New Year Resolutions – James Boswell Style

I gave up making New Year Resolutions some years back because like most people I never stuck to them and often never even got started. I think for 2026, I’ll try a technique used by the young James Boswell, author of the great Life of Samuel Johnson (in short: To Do lists and a Big Plan). My resolution for 2026 will be this: at the end of the day create a plan (a set of resolutions) to be completed the next day. So, instead of joining a gym and telling myself I’ll get fit (lol), I’ll make my To Do’s much more… specific, as Boswell did.

1. To Do Lists: Boswell’s method for getting things done daily

See his method for yourself by reading Boswell’s London Journal 1762-1763. This book was edited in 1950 by Frederick Pottle from Yale University in the US, who took Boswell’s recently rediscovered journal manuscript and made a readable account of the young Scotsman’s eight month stay in London (November 1762 – August 1763), by adding in his memoranda and other documents. It’s these memoranda that I want to emulate.

Let’s look at how Boswell does it. For example, on Monday 3 January 1763, he writes a memorandum for himself, reminders of things to do (he writes in an easy-to-understand shorthand, but I’ve spelled it all out, just in case):

Dress & breakfast at 9am, then journal and Hume till after 11am. Then Gould’s and fix dinner – and ask schemes. Then Louisa. Talk how unfortunate it was pulling a man back from heaven, that you was anxious with sincere passion & for fear & beg she may excuse you & may kindly invent how to make you blest, either there at night or by coming to you, or going to tavern or to Haywards or to Bagnio. Be sober, see not Kellies soon. Study in earnest. Mind Kirk.

This is a fair representation of the many dozens of memoranda that appear in this book. Here are the take aways that I’m going to copy:

Write out a To Do list the night before: Boswell did this most nights. It’s at the root of his method, do it while everything’s clear in your head, especially things not achieved that day.
Set a time for being up, washed and dressed: Boswell allows himself to stay late in bed if he has nothing to do or is unwell. He’s not unmovable on this. Don’t let laziness upset routines, which is the basis for all good habits. Oh and get up in good time.
Meet people and remember what to discuss: Don’t put off doing things that need to be done.
Brainstorm ideas for how to achieve a goal: One of Boswell’s great preoccupations during this time was getting his ‘leg over’ and during these weeks he’d been seducing a woman called Luisa. He was thwarted at achieving said ‘leg over’ during a recent visit and here he’s putting down on paper ideas for hiow to find a place for them both for a night. The principle here is to get ideas down so they’re not forgotten, and to be motivated.
Be wary of distractions: Boswell reminds himself to be in control around alcohol, either drink it with restraint or avoid altogether. This applies to everything: Know your weakspots and avoid them.
Avoid certain people: Boswell liked the Kellies, but they reminded him of the Scottish way of expressing oneself – course and rough. The message here is simple – avoid people who will distract you or encourage you to behave in a way you wish to avoid.
Study with effort: Boswell was always trying to improve himself and learn about life to help him overcome his anxieties and social objectives. Always have something going on in your life, an interest of sorts (mine is Genius Fan, of course!)
Don’t forget responsibilities: Here, Boswell is reminding himself about attending church (the Kirk). If there are social things you should do, don’t avoid them. Motivate yourself, get them done and move on.

Starting tonight. I should make a list. I really should start making lists. Ahem.

2. A Big Plan: Boswell’s method for the life he wants to lead

The second method of Boswell’s which I’ll be trying in 2026 is the ‘big plan’ or, as Boswell puts it, an Inviolable Plan. You’ll find it referred to in the second volume of The Yale Editions of the Private Papers of James Boswell, entitled Boswell in Holland 1763-1764, published in 1952. [NOTE: The manuscript Boswell wrote during his time spent in Holland has never been recovered, so this volume is assembled from memoranda, letters and other documents.] Boswell struck a deal with his father, a top Scottish judge, that after his time in London he would go to study law at Utrecht University in Holland. In the entry for Sunday 16 October 1763 editor Frederick Pottle includes information from notes Boswell wrote about his activities, that tell us this was the day he put together his Inviolable Plan. That document has survived and lives among the Boswell archives in the Beinecke Rare book and Manuscripts Library of Yale University.

Boswell’s Inviolable Plan runs to more than 1,000 words and is split into a number of paragraphs which I have boiled down to the following:

Consider yourself lucky to be born into the life you have
Respect your duties
Boswell has often been idle and dissipated up to this point
His resolutions up to now have come to nought
He acknowledges a tendency for “depression”
He finds good advice in friends and the writings of Samuel Johnson
He’s been able to study well up to now – continue to do so
This time of his life has great potential
He must honour his duties to family (father and mother)
Commit himself to study and avoid frivolous company
Idleness renders him unhappy – avoid it
Remember religion, morality and dignity
Pray and contemplate the New Testament
Stick to the plan: Complete studies in Utrecht, Return to Scotland, Join the Faculty of Advocates, Be in constant work, Find a way to become a Member of Parliament
Work towards an annual trip to London to enjoy friendships
This will tie in with looking after tenants on the family estate of Auchinleck, getting married, raising a family, beautifying the estate and “preparing for immortal felicity”
Don’t fall into bad habits of mimickry, always talk on useful topics
Don’t talk about yourself (others will do that for you)
Don’t gossip
Admit that life can be surprise you…keep to the Plan
Bearing difficulty is noble
Don’t be distracted by little plans or notions
Laughing is great fun, but being as respected gentleman is a greater pleasure
Temperance is necessary, don’t indulge with out restrtaint
Don’t neglect exercise
“Never indulge the sarcastical Scotch humour”
Keep your resolutions in mind at all times
Yield not to whims and don’t be rash

Boswell writes these points in prose paragraphs and not in the bullets I’ve created above. This was a story he told himself, like a narrative of his life. He would constantly refer to and think about this plan. You can see there are lots of reminders of how to behave and what to avoid. He clearly knows his own behaviours that should be avoided. A plan like this is not something one rattles off in an evening without any thought. Like most of us, I imagine I have a ready-composed plan, just like this one of Boswell’s, in my head. It consists of a reflection on how lucky I am, what my responsibilities are, who relies on me, how I live my life now and what’s the life I’d like to build for myself, then of course, what I have to do to get there.

This is personal, isn’t it. Like any of the papers and manuscripts that scholars study, Boswell was never to know how they would end up in books. Actually, he’d probably like the fact that his life is being picked over by anyone and everyone. It’s a sobering thought.