A calendar lying on autumn leaves
Many people promise themselves a fresh start on January 1. But the psychology of habits offers arguments for a different timeline: September and October can be an easier moment to change something in your life than the period right after the winter holidays. The point is not that winter is bad and autumn is perfect. Plenty of people feel low in autumn, too. Rather, autumn combines several conditions that make starting easier: a sense of a new chapter, a routine that is already being rebuilt, a few ordinary months ahead, and no holiday chaos.
What you need to know
- Research by behavioral scientist Katy Milkman and colleagues found that people are more likely to pursue goals after “fresh start” milestones. These include January 1, but also the start of a week, month or school year, or a birthday.
- The popular claim that a habit forms in 21 days is a myth. According to a 2024 review of studies mentioned in the source, the median time was 59–66 days, and individual results ranged from a few days to almost a year.
- Starting in September or early October leaves roughly two to three months of ordinary life before the New Year holidays. January 1 can then serve as a first checkpoint rather than a starting line.
September works like a second New Year
Psychologists call this the fresh-start effect. People divide their lives into chapters: before and after a birthday, the old job and the new one, last year and this year. Such boundaries help separate who we are today from the version of ourselves who procrastinated and skipped workouts. Behavioral researcher Katy Milkman and her colleagues found that people take up their goals more often after such milestones. The milestone does not have to be January 1: the start of a week, a month, a school year or a birthday works as well.
The source notes that for many people in Russia, where it was published, September 1 marked the beginning of a big new cycle for years: a new grade, a new timetable, new subjects and new teachers. That is why, even in adulthood, early autumn often feels like the start of a new season. January 1 tells the brain that a new calendar year has begun. September, the source argues, sends a more useful signal: summer is over, and the working season is starting.
Autumn reshapes daily routines anyway
Habits depend heavily on context. You come home from work, change your clothes and lie down on the sofa. After a while, no decision is needed, because one action automatically triggers the next. According to the source, this is why changing a habit is hard. The problem is not weak willpower. The same cues that trigger the old behavior remain all around you.
After summer, many of these cues change on their own. Vacations end, children go back to school, people start waking up to an alarm again, work schedules become regular, and there are fewer trips and spontaneous plans. It is easier to fit something new into a routine that is already being rebuilt. For example, suppose that from September you leave the house at 8 a.m. every day. A rule such as “after work, I walk for half an hour” is then more likely to stick than if you tried to introduce it in the middle of a vacation.
A new habit faces the test of ordinary weekdays right away
A January start has a less obvious problem: people try to begin an ordinary new life under very unusual conditions. On New Year’s Eve, someone vows to eat well, go to bed early and exercise every day. Then come several days of guests, festive meals, TV series and waking up at noon. Russia’s consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor notes that during the long New Year holidays in Russia, people’s sleep, eating habits and physical activity are often disrupted. The Russian Ministry of Health also writes that after the holidays many people have to readjust to a working-week sleep schedule.
In autumn, it is the other way around. If you decide to run in the evenings, you immediately see whether that is realistic after an actual working day. If you decide to cook at home, you try it during a normal working week. The source argues that a habit that survives a September Monday with traffic, work and household chores has passed a far more honest test than a perfect morning workout on January 2, when there is nowhere to rush.
There is enough time before the holidays to lock in a habit
The popular figure that “a habit forms in 21 days” is a myth. In a 2024 review of studies mentioned in the source, the median, or typical, time was 59–66 days. The spread was huge, however. For some people and behaviors it took a few days, and for others almost a year.
Now look at the calendar. If you start in September or early October, you have roughly two to three months of ordinary life before the New Year holidays. Instead of a vague “next year I’ll get into sports,” you get a concrete “until New Year, I go to the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” The New Year then becomes a first checkpoint rather than a starting point. By December, you can already see how many books you have read or how your sleep schedule has changed.
A man running in a park among autumn trees in the evening
In autumn, it is easier to pick one goal instead of ten
The “new year, new me” slogan usually turns into a long list: lose weight, start running, quit sugar, learn a language, earn more, go to bed at 11 p.m. and spend less time on the phone. Each item requires a change in behavior, and together they require rebuilding half of your life. According to the source, expert advice points in the opposite direction: set realistic goals and choose one or two tasks rather than everything at once.
In autumn, there is almost none of that pressure. Nobody expects a person to become an athlete, a polyglot and a 5 a.m. meditator all at once on September 1. That makes it easier to commit to just one thing, such as walking after work. Once that becomes a habit, you can add the next one.
New Year still works, but as a checkpoint
January 1 remains a strong reference point. The fresh-start effect is real, and wanting to change something after the holidays is not self-deception. The source argues that the mistake is giving a single date too much weight. A new chapter can just as well begin on October 1, on a Monday, on a birthday or after a vacation.
Autumn simply happens to bring together four favorable conditions: the feeling of a new chapter, a reshuffled routine, a few calm months ahead and no holiday rush. So it may be more sensible to flip the usual approach: start in autumn and review the results by the New Year. If it did not work out, that is useful to know too. You can adjust your first attempt with about two months to spare.
Note: the case for autumn is the source author’s argument built on habit research. The source does not cite any study that directly compares habit changes started in autumn with those started on January 1.
