Behind its convoluted definition, Premack’s Principle, also known as Grandma’s Rule, is everywhere. It states that one will be more motivated to do something if he knows that he will be allowed to do something else he truly wants as a result. An example would be: ‘Finish all your homework, and then you can have some ice cream.’. As simple as it is, this strategy is valuable in helping us develop new habits.
Developing habits is most effective when it’s a dopamine-driven feedback loop. Without any reward, our brain will take away the desire to participate and make us think the activity is not crucial.
Scientists find that anticipating something we desire generates as much dopamine as actually performing the activity. We can trick our brains into enjoying the less desirable activity (the habit we want to develop) to experience the more desirable activity later (something we already enjoy doing). For example, I will have a slice of cheesecake on Saturday afternoon once I have processed all my notes.