World

Wed Jan 7

A fresh start feels powerful – until motivation fades. Here’s how to set work goals that stick

Written by Gayani Gunasekera, Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Sessional Academic, Work and Organisational Studies, University of Sydney

Every January, offices quietly reset. New planners appear on desks. Fresh notebooks open in meetings. To-do lists look neater, ambitions clearer. There is a shared sense that this year, things will be different.

And yet, by February, many of those planners sit half-used. The motivation that felt so real just weeks earlier fades. This pattern is often blamed on a lack of discipline or willpower. But psychology tells a more generous and useful story.

Fresh starts can help us begin, but they often don’t help us persist. Here’s why – and what research can tell us about setting work goals that actually stick.

Why fresh starts feel so powerful

The start of a new year acts as what psychologists call a “temporal landmark ^[1]” – a moment that separates our “old” selves from the people we hope to become.

Behavioural science research ^[2] has found landmarks such as New Year’s Day create a “fresh start effect”: people feel more motivated to pursue aspirational goals simply because a new chapter seems to be opening.

The start of a new year can feel energising. Karola G/Pexels ^[3]

Researchers propose the appeal lies not in the new diary or planner itself, but in what it symbolises – a clean slate, untangled from last year’s unfinished tasks and perceived failures. A blank page makes it easier to believe progress will be smoother this time.

After the social, cognitive and emotional overload of December ^[4] – crowded calendars, constant decisions, accumulated fatigue – that promise of a blank page can be deeply comforting.

Writing goals into a new notebook can offer a brief sense that life can be reordered, intentions clarified and control gently restored.

Why motivation fades

The problem is not that fresh starts don’t work. It’s that we often mistake the emotional lift of beginning something new for motivation that will last.

Self-determination theory ^[5], an established theory in motivation research, proposes an explanation for why enthusiasm drains quickly.

It suggests motivation is sustained when goals support three psychological needs: autonomy (feeling the goal is genuinely ours), competence (feeling capable of progress) and relatedness (feeling supported).

January goals often fail this test ^[6]. They are often shaped by social pressure (“I should be more productive”), vague aspiration (“be better at work”), or unrealistic scope (“I’ll overhaul everything at once”). When early effort doesn’t translate into visible progress, competence falters and motivation follows.

This helps explain why hesitation creeps in after the first blank page is filled, ambitious planning cycles stall, and abandoned gym memberships mirror workplace initiatives. It isn’t poor character; it’s that enthusiasm was doing too much of the work.

As motivational researcher Richard Koestner has argued ^[7], goals pursued because we feel we ought to rarely sustain effort. Goals that feel self-endorsed and meaningful are more likely to endure once the initial excitement fades.

How to set goals that stick

Sustained follow-through depends on planning for the moment when motivation dips. At work, this means designing goals for psychological endurance, not peak January energy.

Ask not what success looks like when motivation is high, but what progress looks like in a busy, distracted week. Three shifts can help:

Assume motivation will fade and decide in advance what “continuing” looks like.

For example, instead of committing to a full project overhaul, identify the smallest meaningful step that still counts as progress. That could be a quick review, a strategic conversation or noting priorities for the week. Designing for low-energy moments ensures momentum survives early-year dips.

Goals aligned with personal values, rather than just external pressure, are often far more resilient – even when they’re part of performance reviews or team expectations. Motivation is stronger when you can find your own reason to care.

Ask yourself: how does this goal connect to my growth, sense of purpose or how I want to show up at work?

Woman at work on laptop writing in notebook

Set goals aligned with your own values – not just validation from others. Vitaly Gariev/Unsplash ^[8]

It helps to break intentions into small, concrete, repeatable actions so progress doesn’t depend on high motivation alone. Instead of aiming to “be more organised”, commit to reviewing your planner for ten minutes every Friday or noting one unfinished task before leaving.

Breaking goals into small “when … then” steps, also known as implementation intentions ^[9], makes follow-through easier.

Research ^[10] shows these concrete cues can reduce the need for in-the-moment motivation, a principle author James Clear popularised in the book Atomic Habits ^[11] as building systems that work even on low-energy days.

A more realistic approach

The urge to start fresh each January isn’t naïve. It reflects a deeply human need for renewal, coherence and hope. Blank pages matter – just not because they magically change behaviour.

Fresh starts can open the door to change. But lasting momentum depends on what we build after the novelty wears off. The real skill isn’t setting goals when motivation is high. It’s designing goals that survive the weeks when it isn’t.