History Main / NoteToSelf

* Pretty much the entire point of MarbleHornets, along with other works in the SlenderManMythos which take a similar vein.

** During the 7th Doctor adventure "Battlefield", the Doctor finds a note from himself in what was supposed to be King Arthur's tomb warning that Morgaine was going to summon an EldritchAbomination.

* In the film ''FiftyFirstDates'', the main character Lucy keeps a journal (later a video tape) since she loses her memory every day.

* Similar to ''Film/{{Memento}}'' and ''FiftyFirstDates'', the Dana Carvey film ''CleanSlate'' is about a private investigator suffering from anterograde amnesia, using a tape recorder to leave himself notes.
* In Looper, this happens twice. First, Old Joe pins a paper note on an unconscious Young Joe's jacket, warning him to [[spoiler: skip town before the mob figures out he didn't kill his older self.]] Later, Young Joe carves the name of his favorite waitress ''into his arm.'' Old Joe reads the scars that appear on his arm and meets his younger self at the diner.

* Chris Pratt in ''TheLookout'', who has a bad short-term memory due to a serious head injury and needs to write everything down just to get through the day.
* In the film ''TheMachinist'', [[spoiler:the main character unknowingly leaves post-it notes of a game of hangman to unearth the [[TraumaInducedAmnesia suppressed memory]] of his fatal hit-and-run.]]

* One of the protagonist's envelopes in ''{{Push}}'' is addressed to himself.

* In ''{{Film/Cypher}}'', another PhilipKDick adaptation, Sebastian Rooks, the MagnificentBastard playing two security companies against each other leaves his notes to self through a FemmeFatale. [[spoiler:Morgan almost screws the plan by being WrongGenreSavvy and turning on her before she can turn on him, but in the end hears a recording addressed to him from himself.]]

* In the [[InteractiveComic MSPA Fan Adventure]] ''All Night Laundry'', the heroine, Bina, finds a [[https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/45027642/Adventures/All%20Nite%20Laundry/0160_b.jpg wall]] full of such notes.

* GeneWolfe's ''Literature/SoldierOfTheMist'' and sequels are written as the journal of the hero, Latro, who has anterograde amnesia, constantly losing his memory of the previous day. The first words of the journal are "Read this each day."

* Kurt Mendel in the ''{{Odyssey 5}}'' episode "Time Out of Mind"

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* Professor Denzel Crocker in ''TheFairlyOddparents''.
* A kid who saw the first contact between humans and aliens in the ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack'' cartoon series. Also, Jay warning his past self not to use an invention that'd eventually made his head explode.
* On ''TheAngryBeavers'', Norbert recorded a tape telling himself how to regain his memories under the GenreSavvy presumption that he'd eventually be hit on the head by his accident-prone brother and get amnesia. It even contained a ShoutOut to ''Total Recall''. His solution? Just let his brother hit him on the head again.
* At the end of the ''InvaderZim'' episode "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy", Zim desperately throws a note into his time machine and back into the past after severely screwing up the timeline. This somewhat works as the note switches places with ''his brain'', leaving him a drooling moron holding a brain (and thus repairing the timeline). What it said? "'''ZIM''', DON'T USE THE TIME MACHINE! LOVE, '''ZIM!'''"

* ''Series/TheTroop'': Gus once told the heroes they could erase his memory since he had hidden reminders. They instead sent him to a mental institution where his tales about monsters will be disregarded as delusions.

* In the episode of ''Series/LoisandClark:TheNewAdventuresofSuperman'', when Lois is in 1966 and finds out that Clark is Superman, she writes a note to herself when she finds out H.G. Wells will cause her to forget this. Luckily, Clark sees the note before she does and the secret is kept until later in the series.
* ''TheTroop'': Gus once told the heroes they could erase his memory since he had hidden reminders. They instead sent him to a mental institution where his tales about monsters will be disregarded as delusions.

* Most characters in ''Roleplay/RubyQuest'', if not all, are suffering from amnesia, and at least two people have attempted to counter this by leaving notes to themselves: [[spoiler:Tom discovers writing inside his locker, advising him not to trust #7, i.e. Ruby - the reason is revealed soon, and results in a temporary break-up between the two. Meanwhile, the head doctor, Filbert, wrote a note that simply told that he has amnesia, which is why he can't remember things - as well as ensuring him that he is still clean.]]

* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', Vala has her memory altered (so that she believes she was abandoned by [=SG1=]) in a batmanGambit to capture Adria. She leaves a NoteToSelf for after she is brought back, knowing she would be...rather upset with her teammates otherwise.

* Doesn't involve amnesia, but in Series/HowIMetYourMother a RunningGag is that the characters occasionally write letters to themselves addressed 'Dear Future Ted' and signed 'Past Ted'. It also gives us this little gem :

** Ted has a habit of of writing letters to himself after his breakups so that in the future, if he is tempted to start dating one of his exes, he can go back to the letter and be reminded of why they broke up to avoid making the same mistake. Some of the previous episodes become HilariousInHindsight this revelation as Ted's first letter of this type is about Karen, the pretentious JerkAss and [[YourCheatingHeart notorious cheater]] who was Ted's college girlfriend who he kept getting back together with, even after the relationship kept ending the same way.

* This trope is the main premise of the novel ''Literature/TheRook''

* This trope is the main premise of the novel ''{{The Rook}}''

* In the Piers Anthony novel "Politician" (part of the Bio of a Space Tyrant), Hope Hubris is mind-wiped right before the election for President. His captors try to plant false memories to discredit him since he would contradict statements he made during the campaign. He finds a set of coded words that trigger his real memories hidden under [[spoiler:...well, let's just say they kept him in a dark pit-like compartment for a ''long'' time and leave it at that]]. The coded words allow him to relive the experiences he had, but also cause him to relive the mental anguish of losing family members again.

* Tally Youngblood had to write her future self a note in ''{{Uglies}}'', because after she underwent the traditional surgical procedure that made her a Pretty, she would forget all the plans she had made beforehand to eventually reverse the process.

** Even earlier, in "The Beast Below", Amy leaves a video recording for herself [[spoiler: telling her to get the Doctor off the ship after she learns about (and then erases her memories of) the Star Whale.]] Liz 10 leaves herself a recording in the same situation.

P.S.: The conspiracy is as follows - the government is run by reptilian aliens, Sasuke is Manga/{{Naruto}}'s time-traveling father, you're a TimeLord and EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory. Also, the BigBad found us on the way to the supermarket. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Get milk, soda, chocolate syrup, and a block of sharp cheddar]].

-->-- ''TheyMightBeGiants'', "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head"

* A running gag with comedian NormMacDonald, used extensively in the movie DirtyWork. Could be seen as the TropeNamer.
* In ''BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'', the title characters find a note left by their future selves at the police station. More often, this trope is evoked throughout the movie in a fashion similar to the Norm [=MacDonald=] example above.