Navigating Time With the Fresh Start Effect

You aren't alone if you set a New Year's resolution or two. It's called the fresh start effect, and there's some science behind why we are compelled to use significant dates to start something new.

Dan Pink writes in When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing about research from three Wharton social scientists, Hengchen Dai, Katherine Milkman, and Jason Riis. They found that people often use important dates as temporal landmarks to help us navigate time, and the 1st of the year is unsurprisingly on that list. The researchers found that temporal landmarks fall into personal and social categories.

Temporal Landmarks

Personal landmarks include those big moments in your life that don't have the same impact on those around you. Examples include anniversaries, work changes, and birthdays.

Social landmarks are shared throughout society and cultures, including holidays and firsts, like the first day of the week, month, or year.

There are two reasons why these landmarks are so important to us, and they aren't surprising. First a new year allows you to put your "old self," with all your perceived mistakes and shortcomings, into the archives and begin again.

The second involves an opportunity to see the forest through the trees. We are so often focused on the details of our daily lives that it is challenging to slow down and take in the big picture.

These personal and social landmarks offer an opportunity for a new beginning, to set a demarcation line between the past and the future to build something new. It's a chance to stand tall, take a deep breath, and look ahead at the horizon to see what lies ahead.

Finding Your Way

Did you start something new on the first of the year? Congratulations!

Now, take the next step and ask yourself: What's the plan beyond picking a meaningful start date?

Are you thinking about the new habits you'll need to be successful? Have you written them down in a journal or task manager to make them stick? How will you hold yourself accountable? Is someone helping you with that, or are you tracking streaks, maybe using the Seinfeld System?

Ultimately, long-term success comes from a combination of inspiration and the process of planning, habit development, follow-through, and review. The temporal landmark brings meaning, but you must have the determination.

Sticking With It

We order our lives through time, and acknowledging the power of these landmarks in our daily lives is an integral part of making our aspirations a reality. If you missed January 1st or lost your way with what you wanted to do, consider what went wrong and alter your plan if needed, and then pick another landmark. It can be a Monday, the first day of a new season, your birthday, or the day you start a new course or job. If you want to start something, pick a date that is meaningful to you and get started. Do some planning, write regularly about how things are progressing, and keep going.

*You can read the original report by the researchers that Dan Pink referenced here.