Make Today Your Fresh Start, the Science of Beginning Again

There’s a familiar voice that shows up this time of year.

After the holidays. In January. Once things calm down. That’s when I’ll really begin.

I adore that hopeful instinct. And today I’d love to hand you an even better one. This moment already counts.

Every Day Can Be a Fresh Start

The fresh start effect is the surge of motivation people feel after a new beginning like a new year, a birthday or a Monday. Researchers found these landmarks help us separate our past self from our future self. The good news is that you can create your own landmark on any ordinary day and get the same boost.

The Science of a Fresh Start

Researchers Hengchen Dai, Katherine Milkman and Jason Riis named it the fresh start effect in 2014. People are more likely to pursue their goals right after a temporal landmark, such as the start of a year, a month, a week or a birthday.

These dates work like a clean line drawn in the sand. They help us picture the next chapter as separate and new.

The part I love most? The line lives in your mind. A calendar date is one lovely way to draw it. A random Wednesday afternoon works too, the moment you decide it does.

This Moment Is Already Yours

Henry David Thoreau, writing from his cabin at Walden Pond, put it beautifully.

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854

Confidence, in his telling, is simply a direction. You get to start walking from exactly where you stand.

So instead of asking when will the right time come, try asking what would day one look like if it started this afternoon.

Make Today a Landmark

1. Name it. Write today’s date and the words day one at the top of a page.
2. Pick one thing. Choose a goal you’d been saving for later.
3. Give it five minutes. Just enough to feel how good it is to begin ahead of schedule.
4. Plan the next step. Write one if then plan for tomorrow.
5. Celebrate. Tell one person you started today.

Landmark dates are still wonderful. Use them, celebrate them, let them carry you whenever they arrive. This is simply an invitation to feel that same energy right now.

That’s the whole spirit behind our name. You get to start early. Today.

Quick Answers About Fresh Starts

What is the fresh start effect?

The fresh start effect is the boost in motivation people feel after a temporal landmark, such as a new year, a birthday or the start of a week. Researchers Hengchen Dai, Katherine Milkman and Jason Riis named it in a 2014 study.

Why do new beginnings feel so motivating?

Landmarks help us see our past self as separate from our future self, which makes past slips feel finished and new goals feel fresh and possible.

Do I need to wait for Monday or New Year’s to start?

You can create your own landmark any day. Name today as day one, mark it in your calendar, and take a small first action.

How do I create a fresh start today?

Choose one goal, give the day a meaning such as day one of my morning walks, and spend five minutes on it before evening.

Start early. Start fresh. Start today.

Complement this with Every Age Is the Right Age to Begin, 52 Systems in 52 Weeks and Lead Yourself First.

Want a calm, intentional start every day? Hold Until Sunrise is our little app for mornings that matter.

For a little goodness in your inbox every Sunday, join us here.

With love, Paolo

Sources

• Dai, Milkman and Riis, The Fresh Start Effect, Management Science (2014)
• Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854), Project Gutenberg