How to Write a Letter to Yourself to Open One Year From Now

A letter to yourself one year from now is a short letter you write today and read on the same date next year. One year is the most popular distance for a reason: long enough for real change, short enough that you still remember the person who wrote it.

Here is what to write, how to make sure you actually read it in a year, and an example.

Why one year is a good distance

A year covers every season of your life once: work, holidays, birthdays, the hard months and the easy ones. In that time most people change jobs, move, start or end something, or simply see things differently. When the letter arrives, the gap between who wrote it and who reads it is big enough to be interesting and small enough to be personal.

Five or ten years works for bigger questions. One year works for a check-in.

What should you write in a letter to yourself one year from now?

Write about these five things, in any order. A few sentences each is enough.

1. A snapshot of today. Where you live, what a normal day looks like, what you do on Sunday mornings. Small details are what make the letter worth reading.
2. What you are working on. At work, at home, in your head. What you hope will be different by next year.
3. The people in your life. Who you see most, who you miss, who you are worried about.
4. Two or three predictions. Will you still live there? Will the project be done? Predictions are the most fun part to read later, especially the wrong ones.
5. Questions for your future self. Did you do the thing? Was the worry worth it? Are you happy?

If you need more ideas, use our 50 prompts for a letter to your future self.

When should you write it?

Any day works, but a date that already means something makes the letter easier to write and nicer to receive:

• New Year. The most common choice. Read last year's letter, then write the next one. See how to write a New Year letter.
• Your birthday. A letter from one age to the next.
• The start of something. A new job, a move, a new school year, the first week of a habit.
• An anniversary. Of a relationship, a recovery, a loss, or a big decision.

How do you make sure you read it in a year?

Most letters to yourself fail in one of two ways: you open them early, or you forget they exist. There are two reliable fixes.

On paper: seal the letter in an envelope, write "Do not open until" and the date on the front, put it somewhere you won't move for a year, and set a calendar reminder for the day.

Online: write it here and choose the day it arrives. It is delivered to your inbox on that date and stays sealed until then, so you can't read it early and you can't lose it.

An example letter to yourself one year from now

Dear me,

It's a Sunday in March and I'm writing this on the balcony because the flat is too warm. I've been at the new job for six weeks. I like the people. I don't like the commute.

Things I'm working on: running twice a week (currently once), saving for the trip to Lisbon, being less short with Dad on the phone.

Predictions: I'll still be at this job. We'll have gone to Lisbon. I'll have given up on the running. Prove me wrong.

Questions: Did the job turn out to be the right move? Are you still talking to Jess every week? Are you sleeping better?

Me, a year ago

What to do when the letter arrives

Read it somewhere quiet. Notice what changed and what didn't, check your predictions, and answer your own questions, out loud or on paper. Then write the next one for a year from that day.