There is still much debate surrounding whether starting a new habit on a Monday is the best course of action.
As humans, whenever we set out with a new goal in mind we tend to do so with a specific time in mind. Sometimes that’s the New Year, like New Year’s resolutions, and often it’s specific days like a Monday, a birthday, or the changing of the clocks.
Why are we starting a new habit on a Monday?
Starting a new habit is a daunting task largely because the premise is so incredibly simple. If you want to drink three liters of water a day, just do it. If you want to work out more, just do it. Sadly, it’s not that simple.
Cementing a new habit in your mind first requires you to break away from programming that has been in place for weeks, months, and sometimes even years. It’s no easy task, hence why less than 10% of people stick to their goals.
One of the first steps in changing your life is choosing a point to change it from. If you Google an answer you’ll be met with a list of contradictory statements, with some suggesting you should start it immediately and others suggesting to wait until your next Monday.
Daniel H. Pink laid out a few reasons to start on a Monday in his 2017 book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. Within the book’s pages, Pink shed light on “temporal landmarks” that serve to split up our lives into distinct chapters. This is why it makes sense to start on a Monday.
“A social landmark is one that everyone shares: Mondays, the beginning of a new month, national holidays,” he wrote. “A personal landmark is unique to the individual: birthdays, anniversaries, job changes.”
Such landmarks allow habit hopefuls to enact the fresh start effect, which offers a sort of new beginning from the previous week. A new you, if you please.
You’re also more likely to stick to your goals
Starting your new habit at the beginning of the week also means you are more likely to stick to it, as reported by some experts. In their 2015 study in Psychological Science, scientists conducted numerous tests on the idea of habit forming on a Monday.
They concluded that Mondays were, in fact, the ultimate day for goal starting.
The authors said. “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.”
