There’s a small café in Paris where people don’t just sip lattes or share croissants, they write letters to their future selves.
Imagine this: you’re sitting at a wooden table in the République district, the hum of conversation around you, sunlight spilling through the windows, and a warm coffee by your side. Instead of scrolling through your phone, you’re handed a beautiful postcard, a pen, and a stick of sealing wax. You write a few words to the person you’ll become, maybe in a year, maybe in five, maybe even in twenty. Then you seal it, tuck it into an envelope, and leave it behind. One day, when you least expect it, your own handwriting returns to your mailbox with a message from the past.
This is Café Pli, the first “letter café” in Europe. The concept is inspired by the letter cafés in Seoul, where people write heartfelt messages to their future selves or to loved ones, and receive them back on a future date, a modern take on the digital time capsule, except this one lives in an envelope sealed with wax and patience.
The Power of Pausing Before a New Chapter
The timing of Café Pli’s concept is intentional. Nestled in the busy 11th arrondissement, it invites you to stop, breathe, and ask yourself: What do I want to remember about this season of my life?
It’s easy to get swept up in routine and stress, to measure yourself only by grades, deadlines, promotions, or external milestones. But when you sit down to write a future self letter, or schedule a future self email through a digital time capsule platform like Futureality, you create space for something different: self-awareness.
And self-awareness, according to research by organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich, is surprisingly rare. While 95% of people believe they’re self-aware, only 10–15% actually are. Writing is one of the simplest ways to bridge that gap because it forces your brain to pause, reflect, and put words to experiences and desires.
Why Writing to Your Future Self Changes the Brain
The science is clear: writing does more than capture thoughts, it transforms them.
- Neuroplasticity: Every time you write about your goals, struggles, or dreams, you’re strengthening new neural pathways. Over time, your brain begins to adapt, making those new thought patterns easier to access.
- The Reticular Activating System (RAS): This powerful filter in your brain decides which information is important enough to notice. When you write “Future me, I feel calm and confident walking into exams”, your RAS starts spotting moments and opportunities that match that belief.
- Autonoetic consciousness: Writing to your future self is like stepping into a time machine. Neuroscience calls this mental time travel, the ability to project yourself forward and imagine who you’ll become. This process helps your brain begin to accept that version of you as real, which makes it easier to align your actions today with that future.
And here’s something powerful: research on expressive writing shows that taking just 15–20 minutes to write about your inner thoughts can lower stress, boost mood, and even improve immune function. Writing is a form of mental decluttering, it helps your brain organise and process what feels overwhelming.
From Café Pli Paris to Your Inbox: Making It Digital
Not everyone can hop on a plane to Paris to visit Café Pli. (Though if you can, add it to your bucket list, croissants + personal growth is a combination hard to beat.)
The good news? You don’t have to be in a café to create your own digital time capsule.
That’s where Futureality comes in. With our platform, you can write an email to your future self in just a few minutes, and schedule it to arrive exactly when you need a reminder. Maybe the week of exams. Maybe six months from now when you’ve just started uni. Maybe five years into your career.
Just like Café Pli, it’s about stepping out of your current moment, connecting with your inner world, and capturing your truth for the version of you that will one day open the message.
What to Write in Your Future Self Email
If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few prompts:
- “Dear Future Me, here’s what I hope you’ve learned…”
- “Right now I’m feeling ___, but I hope you remember…”
- “This is what matters most to me today, and I hope it still matters to you.”
- “Here’s the kind of person I’m becoming…”
- “Even if things didn’t go as planned, I want you to know…”
The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is honesty. When your email arrives back in your inbox, it gives you a clear mirror: you’ll see what’s shifted, what’s healed, and what still needs your attention.
Why This Practice Builds Lasting Self-Awareness
When you engage in future self writing, whether on paper in a Paris café or digitally with Futureality, you’re blending reflection, intention, and neuroscience.
- You’re honouring your current feelings instead of pushing them away.
- You’re practicing metacognition, thinking about your thinking, which researchers say is key to lasting self-awareness.
- You’re leaving yourself a trail of emotional breadcrumbs, so when your future self reads your email, you can witness your own growth with compassion instead of judgment.
It’s a ritual of both release and recalibration. And it’s one you can start right now, no matter where you are.
So here’s your invitation:
Make your own digital time capsule. Write your first future self email today with Futureality. Choose when it should arrive, pour your heart out, and give yourself the gift of reflection.
Because one small message can shift how you see yourself, remind you how far you’ve come, and help you step more fully into the person you’re becoming.
