Benjamin Franklin was a successful inventor, printer, author, scientist, postmaster, humorist, civic activist, statesman, diplomat, and politician. He was also a Founding Father of the United States.
But like the rest of us, he only had 24 hours in each day. So how did he manage to achieve so many of the things that mattered most to him?
His autobiography shows that it wasn’t rocket science: he worked just eight hours a day. So it must have been the way he spent his time that made the difference.
Benjamin Franklin started each day by rising, washing, and addressing what he called “powerful goodness“. This might have included centring, grounding, and connecting deeply with what was most important to him. It probably included reviewing his purpose, his values, and what living a worthwhile life meant to him.
Then he summarised all these things into one key question:
“What good shall I do this day?”
For the next four hours he worked on this.
Then he took a full two hour lunch break before reflecting, refocusing on what he wanted to achieve that afternoon, and working on it for another four hours.
Each evening, he made time for creativity and conversation.
And before bed he asked himself a second question:
Here it is in his own words:
The Churning, Inner Leadership recommends all these things as ways to expand our ability to achieve what matters most to us. We also recommend one other thing that Benjamin Franklin doesn’t mention: a daily routine of meditation, exercise, and/or spending time in nature.
If we add this to the list then the daily schedule that can enable us to achieve whatever matters most to us becomes:
- Ten to 30 minutes of mediation and/or exercise
- A healthy breakfast
- Review your purpose, values, and what it is going to take for you to have lived a worthwhile life
- Decide what good you want to do today and block your calendar
- Break properly for lunch
- Remind yourself of your purpose, values, and goals before engaging with the afternoon
- Each evening do something creative or spend time in nature
- Finish each day by asking yourself, “What went well today?”
How do you structure your day? Would adopting any of these habits help you to achieve more of what matters most to you?
Adapted from TheChurning, Inner Leadership: a framework and tools for building inspiration in times of change.
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Benjamin Franklin image source: Wikipedia