Harness the Power of Fresh Starts to Build New Routines

You don’t need to wait for your New Year’s resolution to kick off your next big habit. Any shift—a life event, a new job, even a Monday—can serve as a clean slate, giving your brain permission to turn a blank page. When that key moment arrives, it crackles with possibility.

Athletes call it the “fresh-sheet effect.” A spilled lane and new set of swim goggles supply a sense of urgency: today begins a new training block. Therapists see it in families who move to a new house and suddenly find it easier to kick soda habits, because the cues of the old neighborhood have vanished. When your environment changes, even subtly, you can rewrite your routine.

Six years ago I swapped desktops at work, and overnight I built a one-page writing habit. I placed a sticky note on my new monitor that read “Write” and hit one sentence before my morning coffee. If I’d waited a week, I’d likely have claimed I wasn’t “ready.” But in that glimmering window of novelty, I leapt.

Clean slates require vigilance. Don’t let the moment drift. Make it as concrete as possible—new sticky notes, a fresh folder, the first journal page. That first small action unravels old patterns and stitches in new ones. It’s enough to begin, but only for now.

In behavior science this relates to change-point theory: transitions heighten our awareness and reduce friction between past and future behaviors. Seize that surge of willpower by launching your habit at a clean slate, then carry it forward.

Decide on a fresh start—new job, new month, a move—and mark it on your calendar. Prepare the smallest step of your habit in advance and do it within 24 hours: one push-up, one email, one page. Jot down the date and smile at your first small victory. It’s enough to begin. Give it a try today.