Have you ever written a note to your future self? I do it all the time in the form of to-do emails from my phone:
“Don’t forget to take the chicken out of the freezer tonight. By the way, your body loves it that you are eating healthier.”
“Call D about plans for the weekend. Aren’t you lucky to have such fun friends?”
“Take donation to Good Will on Thursday. Doesn’t it feel good to get rid of things you don’t need?”
Photo by mikebaird via Flickr
A nice little comment to my future self reminds me why I need to do a particular task and keeps me from feeling controlled by my schedule. Go ahead and try it - you’ll be surprised at how much fun it is to get a nice note from yourself.
Letting your friends help
As most of you know, I’m in training for the Seattle Rock-N-Roll Half Marathon this June. As a previous couch potato, this has been a big lifestyle change for me. I’m 13 weeks away from the race and on track with my training schedule to complete 13.1 miles.
There are days that I enjoy running and it doesn’t hurt, and there are days when I have to push through with everything just to get the bare minimum done. I’m still not a natural runner, but I’ve made some huge strides from day one when it nearly knocked me out to run eight 60-second intervals with 2 minutes of walking in between.
This is why it was so meaningful to me last week when my running buddy, Betsy Moore, gave me a blank card before our 7 a.m. run. Betsy M is a seasoned runner and one of my closest friends. In fact, I was there when she crossed the finish line at the half-marathon last summer.
She told me that someone had given her a blank card last year in the middle of her training and told her to write down what she wanted to accomplish with this race and what it would mean to her. She wrote it down and gave it to her friend. After the race was over, her friend put the card in the mail to her.
Imagine successfully completing your big goal and then getting card from your past self - the one you vividly remember struggling along the way - talking about how much you wanted to accomplish the very thing you just did.
What a brilliant idea.
Not only am I jazzed to get my card back after I finish the race, but I’m even more jazzed to continue my training now. The first run after she gave me the card was one of the easiest and best ones I’ve had since I started training. I don’t think it is a coincidence.
How to motivate your future self
You can try these tactics yourself.
- Need to remind yourself of something? Send an email or voicemail and then say something nice to yourself about why you need to do it.
- Built a more motivational personality by sharing the same email/voicemail strategy when asking other people to do things for you. Especially with our families we sometimes skip the fluff and go straight to “do this” or “do that.”
- Write yourself a note or email about a project or goal you are working on now. Emails can be scheduled to go out at specific times, and you can ask a friend to mail your card on a certain date.
What other habits do you have for motivating yourself?
About Betsy
What a wonderful post Betsy. The way you remind your future self of the things she needs to do is such a terrific way to continue to develop your own positive voice - about tasks and chores. It is really difficult to be grumpy about cleaning your closet when future self is validating the good work and the feeling you will have when complete.
I can’t wait for June - to be there to celebrate this major accomplishment with you!
i think i’ve done this in the form of “time capsules”. i have a horrible memory so i think one of my teachers had us do this exercise for him to mail us in the future. i don’t remember if i got anything like that though… there is actually a website that lets you write to your future self and has you email the message to yourself in a time you set for yourself to receive it. i did it once but i picked such a long date (5 years.. maybe 10?) that i forgot what i wrote already! i never thought of doing this for a shorter period of time though. and love the post it note idea of positive thoughts. i should give the shorterm notes a try!!
Floreta, I’ve never heard of the website that lets you write to your future self. Do you remember the name? That’s a great idea.
Debb, can you believe the race is so close? We’ll be bringing up the rear, I’m sure, but we’ll definitely cross the finish line!
Not sure if this is the one she was talking about, but http://www.futureme.org/ allows you to do the same thing
great post - love the card idea! No wonder you two Betsy’s stick together!
I’ll be there cheering you on at the finish line too - woohoo!
When I was about 12, at summer camp, I was asked to write myself such a letter and the counselors later sent it. It sounds so absolutely weird but I loved that experience. I kept that letter for years and got into the habit of writing to my future self on occasion. Very cool.
And I love the idea of sending notes/voicemails/emails to others that are supportive and not just reminders. It’s looking like I may be playing the reminding role a little more in my married life-my husband is in the midst of recovering from a bad car accident and as things go back together again, it seems he’s lost a little of the short term memory. This technique sounds like a really great way to help out without it turning me into the proverbial ‘nag.’
I love it! What a great suggestion. I remember in high school we had a teacher who would have us write letters to ourselves one year into the future. We kids always looked forward to getting our letters. This also reminds me of when we were kids my little sister would stuff money into a sock and then throw it into the back of her (messy) closet. “So when I clean my closet…I’ll find money!” Best of luck on your race.
Karen, thanks for your support!
Leslie, isn’t it funny how we get excited over “found” money? $5 in a coat pocket at the beginning of winter just seems like good luck, even though we may have actually needed that $5 at the end of last winter!
Simple in France, I’m so sorry to hear about your husband’s accident. A friend of mine also had some short-term memory problems for a period of time, and it is as frustrating to them as it is to those around them when they can’t remember. Your idea of being a “motivational reminder” for your husband is both brilliant and compassionate. He is a lucky man.
Funny coincidence! I just did this today! I wrote a note to myself and filed it for early next year. I reminded myself that in the middle of the long winter months, I need to go to bed earlier, take some vitamin d, and take better care of myself. It happens every year, but somehow I always forget! Good luck on your run!
Good reminder, Stacy. I just had some bloodwork done and my vitamin D level is only 25, despite the fact that I take 4000 IU daily. So I am upping it to 6000. It is so hard to remember to do this, so good for you for writing yourself a reminder to stay healthy.
(For those of you who live in sunny areas, you probably don’t have this problem.)