Songfacts®:

• John Splithoff told Songfacts "Note To Self" is "about just being yourself and not trying to change who you are for anybody else. Just keep doing what you do because it was never a decision to pursue what you're doing, it's just a foregone conclusion."
• This is the first track on All In, the first album from John Splithoff, but far from his first release - he had been issuing singles and EPs for year. The song opens with a voicemail from John's brother, who says, "Just calling to say I love your music. And good morning."
  
  John thought the cheerful message would be a great way to open the album.
• The song was written before the pandemic, when Splithoff had a different set of problems to deal with. He was struggling creatively, which led to the refrain, "Everybody's trying to get through."
• Splithoff produced the song with the Likeminds duo: Chris Soper and Jesse Singer.
• The layered vocals are the influence of Marvin Gaye; Splithoff had been listening to his 1978 album Here, My Dear.