The power of the labeled fresh start was impressive. The postcards that encouraged employees to begin saving after their next birthday or at the start of spring were 20 to 30 percent more effective than the “ordinary” mailings that allowed people to begin saving at a more arbitrary future date. By reminding people of an upcoming fresh start, we were able to make the same opportunity for behavior change more appealing. These findings show that it may be possible to boost a wide range of goal-directed behaviors if we just get the timing of our invitations right—from enrolling in online classes
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