Need a performance reset? Try the Fresh Start Effect!

The Fresh Start Effect shows that people are more likely to take positive action and change behaviours after temporal landmarks, like significant birthdays, or a move to a new city. While these happen irregularly, they are powerful drivers of new behaviour because they cause us to reflect, and commit to change. We can use this effect more regularly, by marking regular time intervals as opportunities for a performance reset. The secret is to create a ritual around this fresh start. For instance, on the first of every month, you might review your goals, set new intentions for the month, and write down any lessons learned from the previous month. Symbolically, you might even start a new notebook. Making a Fresh Start doesn’t have to be dictated by conventional milestones – we can create them any time we want and we can do this by ourselves or with our teams.