Why does a new year feel like a fresh start?

By No Rush · Updated October 24, 2026

The short answer

It is called the fresh start effect. Researchers at Wharton saw that after a new year, but also after a new month, a Monday or a birthday, people more often start on something they want for themselves. Their idea is that the date separates you from last year's misses. You can use any of those moments, and a small first step is easier to begin than a big plan.

What is the fresh start effect?

The fresh start effect is the name for a pattern that Hengchen Dai, Katherine Milkman and Jason Riis described in 2014. After a clear moment in time, people more often start on something they want for themselves. They saw it in Google searches for "diet", in gym visits by 11,912 students, and in goals people set on a website.

All three studies looked at data from everyday life afterwards. So they show a pattern, and whether the date itself causes it, they cannot tell.

Why does a new date help?

The researchers think a date like that splits time into a before and an after. What went wrong last year then belongs to the old year. The new attempt feels like a new start, and less like trying the same thing again. That is their idea, and their studies did not test it directly.

Do I have to wait until January?

No. The same studies found the same thing after a new week, a new month, a new semester, a birthday and a holiday. What they measured was a Monday or the first day of a month. A big change in your life can be a start too. Bas Verplanken and Deborah Roy found that a campaign for new, greener habits worked better for people who had moved house in the last three months.

How do I use a fresh start?

Pick one small step. Decide when and where you will do it, and what you will do if something gets in the way. Paschal Sheeran and colleagues looked at 642 tests of plans like this. Such a plan helps a little, less than people often say. Start with something for the first week, and leave a big life goal for later.

If you skip a day, a new habit only slips back a little. Phillippa Lally and colleagues found that. So one missed Tuesday does not undo your start.

When the new year feels heavy

Dai and colleagues only studied moments that felt neutral or good. They write that a hard moment, like a divorce or a death, may not give the same push. If the new year mostly reminds you of what went wrong, you can also start in a normal week in February.

If it has felt heavy for a long time, or nothing seems to matter anymore, talk to your doctor or someone you trust. The helplines are at the bottom of this page.

In the No Rush app

The app gives you one step at a time, and you can begin on any day. Every step you plan comes with the question When, and where?, with an example like after dinner, at home.

No Rush app

An iPhone app for people who feel stuck. It sets out one small next step at a time and tells you why that one. It is not therapy.

Sign up free Take the test For iPhone. Coming soon to the App Store. The first seven days are free in the app. After that, you choose whether to subscribe. Sign up now and the app stays free for you, for life.

Sources

Dai, Milkman & Riis (2014). The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior. Management Science, 60(10), 2563-2582. doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901
Verplanken & Roy (2016). Empowering interventions to promote sustainable lifestyles: Testing the habit discontinuity hypothesis in a field experiment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 45, 127-134. doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.11.008
Sheeran, Listrom & Gollwitzer (2025). The when and how of planning: Meta-analysis of the scope and components of implementation intentions in 642 tests. European Review of Social Psychology, 36(1), 162-194. doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2024.2334563
Lally, van Jaarsveld, Potts & Wardle (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998-1009. doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674