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YOURSELF · LETTERS TO MYSELF

A letter to myself, for a day I have not reached yet

A letter to myself is easy to put off and hard to forget once you have written one. You pick a date, write to the person you will be by then, and the letter stays locked until it arrives. This page covers the kinds, what to say, and five examples.

Start a letter to yourself

Open in one yearWrite →Open on my next birthdayWrite →Open when I finish the degreeWrite →Open on a hard dayWrite →Open in five yearsWrite →Open on my 30th birthdayWrite →

Each one opens a blank letter with the moment already on the envelope. No account needed.

An example to start from

Open in one year

Hey you,

It is January and you are writing this in a parking lot because the apartment is too loud. You just quit the job. You told your mom it was a pause. You are not sure.

Here is what I want to know a year from now. Did you eat lunch most days? Did you call Dani back? Is the plant still alive? Did you get brave, or just busy?

Whatever happened, I hope you were kind to the person writing this. They are doing their best on very little sleep.

Me at 27
AN EXAMPLE TO BORROW FROM
MAKE IT YOURS
Only yours
Only you can open it.
Change the date or delete it whenever you want.
We never read it, and it never goes public.
How privacy works
Someone writing in an open journal beside a cup of tea
Photo: Alina Vilchenko on Pexels

Why write a letter to yourself

You change more than you notice. A letter written today is a record of what you thought was true, what you were afraid of and what you hoped for. A year on, it is surprising how much of that has shifted.

It also gives you a place to say things you are not ready to say to anyone else. Nobody reads private letters here. Letters are encrypted when stored, and nobody at Open When reads them.

A letter to yourself is not quite a journal. A journal records the days. A letter picks one reader, the person you will be, and one date.

Good times to write one: the week before a move, the day you start something new, the night after something ends, or an ordinary Tuesday when you notice you are happy and want to keep proof.

EXAMPLE LETTERS

Letters to borrow from

We wrote these to show what a letter like this can sound like. Borrow a line, then make it yours: the small, true details are what make it land.

Open on my 30th birthday

Dear thirty,

I bet you have a spreadsheet for this birthday. I am twenty-five and I have a list of things I think you will have done by now. I will spare you the list. Mostly it says: own a couch, stop apologizing in emails, learn to cook one thing well.

If none of that happened, fine. The couch is overrated.

Ask yourself one thing instead. Are you still laughing at the same jokes? If yes, you are okay.

Me at 25
AN EXAMPLE TO BORROW FROM
MAKE IT YOURS

Open on a hard day

Hi. It is a good day, so I can write this properly.

If you are reading it, today is not good. That is allowed. Here is what the good-day me knows: it ends. You have had worse and you got through it, even when you did not believe you would.

Do the small things first. Drink water. Step outside for five minutes. Text one person, even just a thumbs up. Then be bad at today for a while. You can rest. I am not asking you to fix anything.

Me on a good day
AN EXAMPLE TO BORROW FROM
MAKE IT YOURS

Open when I finish the degree

To the me with the diploma,

I am writing this in the library at 1:15 a.m. with a cold coffee and a stats exam in nine hours. I really do not think I will make it. I have thought that every semester.

If you are holding the degree, remember how tonight felt, because you have probably forgotten and you are telling people it was fine. It was not fine. It was hard and you kept going.

Go celebrate. Then sleep for a very long time.

Me in second year
AN EXAMPLE TO BORROW FROM
MAKE IT YOURS

Open in five years

Dear forty-six,

The kids are asleep and the dishwasher is making the noise again. I am forty-one and I wanted to ask you some things.

Is the divorce still the loudest thing in your head, or has it gone quiet? Are you still running in the mornings? Did you finally paint the hallway?

I do not need you to have it all worked out. I just hope you live somewhere you feel like yourself. If you do not, it is not too late to move.

Me at 41
AN EXAMPLE TO BORROW FROM
MAKE IT YOURS

Open on my next birthday

Hi, birthday me,

I am writing this on the train with a bag of chips and a surprising amount of hope. This year I am trying three things: running twice a week, calling my sister on Sundays, and saying no to the thing at work that eats my weekends. By the time you read this I want to know which one stuck. My bet is the sister one.

If all three flopped, buy yourself a cake anyway. You still get cake.

