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A Clean Slate
A 34-minute podcast episode on using dates that feel like new beginnings to start a goal
Why it’s worth your time
For a work goal that has stalled, this episode is a nudge to choose when you restart instead of waiting for January. Katy Milkman mixes the story of a life-changing New Year's resolution with behavioral science and closes with ways to use dates that feel like new beginnings on purpose.
Using a new beginning to restart a goal
- Listen to the episode.
It opens with a religious rite on a riverbank, then comes Ray Zahab's New Year's resolution. Next it turns to money and mental accounting with Richard Thaler and John Beshears. Milkman's tips for using these dates come last.
- Book your restart on a new beginning.
Pick one work goal that has stalled. Choose a date in the next few weeks that feels like a beginning, such as the first of a month, the Monday after a big deadline or the start of a quarter, and put its first small step on your calendar for that day, named as a restart.
Good moments for this: at the start of a quarterafter a goal has stalledon a commute
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Making it work for you
Every workplace is different. Here’s what to think about before you start, and what might get in the way.
Things to think about
A new quarter, a first week with a new manager, the week after a review or coming back from leave can all feel like a chapter turning.
Questions people ask
What is the Choiceology episode A Clean Slate about?
An episode of Choiceology, Katy Milkman's podcast from Charles Schwab, on the habit of dividing life into chapters around dates like New Year's, birthdays and anniversaries, and how to use those moments to make better choices. The guests are Ray Zahab, Richard Thaler and John Beshears.
What are temporal landmarks?
Dates that mark a new chapter, such as a new year, a birthday, an anniversary or a change of season. In this episode they're the moments people use to reset goals, and Milkman offers tips on using them deliberately.
How do I restart a goal at work after it stalls?
Pick a date that feels like a beginning, make the first step small enough to finish that day, and book it.
What it says, and how it holds up
The instinct behind a New Year's resolution may be worth taking seriously. This Choiceology episode, first aired in January 2019 and rebroadcast for New Year 2022, looks at the habit of carving a life into chapters around significant dates. Dates like these may be arbitrary, the episode allows, and they can still give a goal a head start.
Katy Milkman, the host, builds it from a story and some research. Ray Zahab, author of Running For My Life, made a resolution to live more healthily that led to adventures around the world. Then the episode turns to a related habit, splitting money into mental accounts, with Nobel laureate Richard Thaler on why people do it and John Beshears of Harvard Business School on a study of how shoppers value grocery coupons. If you came for goals, the money stretch can feel like a detour, though Milkman's closing tips cover both landmarks and personal budgets. The show is produced by Charles Schwab and carries its disclosures.
If you've restarted the same goal at three new years running, the start date probably isn't what's stopping you. That's a moment to ask whether you still want the goal, or what in your week keeps crowding it out, before picking another date.
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Picked by Truest and described in our own words. The original belongs to its creator. Last updated October 9, 2026. We sell a career membership; where that’s relevant above, we say so.