Letter-writing prompts

A Letter to Your Future Self

A letter to your future self is a note you write today and read again one, five or ten years from now. You tell the person you will become what your days look like right now: what you worry about, what you hope for, what made you laugh this week, and what you are not sure about yet.

Many people write one at a turning point, like a birthday, a move, a new job or the start of a new year. Others write one on an ordinary Tuesday, simply to remember what an ordinary Tuesday felt like. When you open the letter later, it can help you notice how much has changed and what has stayed the same.

This letter is only for you. You never have to show it to anyone, and you can be as honest, plain or unfinished as you like.

How to write it

  1. Choose how far ahead you are writing: one year, five years or ten years.
  2. Pick a date to open the letter and write it on the envelope or at the top of the page.
  3. Start with today's date and a few details about where you are sitting and what your life looks like right now.
  4. Use the prompts below to write about your hopes, worries and small everyday moments, in whatever order feels natural.
  5. Close with a few words of kindness to your future self, then seal the letter or save it somewhere you will find it.
  6. Set a reminder for your opening date so the letter does not get lost.

Prompts and sentence starters

  1. Right now, a normal day for me looks like...

  2. What is taking up most of your thoughts this month?

  3. Something I am hoping will be different by the time you read this is...

  4. What do you hope you have stopped worrying about?

  5. A small thing that made me happy this week was...

  6. Who are the people you spend the most time with right now, and what do you want to remember about them?

  7. I am still figuring out...

  8. What is one habit or dream you hope you have held on to?

  9. If things turned out differently than I planned, I want you to know...

  10. What question do you want your future self to be able to answer?

  11. The thing I am proudest of right now is...

  12. When you read this, I hope you feel...