Me at 33
AN EXAMPLE TO BORROW FROM
MAKE IT YOURS

Kinds of letters to yourself

  • A letter for a date. In one year, on your next birthday, on your 30th. The easiest kind to start, because the date does half the thinking.
  • A letter for a milestone. When I finish the degree, when the baby turns one, when I hit the savings goal. Pick the date you expect to arrive and lock it for then.
  • A letter for a hard day. Write it on a good day and tell yourself what you would tell a friend. A hard day does not come with a date, so write an Open When letter, keep it for now, and decide yourself when the moment has come.
  • A letter to a past you. Writing to who you were at fifteen is different. There is nobody to send it to, so it belongs with unsent letters.
  • A letter with a plan. What you intend to do, by when, and how you will know.

Choosing the date

The date is the one thing the letter cannot do without. A few that work:

  • Your next birthday. Easy to remember, and a natural time to take stock.
  • One year from now. Long enough that you will have changed, short enough that you will remember writing it.
  • A date you are working toward. The end of a course, a due date, the day you move.
  • A date that makes you nervous. The anniversary of something, or the day a decision comes in. A letter waiting there can make the day feel less alone.

If you are not sure, pick one year from now. You can always write another letter for a different date.

What to put in a letter for yourself

Start with the date and where you are. Then add what a stranger would not know:

  • what is going on in your life right now, in plain facts
  • what you are worried about and what you are looking forward to
  • a few questions the future you can answer
  • one prediction, so you can check it later
  • one thing you want that person to do or remember

Write the way you talk. You are the only reader and nobody is grading it. If you are low, say so, and add one line kinder than you feel. A letter will not fix a heavy season. It can give you a small, steady place to put things down.

Open When never writes the letter for you. Prompts help you start, and the words stay yours. A new writing prompt arrives every Monday.

How to start a letter to self when the page is blank

Begin with Hey you, or Dear me, or just the date. Set a timer for ten minutes and keep the pen moving, even if it is only what you ate and what the weather is doing. The facts you put down now are the part you will not remember later.

Openers that work:

  • Right now I am sitting in...
  • The thing I cannot stop thinking about is...
  • By the time you read this, I hope...

If you stall, pick a question from the list below and answer it. Do not fix the spelling and do not reread as you go. For more help with the writing itself, see how to write a letter. You do not have to be good at this. The only reader is you.

How a letter to yourself works here

Write it, then choose the date it unlocks. It is free to write and read, and you do not need an account. Leave an email and we tell you when it unlocks. Pick a wax seal color (Letterbox red, Ink blue, Fern, Ochre or Plum) and a handwriting style (Everyday, Neat or Round). You can attach one song as a link.

You can unseal and edit before it is opened, delete it any time, and download your own copy. For a letter that waits several years, see a letter to your future self. For letters that go into a box with other people, see time capsule letters.

IF YOU ARE STUCK

Questions that help you start

  • What is the one thing you keep telling yourself you will do?
  • What is true about your life right now that you would be embarrassed to forget?
  • What are you afraid of this month?
  • What do you hope will be easier a year from now?
  • What do you want to be proud of by your next birthday?
  • What would you say to a friend in your exact spot?
  • What do you want to remember about this season?
  • Which question would you most like the future you to answer?
  • What would you tell the you of five years ago?
  • What is one small thing you could do this week that you will thank yourself for?

Open When never writes your letter for you. These are only here to get the first line down.

QUESTIONS

Questions people ask

What do you write in a letter to yourself?
Write where you are today, what you are worried about and hoping for, and a few questions to answer later. Add one prediction and one thing you want to remember. Keep it plain. The details of an ordinary week are what you will want back.
How do I start a letter to myself?
Begin with the date and one sentence about where you are right now. Then write for ten minutes without fixing anything. If you stall, answer a prompt, such as what you are afraid of this month, and let the letter go from there.
What is a future letter to myself?
It is a letter written now to be read later, on a date you pick. You write to the person you will be, ask questions and make predictions, and read it when the date arrives. See the page on a letter to your future self for examples.
Does writing a letter to yourself help?
It can help a little. It gives you a place to put a thought down and a record to check against later. It will not fix a hard season, and it is not a substitute for talking to someone you trust.
Can I keep a letter to myself private?
Yes. Letters are encrypted when stored and nobody at Open When reads private letters. Nothing goes on the public shelf unless you ask for it after the letter has been opened. You can delete the letter any time, before or after it unlocks.
How long should a letter to yourself be?
A page is plenty, and anything from five lines to two pages works. A short, honest letter beats a long, careful one. If you are writing for a hard day, keep it shorter, because you will read it when you have little energy.
KEEP READING

More letters like this

A letter to your future self: what to write and when to open itRead →A time capsule letter, for the day it is openedRead →Open when ideas: moments to seal a letter for, and what to writeRead →Letters unsent: write the one you cannot sendRead →How to write a letter to a friendRead →
Say it now, and read it when you get there.
Write to myself