Write yourself a 90-day letter

Write yourself a 90-Day letter

In my last newsletter I encouraged you all to consider personal goals and planning on a 90-day, quarterly basis. This is the time of year when people set yearly goals, make resolutions, etc. 

But a year is a long time.

It is hard to envision something out that far. Without a shorter and more manageable timeframe, many of these yearly goals are left by the wayside by the time the daffodils bloom.

Deal with this by setting goals for just a 90-day timeframe. 

Major, life-goals may need much more time, of course. But for many things, a 90-day period of time is just about right for something significant that they can actually do. 

If you add enough 90-day time periods together, well then, it can also lead to realizing those major, life-goals as well.

So what to do with that 90 day, three-month stretch in front of you?

One approach is to write yourself a 90-day letter. 

I came across this concept a while back (no, I didn’t invent it), and find it helpful.

This is not the same as the 90-day letter that the IRS sends when they discover a discrepancy in your tax documents!

No, this is something that you write to your future self. Not the future self years down the road, although it is a good idea to think about that future self too. Rather, it is you–just three months from now. Enough time to make some things happen, but not so much that you get sidetracked or discouraged.

A letter is more personal than just a listing of goals. 

You are writing to your future self, in the voice you would use talking to a friend. The letter should include your key short-term goals, of course, so give careful attention to that. But beyond a listing of goals, the letter also gives an opportunity to reflect on your fears, concerns, hopes, successes, failures, and joys. 

Goals seem more relatable when placed in the context of the overall realities of your life. Framing your goals within a letter can help you do that. You could choose to write in the future tense, encouraging yourself to overcome the challenges you may face. Or, you could write in the past tense, as if you were reflecting back on the time period just past.

For example, you can write to yourself as if the goals have already been accomplished. You can also expand on the challenges you might face in getting where you want to be, and what you plan to do about them. 

How you frame the letter is up to you, and the great thing is there is no wrong way to do it. You can show it to someone else, if you wish, but you don’t have to. It can be just your own private way of holding yourself accountable. The fact that you write it down, and plan to open and read it on a defined date (put it on your calendar), creates its own level of accountability.

Practical steps

Write the letter on paper, not digitally. 

There is something about putting pen to paper that connects you to the content differently than typing. We write things down far less often than typing them, so it gives the experience a bit of novelty. When was the last time you wrote a real letter, put it in an envelope, and mailed it? Years? Ever? If so, you’ll find this to be something that is different from your other communications, and thus more memorable.

The letter need not be long. 

Don’t make it hard to do, otherwise you likely won’t repeat it. A page or so may be enough. If you take to it, you may write more in the future, but keep the lift low at first.

Use a pen and paper that you really like. 

There is something tactile about this, so lean into the experience. It is like using a quality tool in the garage, or a fine fishing rod. I happen to like writing pens, and have a small collection of them. A couple of these are fountain pens, which I like to use for this purpose. The feeling of the tip of the nib moving over the paper connects me to the process. So also does the fact that I like to write in cursive for my letter. Fountain pens are made for this purpose. I believe that writing in cursive helps my thought process to flow more smoothly than the constant process of lifting my pen up and down to print separate letters. Give it a try, and see what the experience is like. You may need to dust off your old cursive writing skills if you learned them years ago in grade school. 

Seal the letter in an envelope, and write your name on the front. 

Write also the date you plan to open it. Then tuck it away in a private place, to be retrieved when the time comes. This will also serve as a reminder to write your letter for the next 90 day period.

Final thoughts

For people who have trouble journaling, or would like to journal, the 90-day letter is one way to ease into it. It doesn’t require a daily writing discipline. You only need to write it every three months, but it gives you a chance to look ahead and reflect back in a journaling sort of fashion.

Perhaps you already have a self-development tool that works for you. But if not, or if you would like to add to what you’re already doing, and write yourself a 90-day letter.

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For more on life and style for men, see https://cliffordberger.com/about-me/

For more on fountain pens, see: https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/a-primer-on-fountain-pens/