Research paper
Dai H, Milkman KL, Riis J. The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior. Management Science. 2014;60(10):2563-2582. doi:10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901
Why we cite it
The paper that named the “fresh start effect” — the finding that temporal landmarks (new week, month, year, semester, birthday, holiday) increase aspirational behavior — from archival field data (N = 11,912 and N = 43,012 in the largest analyses). Three archival field studies showed increases in Google searches for “diet,” gym visits, and goal commitment contracts following temporal landmarks. The proposed dual mechanism: temporal landmarks (a) create psychological “new periods” that relegate past imperfections to a previous self and (b) interrupt day-to-day thinking and promote a big-picture view of life, both increasing motivation.
These are archival studies of goal initiation: none follows anyone to see whether what they started lasted.