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As you might imagine, data show that the number of people signing up for gym memberships and setting goals spikes on January 1st of each year. But these behaviors also surge on the 1st of <\/span>every<\/span><\/i> month, on birthdays, on the days the seasons change, and even on seemingly random national holidays. <\/span><\/p>\n Setting goals around certain dates is nothing new. Humans have basically been doing that as long as calendars have existed. But in the last couple years, research has emerged that backs the motivating power of what are called \u201ctemporal landmarks\u201d \u2014 certain dates that naturally inspire us to turn over a new leaf. <\/span><\/p>\n We can use these temporal landmarks to our advantage, and give ourselves an extra boost of motivation that may have otherwise been hard to come by. Below I take you through what the research says on why these landmarks are effective, and then offer a few tips on making the most of them so you can more readily achieve the goals that have long been nagging you.<\/span><\/p>\n Researchers Hengchen Dai, Katherine L. Milkman, and Jason Riis<\/span><\/a> (hereafter referred to as \u201cDMR\u201d), describe temporal landmarks as dates that have a significance that demarcates them from our \u201cordinary\u201d days, and which separate a past period of time from the present\/future one. They draw a boundary between one era in our lives and another, creating new epochs and new cycles in our months\/years.<\/span><\/p>\n Temporal landmarks fall into two primary categories:<\/span><\/p>\n Social \u2014 those that everyone shares:<\/strong> Personal \u2014 those that are unique to you:<\/b> As you can see, the opportunities for temporal landmarks in your life are many. Next, we\u2019ll talk about why making a change in your life in conjunction with these dates is so effective.<\/span><\/p>\n Motivation isn\u2019t everything when it comes to getting things done and taking action on our goals and responsibilities. But isn\u2019t it sure nice when we <\/span>are<\/span><\/i> truly motivated, and don\u2019t have to grit our teeth through every little task? <\/span><\/p>\n While motivation isn\u2019t something entirely within our control, it\u2019s influenced by a number of situational factors that are. From your environment and surroundings, to your diet and sleep habits, there are certain behaviors and settings that will make you more or less motivated to work on your goals. In light of that truth, we ought to tweak as many of the things within our control as possible, in order to create situations and environments that will best facilitate our progress. <\/span><\/p>\n Temporal landmarks fall into that category and can help set us up for success. While it\u2019s easy to lampoon people who proclaim \u201cNew year, new me!\u201d or \u201cMy diet starts Monday!\u201d studies show that it <\/span>is<\/span><\/i> actually motivating and effective to begin a new habit around a temporal landmark. DMR posit two main ideas as to why:<\/span><\/p>\n 1. Allows us to \u201cclose the books\u201d and start fresh. <\/b>Just as businesses close the books at the end of a fiscal year and move beyond those failures or successes, so can a temporal landmark close the book on a certain season of life and open what DMR call \u201cnew mental accounting periods.\u201d As Daniel Pink writes in <\/span>When<\/span><\/i><\/a>, \u201cThis new period offers a chance to start again by relegating our old selves to the past. It disconnects us from the past self\u2019s mistakes and imperfections, and leaves us confident about our new, superior selves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n People mark their lives into distinct periods. We see our selves from past eras (our college years, our 20s, the years we lived in a different state, etc.) as being<\/span> truly separate<\/span><\/i> selves, and we compare those previous selves to our current self. Are we wiser? Healthier? Happier? When we take advantage of temporal landmarks, we allow our brains to start fresh and put a past self \u2014 one we weren\u2019t necessarily happy with \u2014 into the history books. We\u2019re more motivated to improve things if we believe we\u2019re truly starting with a clean slate: \u201cThe old me never budgeted, but beginning on my birthday, I\u2019m a budgeter from here on out. A new me!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n DMR write: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cwhen temporal landmarks psychologically disconnect us from our inferior, past self and make us feel superior, we will be motivated to behave better than we have in the past and strive with enhanced fervor to achieve our aspirations.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n I\u2019d argue that it goes beyond just disconnecting from failures, but also successes too. Temporal landmarks can remind us that just because some things went well last year (or last week), doesn\u2019t mean they will this year (or this week). New threats and obstacles may emerge, and we have to constantly work at it and never cease to improve ourselves. Temporal landmarks can keep us grounded in the knowledge that plateauing is sometimes just as dangerous as falling. <\/span><\/p>\n Overall, temporal landmarks provide a nice clean launching pad for taking a new direction. <\/span><\/p>\n 2. Allows us to see the big picture.<\/b> When we see a temporal landmark coming up on the calendar, we\u2019ll naturally pause and think about the big picture \u2014 whether of our life or our business. Think about it; you flip the page on the calendar to your birthday month, and doesn\u2019t your brain automatically go, \u201cHuh, I\u2019m about to be one year older. What have I accomplished in the last year? In my life?\u201d DMR\u2019s research confirms that when we approach a landmark we tend to think of our life as a whole set of accomplishments rather than just what\u2019s contained within our workaday weeks and months. This happens on a smaller level too. On the 1st of a new month, or the beginning of a new season, or even just the start of a new week, you\u2019ll naturally tend to reflect on the period of time that has just been wrapped up, and what lies ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n A special date on the calendar (or yes, even just a Monday) can help you step outside the endless stream of day-to-day minutia and take a higher, more expansive view of your past and future.<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to staying on track in reaching a goal, you know you can use all the help you can get. Temporal landmarks are another tool in your arsenal that can push you in the right direction. <\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s how to use them most effectively:<\/span><\/p>\n Give temporal landmarks power.