There’s been some fascinating research showing that our brains don’t experience time as one long, continuous stream. Instead, we organize our lives into chapters.
And that makes a lot of sense to me.
Think about it. You don’t remember your life as a continuous movie. You remember chapters.
The chapter where you became a parent.
The one where you quit something that was holding you back.
The chapter marked by a loss.
A move. A transaction. A fresh start you didn’t even realize was happening at the time.
Our minds use certain dates—birthdays, New Year’s Day, even Mondays—as what researchers call temporal landmarks. Think of them as psychological chapter breaks. Moments where we close one section of the book and turn the page.
When we hit those landmarks, something interesting happens. We mentally separate our “past self” from our “current self.” The old me did that. The new me is different. And that separation makes change feel more possible.
Research led by Katy Milkman calls this the Fresh Start Effect. These fresh starts create a clean psychological slate—and the data backs it up. People are significantly more likely to take goal-directed action right after a chapter break. (One study found we’re about 33% more likely to exercise at the start of a new week.)
Those chapter breaks can be calendar-based—Mondays, the first of the month—or deeply personal: a wedding, a move, a decision that quietly changes everything.
In her book How to Change, Dr. Milkman suggests we use these moments intentionally. Launch new habits around fresh starts. Pair things you want to do with things you need to do—like only listening to your favorite audiobook while exercising. She calls it “Mary Poppins thinking.” Spoonful of sugar, meet medicine.
And because motivation fades (it always does), she recommends something simple but powerful: if-then plans.
If it’s Monday, then I do this.
If I walk into the office, then I start there.
Tie habits to environments so they don’t rely on willpower alone.
So as we step into 2026, I’ve been thinking about my own chapter breaks. What I want to keep. What I want to change. What I want to do more of—intentionally.
New year. New chapter.