New Year Letter to Yourself: 50 Prompts to Look Back and Look Ahead

A New Year letter to yourself is easier to write when you are not staring at an empty page. The prompts below are grouped by the parts of a good letter: looking back, where you are now, the year ahead, a note for a hard day, and a few questions for the person who will read it.

You don't need to answer all fifty. Read through them and pick five to eight that make you pause. Those are the ones worth writing about.

How to use these prompts

• Pick one or two prompts from each section, so the letter covers the past, the present and the future.
• Answer in full sentences, the way you would talk to a close friend. You are writing a letter, not filling in a form.
• Stop when you have said what matters. A short letter you finish is better than a long one you don't.

Looking back on the year

1. What happened this year that you didn't see coming?
2. What are you proudest of, even if nobody else noticed?
3. What was the best day of the year? Describe it.
4. What did you learn the hard way?
5. Who showed up for you when it mattered?
6. What did you stop doing, and are you glad you did?
7. What took more of your time than it deserved?
8. What would you tell the version of you from last January?
9. What surprised you about yourself?
10. What do you want to remember from this year that you might otherwise forget?

Who you are right now

11. Where are you as you write this? Describe the room.
12. What does an ordinary weekday look like for you?
13. What are you worried about at the moment?
14. What is making you happy these days?
15. Who are the people you talk to most?
16. What are you reading, watching or listening to?
17. What small thing do you look forward to every week?
18. What question can't you answer yet?
19. How do you feel about your work or studies right now?
20. What do you believe now that you might not believe in a year?

What you hope for in the year ahead

21. What would make next year a good year, honestly?
22. What do you want to try for the first time?
23. Which habit do you hope to have by next December?
24. Who do you want to see more often?
25. What do you want to stop worrying about?
26. Where do you hope to be living, and how?
27. What would you like to have finished?
28. What are you going to say no to?
29. How do you want to feel on an ordinary day?
30. If the year only goes half to plan, what do you hope still happens?

For a hard day

Years rarely go exactly as planned. These prompts are for the version of you who opens the letter after a difficult few months.

31. What do you want to hear if the year turns out to be hard?
32. What has helped you through hard times before?
33. Who can you call?
34. What are you good at that a bad week makes you forget?
35. What small thing always makes a bad day a little better?
36. What can you forgive yourself for in advance?
37. What would you say to a friend in the same situation?
38. What was hard this year and turned out fine?
39. What do you know about yourself that is still true on a bad day?
40. What permission do you want to give yourself?

Questions for your future self

A few questions at the end turn the letter into a conversation. You will enjoy answering them when it arrives.

41. Did you do the thing you keep talking about?
42. Are you still in touch with the people who matter to you now?
43. What changed that you didn't expect?
44. Was the thing I'm worried about worth the worry?
45. What would you tell me now, if you could?
46. Do you still want the same things?
47. What is the best thing that happened since I wrote this?
48. Which of these hopes came true?
49. What are you looking forward to now?
50. Are you going to write another one?

How to turn the prompts into a letter

Once you have picked your prompts, a simple order works well:

1. Start with the date and where you are.
2. Write a few lines about the year that is ending.
3. Describe your life right now, with small details.
4. Say what you hope for, as hopes rather than resolutions.
5. Leave a short note for a hard day.
6. End with one or two questions, and sign it.

For a step-by-step guide and a full example, read How to Write a New Year Letter to Your Future Self.

When should you open a New Year letter?

Two dates work well for a New Year letter. A check-in halfway through the year arrives while there is still time to change course. Next New Year's Day closes the loop: you read last year's letter, then write the next one.

You can write your New Year letter here and choose the day it arrives. It stays sealed until then.