digging through the research papers to find it? Maybe. But, I might just end up scrolling Instagram again. Or not. Who knows, really.
Anyway, the light’s shifting in the room, and the dust is doing this weird dance again. Maybe that’s enough pondering for now.