<\/b> In order for temporal landmarks to be useful, you have to intentionally give them power. If you let another birthday slip by (or even another Monday!) without reflecting on the past and thinking about how you\u2019d like to better yourself moving forward, you\u2019re wasting a good opportunity. <\/span><\/p>\n Start a new goal around a temporal landmark.<\/b> When you\u2019re about to start something (or quit something), know that temporal landmarks offer better starting points than random days. Want to start journaling? It\u2019s probably worth starting on February 1st rather than on January 29th. Hoping to give up smoking? Start on Monday rather than the middle of the week. <\/span><\/p>\n By starting something on a day that is already imbued with even a bit<\/em> of extra significance and meaning, your brain is proven be more motivated to work towards your goals. <\/span><\/p>\n Re-start your commitment to a goal around a temporal landmark.<\/b> While temporal landmarks initially boost your motivation to pursue your goals, they\u2019re not a magic panacea in achieving them. Your motivation will still start to flag the farther you get from your landmark date. Yet this natural phenomenon need not cause you to despair or flagellate yourself. As DMR note, even though motivation wanes as the distance between you and the temporal landmark waxes, <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cfleeting fresh start feelings following temporal landmarks can [still] potentially be valuable . . . the abundance of fresh start opportunities throughout the year offers repeated chances for people to attempt positive self-change, so even if they initially fail, they may subsequently succeed.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n If you get off track as you move away from one temporal landmark, accept the natural ebb and flow of motivation, and use a subsequent landmark to get back on it. Goal achievement is often a cycle where you start and re-start something multiple times, and eventually, it sticks.<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, the key here is not to wait too long for another temporal landmark to come around. If on January 30th you\u2019ve already failed in your new year\u2019s exercise goal, don\u2019t wait until the next January 1 to get back on the wagon. Re-up on the 1st of February and get back at it.<\/span><\/p>\n Use temporal landmarks to knock out \u201cone-shot\u201d goals.<\/b> Since motivation spikes right after a temporal landmark, and then inevitably declines from there, DMR suggest that they\u2019re particularly useful for taking care of more short-term, turnkey goals, rather than those that will require multiple steps and take a longer period of time. As they explain, \u201ctransient increases in motivation may be sufficient to help people fulfill important one-shot goals such as receiving a medical test or signing up for a 401(k) account with monthly payroll deductions.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n So if there\u2019s something on your to-do list that you can knock off with a single action, use the boost of motivation you get from a temporal landmark to get it done.<\/span><\/p>\n Use bigger landmarks (or the anticipation of a bigger landmark) to set bigger goals. <\/b>Since you\u2019ll naturally receive an even bigger boost of motivation from bigger temporal landmarks like decade birthdays (20, 30, 40, 50) and the 5- and 10-year anniversaries of important events, use these milestones to set grander goals. <\/span><\/p>\n You may get the biggest boost, though, by setting goals the year <\/span>before<\/span><\/i> those big landmark dates come around. For example, there may be things you absolutely want to accomplish before you turn 30 or 40 or 50, and you can use your 29th, 39th, or 49th birthday as a temporal landmark for setting those goals. You\u2019ll probably feel a natural rush of motivation around these threshold dates anyway — as Pink discusses in Brett’s podcast interview with him<\/a>, the most common age of first-time marathon runners is 29 (they\u2019re in fact twice as likely to run one as either 28-year-olds or 30-year-olds) — so ride that wave and set some audacious goals for yourself. <\/span><\/p>\n Use landmark anniversaries to stay motivated. <\/b>In <\/span>When<\/span><\/i><\/a>, Pink really only mentions the idea of <\/span>starting<\/span><\/i> something on a temporal landmark in order to be more naturally motivated. Just as important, in my opinion, is finding ways to use the anniversaries of those landmarks to <\/span>stay<\/span><\/i> motivated. <\/span><\/p>\n Think about the recovering alcoholic who clings to sobriety by measuring the passing of time since quitting. My mom\u2019s husband, Andy, fell into this category, and told me that the idea of getting a new coin every month (at the beginning of recovery) or every year (a little later on) helped propel him to keep going. He remembers the date he became sober, and that date marked a turning point. In fact, he said that remembering the date is so important that folks in AA say if you <\/span>don\u2019t<\/span><\/i> remember it, you\u2019ll lapse. So on anniversaries, Andy is able to reflect on how his life has changed, and it motivates him all the more to stay on the path. (Congrats on 10 years this coming May, Andy!)<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting that remembering a <\/span>specific<\/span><\/i> date in time is far more meaningful and motivating, as Andy noted above (and which DMR confirm in their research paper). Knowing you quit something on October 1 offers a better sticking point than knowing you quit sometime last fall. <\/span><\/p>\n So not only should you take advantage of starting\/quitting things on temporal landmarks, but use those landmarks to stay motivated by celebrating anniversaries (even if they\u2019re tiny \u2014 24-hour or one-week snippets of time are important milestones when the barrier to success feels especially high). <\/span><\/p>\n Buy a physical calendar.<\/b> What better way to assist in your efforts than by using a tangible item to help keep you on track? Not only can you physically turn the pages on a calendar, thereby relegating the previous month(s) to the past, but you can also visually see upcoming landmarks and important anniversaries. A physical calendar also allows you to use the insanely simple, but also highly useful, <\/span>chain method of habit formation<\/span><\/a>. Your only job, as Jerry Seinfeld says, is not related to the habit itself \u2013 which can be hard to mentally tackle \u2014 but simply to not break the chain.<\/span><\/p>\n For more insight on temporal landmarks, as well as how to use other aspects of timing to your advantage, listen to Brett’s interview with Daniel Pink:<\/em><\/p>\nTypes of Temporal Landmarks<\/h3>\n
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Why Temporal Landmarks Work in Helping You Achieve Your Goals<\/h3>\n
How to Use Temporal Landmarks to Accomplish Your Goals<\/h3>\n