Effort: Medium
What to notice
Start a new plan at a chosen landmark while preserving prior work.
Where it fits
- Fits
- Users returning to interrupted learning or creation.
- Use it when
- When history can remain intact and plans can change on the user’s terms.
- Avoid it when
- When calendar boundaries would be used to force participation.
How to build it
- Show prior progress and interruption without judgment.
- Offer a feasible small goal for the next period.
- Keep accumulated history separate from the new plan.
Measure
- Main metric
- Share of eligible returners maintaining action over a defined follow-up
- Guardrail
- Lost history and renewed dropout after feeling judged
- How to measure
- Allocate comparison groups before exposure and use equal follow-up and eligibility. Track Share of eligible returners maintaining action over a defined follow-up alongside Lost history and renewed dropout after feeling judged.
When it backfires
Do not erase history at month boundaries or charge for restarting.
Alternatives
Theory behind it
Temporal landmarks
A new week or month can provide an occasion to start a goal.
Limited evidence
Mastery-oriented goals
The same task can emphasize outperforming others or developing competence.
Practitioner framework
Evidence limits: An editorial web application; conversion effects on this interface are unmeasured. This is an educational synthesis, not evidence that all rankings harm. Do not confine experienced users to easy tasks.