Not sure what to write in a time capsule letter? Describe an ordinary day, name what matters to you right now, ask your future reader a few questions and say what you hope for. Then date it, seal it, store it somewhere cool and dry, and pick an opening date.
It's tempting to fill a time capsule letter with big news and big moments. Research suggests the small stuff deserves more space than you think. In a study described by the Association for Psychological Science, 135 college students made time capsules at the start of summer. They wrote about the last social event they went to, a recent conversation, three songs they were listening to and part of a paper they'd written. When they opened the capsules three months later, they were significantly more curious and interested than they had predicted.
Lead researcher Ting Zhang of Harvard Business School put it this way: "What is ordinary now actually becomes more extraordinary in the future." So when you're deciding what to write, lean toward the everyday.
The date and where you are. The town, the house or apartment, even the room you're sitting in.
Who you are right now. Your age, job or school, who you live with and how you spend your days.
An ordinary day. When you wake up, what you eat, how you get around and what you do in the evening.
Prices and everyday tech. What a coffee, a gallon of milk or a movie ticket costs. What phone you use and which apps you open most.
Favorites. Songs, shows, books, foods, slang and the joke everyone keeps repeating.
What's going on in the world. A few lines is enough. Focus on how it feels to live through it.
Worries and hopes. What's on your mind at night, and what you're excited about.
Predictions. Guess what will have changed by the time the letter is opened.
Questions for the reader. Ask things you'd love to know the answers to.
A sign-off. Your name, your signature and the date again.
Right now, my biggest goal is...
The thing I'm most nervous about this year is...
A habit I hope I still have when you read this is...
Something I hope you've stopped worrying about is...
Are you still friends with...?
A normal weeknight in our house looks like...
The family joke everyone knows right now is...
Each of us, in one sentence, is...
The meal we make most often is...
Something I hope our family still does together is...
The most popular thing at lunch this year is...
The hardest assignment we've had was...
What we think school will look like in 10 years is...
Our class is known for...
Why this group got started, and who was there...
The biggest thing we worked on this year was...
A tradition we hope continues is...
What we'd tell the people who join after us is...
This is an example letter for a made-up family. Swap in your own details.
To the Garcia family, opening this in 2036,
It's a rainy Sunday in October 2026. We live in the yellow house on Pine Street, and the kitchen still smells like the pancakes Leo burned this morning. Maya is 9 and wants to be a vet. Leo is 6 and can't stop talking about sharks. Dad is learning guitar, slowly. Mom is in charge of everyone's shoes.
On weeknights we eat at 6, argue about whose turn it is to do the dishes, and watch one episode of a baking show together. Our favorite song right now is the one Maya plays every single morning.
Questions for you: Did Maya become a vet? Did Leo ever see a real shark? Is Dad any good at guitar yet? Do you still have pancake Sundays?
We hope you're healthy, together and still laughing at the same silly jokes.
Love, all four of us
Paper can last a long time if you keep it away from heat, damp and light. Here's what the National Archives and the Library of Congress suggest for storing papers at home:
Keep it cool. The National Archives recommends keeping the temperature below 75 degrees Fahrenheit, because cooler temperatures slow chemical decay.
Keep it dry, but not too dry. Keep relative humidity below 65% to prevent mold. Very dry air, below 15%, can make paper brittle.
Pick the right spot. Avoid damp basements, garages and hot attics. Store it on a shelf, away from pipes and windows.
Keep it out of the light. The Library of Congress advises minimal exposure to all kinds of light, and no direct or intense light.
Use the right container. Acid-free, lignin-free folders and boxes are the safest choice.
Skip the fasteners. Rubber bands, self-adhesive tape, glue and paper clips that aren't stainless steel can all damage paper.
Make a backup. Take a photo or scan of the letter and keep it somewhere separate.
One year. Easy to keep track of. Open it on a birthday or New Year's Day.
Five years. Long enough for real change, short enough that you won't lose it.
Ten years or more. Good for family and school capsules, or a letter for a child to open at 18.
A milestone. A graduation, a wedding, a retirement or the day you move out.
Even short gaps can be worthwhile. The students in the study above opened theirs after only three months and still found more in them than they expected. Whatever you choose, write the opening date on the envelope, tell someone where it is, and set a reminder.
If you'd like to write a more personal note to your own future, here's a guide to writing a letter to your future self. Parents may also like this guide to writing a letter to your child.
Start with the date, where you are and who it's for. "To whoever opens this in 2036" works fine. Then describe today.
One or two pages is plenty. Specific details matter more than length.
Anywhere from one year to 20 years or more. Pick a date someone will remember, and write it on the outside.
You can, but keep a printed copy too. Devices and file formats change, and paper stored well can last a long time.
Dear You: Daily Letters is made for the personal kind of time capsule letter. You can seal a future letter for anywhere from a week up to five years, and it opens in the app on its scheduled date. PDF export and an optional password-protected backup give you a copy outside the app, though for a family or class capsule meant to sit for decades, paper is still the better fit. It's free with optional Dear You Plus subscriptions and needs no account.
Get Dear You free on the App Store