and any information they’ll need (like account
numbers or logins).
Using the Future Self Exercises
Prepare (10 minutes)
Prior to engaging your client in this tool,
you will need to do a little preparation. The
Practitioner Worksheet on the next page will
help you:
Assess your client’s situation — Review your
client’s long-term goals, motivation, and ability
to complete the tool in a session with you.
Choose exercise A, B, or C — Review the exercise
options and consider three factors to help you
choose which one to use with your client.
Identify potential action steps — Next,
identify a few action steps (for example,
making one extra debt payment, opening a
savings account, creating a budget) that your
client can take immediately after the exercise
TIPS:
• It may help you to better understand
the exercises and describe them to
your clients if you do them yourself rst.
Connect (20-30 minutes)
Next, in a session with your client, help them
connect to their Future Self by having them
complete the exercise you selected in the
previous step.
Exercise A. Write a letter from their Future
Self to present day self.
Exercise B. Draw a picture of their
desired future reality.
Exercise C. Have a conversation with their
Future Self.
Each exercise has a set of instructions for how
to use it with your client.
TIPS:
• The exercises ask your client to envision
their life ten years into the future. It is ne
if this is a longer time horizon than that for
their long-term nancial goal (which may
only be three years).
• At the end of the exercise, ask your client
to think of one action they can take in
the next few weeks. Guide your client to
break that action (or goal) into a series of
small, simple, concrete steps, and help
them nd the easiest to take rst.
• Encourage your client to think about their
future in a way that is not too pessimistic
or too optimistic.
Take Action (10-15 minutes)
Finally, help your client take an action step
toward their long-term goal. Research
shows that people are more likely to make
good nancial decisions immediately after
exercises that enhance their connection to
their future selves.
Work through the Take Action worksheet
at the end of this tool with your client to
facilitate a conversation about the exercise
and take the action.
TIP:
• Print this tool single-sided so your
clients can take home the exercise and
Take Action sheets as reminders of
today’s session.
FUTURE SELF TOOL 3