Leo Tolstoy established elaborate rules and rituals for himself—and often failed to keep them. The Russian novelist’s extensive journaling habit, which he maintained faithfully for most of his life, chronicles an intense struggle to understand his inner self and raise his actions to the level of his moral standards. At age 18, he wrote a list of rules for himself such as rising at 5 a.m. each day, living frugally, and trying not to chase women.
In his journal, Tolstoy marked out two columns. On one side, he wrote his planned routine for the following day. On the other side, he wrote the results of how the day actually played out. Spoiler: It generally did not play out according to plan.
