Have You Heard of the Future Authoring Program?
For about $15 and a few hours of your student’s time, it may be one of the highest-return investments you can make in helping them think deliberately about their future.
Why We Recommend It
It is valuable for students who need direction—and students who already have plenty of drive.
Future Authoring can be incredibly valuable for a student who feels unmotivated or has little idea what they want to do with their life.
But in our experience, it can be just as valuable—maybe even more valuable—for highly motivated students. Motivated students are often working very hard. Future Authoring helps them stop and ask a different question: What am I actually working toward?
What It Is
A guided way to think seriously about the future.
Future Authoring is a structured writing program that helps students imagine what they would like their lives to look like three to five years in the future and then begin building a plan to move toward it.
First, imagine the future.
The program walks students through parts of life they may never have considered deliberately: education, career, relationships, habits, health, friendships, family life, free time, and the kind of person they want to become.
Then, work backward.
Students identify goals, think about why they matter, anticipate obstacles, and begin asking what simple things they can do now that would make that future more likely.
There Is Research Behind the Idea
Structured written goal setting has shown meaningful results.
In one randomized controlled study, university students who were struggling academically completed a structured written goal-setting intervention. Four months later, they showed greater academic improvement than students in the control group.
A much larger study involving nearly 3,000 first-year university students also found that a brief, staged written goal-setting intervention was associated with improved academic performance.
We like the idea of making Future Authoring a small, regular habit rather than rushing through it in one sitting.
Don’t Rush It
The thinking is the valuable part.
A student could work on it for around 20 minutes a day, or set aside an hour each week. We especially like the daily approach because it can become a habit instead of another assignment that gets postponed.
The student does not need perfect answers. A 15-year-old is allowed to change their mind. In fact, figuring out that you do not want the future you previously imagined is progress too.
A Small Investment With a Potentially Long Impact
Give your student structured time to think about the life they want to build.
Parents spend enormous amounts of money preparing their children for the future. For a fraction of that cost, Future Authoring gives students a guided opportunity to think deliberately about who they want to become, what kind of life they want, and what they can begin doing today to move in that direction.
We think those are questions worth asking early—and then asking again and again as a student grows.
Visit the Future Authoring Program
