Gretchen Rubin: To Get Things Done, Consider Your Future-Self

We all have two versions of ourselves: our present-self and our future-self. In an article on her website, author Gretchen Rubin explores the idea of considering your future-self to motivate and guide your actions. This concept can be a game-changer in making your life happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative.

In this blog post, we'll summarize the key points from the article and explore how thinking about your future-self can be a powerful tool for personal growth.

Thinking of the Future-Self

Rubin suggests that we can harness the power of our future-self to stick to tasks and habits that we may prefer to avoid in the present. This can be accomplished by considering the long-term consequences of our actions. For example, "My future-self won't want dental work, so I'd better floss now," or "My future-self will be so happy if I take photos every day on this trip, I'll remember all our adventures."

Regret as a Motivator

Regret is an unpleasant emotion, but it can be a powerful motivator. You can reflect on what regrets your future-self may feel to encourage yourself to act. For example, not exercising now may lead to a frail future-self, while not getting a shingles vaccine may result in a terrible case of shingles. Regret can help you decide what goals and tasks to prioritize and what to abandon.

Using Pre-Mortems

To make use of future-self regrets effectively, Rubin suggests conducting a pre-mortem. This involves imagining yourself in the future, having failed to achieve an important aim. What went wrong, and what could your present-self have done differently? Pre-mortems can provide valuable insights and drive action in the present.

Satisfaction as the Reward

On the flip side, you can remind yourself of the gratification your future-self will feel with what your present-self has accomplished. This "ta-da" approach focuses on the satisfaction of looking back on your progress and achievements. For instance, reading for twenty minutes a day can lead to finishing many books by the end of the year, which fuels creativity.

Writing a Letter to Your Future-Self

To make the "ta-da" approach more powerful, Rubin suggests writing a letter of congratulations to your future-self. Praise your future-self for all the specific steps you've taken to achieve a difficult aim. Visualizing the satisfaction of reaching your goals can give you the energy and determination to persevere.

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