Benjamin Franklin's Profile

Previous Role: Printer/Publisher/Author, Inventor, Scientist, Diplomat/Politician, and Postmaster General
Role Model/Mentor: Sir Isaac Newton
Life Quote: “Lost time is never found again”
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
School (Major): NA (Founded University of Pennsylvania)
Best Known For: Founding Father (Decl. of Independence & Constitution), electricity experiments, bifocal glasses, Franklin Stove, Diplomat to France, founder of the Pennsylvania Gazette and the University of Pennsylvania.
Est. Net Worth: (Adjusted for Inflation): $10-20 million

Benjamin Franklin was a man of relenting curiosity. He was driven by the pursuit of knowledge and innovation. Born in 1706 in Boston, he quickly distinguished himself as a printer, writer, inventor, and diplomat. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to Philadelphia where he founded the Pennsylvania Gazette and penned Poor Richard’s Almanack.

Franklin didn’t stop at journalism. His fascination with science resulted in the groundbreaking kite experiment, proving that lightning is electricity. As a Founding Father, Franklin also helped draft the Declaration of Independence and negotiated French support during the American Revolution; his ability to entice the French into the war was the difference between victory and defeat. In fact, Franklin was the only person to sign all four of its founding papers: The Declaration of Independence, the treaty with France, the peace accord with Britain, and the US Constitution.

In Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Walter Isaacson encapsulates Franklin’s life as follows:

“He was, during his eighty-four-year-long-life, America’s best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and business strategist, and he was also one of its most practical, though not most profound, political thinker. He proved by flying a kite that lightning was electricity, and he invented a rod to tame it. He devised bifocal glasses and clean-burning stoves, charts of the Gulf Stream and theories about the contagious nature of the common cold. He launched various civic improvements schemes, such as a lending library, college, volunteer fire corps, insurance association, and matching grant fund-raiser. He helped invent America’s unique style of homespun humor and philosophical pragmatism. In foreign policy, he created an approach that wove together idealism with balance-of-power realism. And in politics, he proposed seminal plans for uniting the colonies and creating a federal model for a national government.”

Benjamin Franklin’s Morning Routine

Morning Start Time: 5:00AM

Benjamin Franklin’s morning routine was a masterclass in discipline and intention. He started each day around 5:00AM. During this time, he wold rise, wash, and take a moment to “address powerful goodness,” a phrase that feels almost spiritual. In today’s term, this moment was likely akin to meditation. To Franklin, this was a reflective pause where he anchored his thoughts in virtue and clarity. He didn’t just wake up; he set an intention, asking himself the now-famous question: “What shall I do this day?”

Franklin then turned to the pragmatic. He would “contrive the day’s business,” carefully mapping out his tasks and objectives. This wasn’t a passive to-do list; it was an active, thoughtful plan. It ensured that every hour of his day was accounted for in a meticulous, written outline. As for the morning, as he highlighted in his journal, between 5:00AM – 7:00AM were reserved for “personal study and breakfast.“

“Habits Must Be Broken and Good Ones Acquired” – B. Franklin

Franklin approached self-improvement with the precision of a scientist, turning virtue into a disciplined practice – which he focused on each morning. He compiled a list of thirteen virtues, each accompanied by a clear definition.

Temperance: Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation
Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
Order: Let all your things have their place; let each part of your business have its time.
Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
Frugality: Make no expense but to do good for others or yourself (i.e. waste nothing).
Industry: Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
Justice: Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
Moderation: Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
Cleanliness:Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.
Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
Chastity: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

Franklin quickly realized that mastering all the virtues simultaneously was too daunting. Therefore, he devised a systematic plan. He tracked his progress in a small notebook, marking infractions with black spots. Each week, he focused on strengthening one virtue. He started with temperance, while allowing the others to momentarily lapse until his current virtue was secure. Over the course of a year, he completed this exercise four times. In his own words (Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin):

My intention being to acquire the habitude of all these virtues… I made a little book in which I allotted a page for each of the virtues. I rul’d each page with red ink, so as to have seven columns, one for each day of the week, marking each column with a letter for the day. I cross’d these columns with thirteen red lines, marking the beginning of each line with the first letter of one of the virtues, on which line and in its proper column I might mark by a little black spot every fault I found upon examination to have been committed respecting that virtue upon that day. I determined to give a week’s strict attention to each of the virtues successively.

Ben’s Physical Regimen

Franklin valued both mental and physical balance, emphasizing the need for active recreation in a sedentary lifestyle. He developed this concept well before modern medicine or intellectual musing on the importance of exercise. Franklin urged those with desk-bound work to walk or ride whenever possible, or, if weather prevented it, to play indoor games like billiards. For Franklin, exercise was essential to maintain physical and mental sharpness, especially in an era when people indulged in overly rich breakfasts (tea w/cream; buttered toast), without first earning an appetite through movement.

He also believed that “salutary exercise” was the best way to prepare the body for the day ahead, aiding digestion and overall well-being. His own exercise routine included swimming in the River Thames (while living in London) and frequent walks, which he saw not as a chore but as a vital counterbalance to his intellectual pursuits.

Franklin’s Productivity Hacks

“Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.” – B.F.

Reliability Rules

Franklin’s “Plan for Future Conduct” wasn’t just a personal creed – it was his ultimate productivity hack. He crafted it during an eleven-week voyage back to Philadelphia on a return trip from London (by ship, of course). During the voyage, Franklin realized his life lacked structure and direction. To regain control, he devised four simple life rules:

It is necessary for me to be extremely frugal for some time, till I have paid what I owe.
To endeavor to speak truth in every instance; to give nobody expectations that are not likely to be answered, but aim for sincerity in every word and action – the most amiable excellence in a rational being.
To apply myself industriously to whatever business I take in hand, and not divert my mind from my business by any foolish project of suddenly growing rich; for industry and patience are the surest means of plenty.
I resolve to speak ill of no man whatever.

Decision-Making

Ben Franklin approached difficult decisions with methodical precision. He devised a simple decision-making matrix that we all know today as the “Pros/Cons” list. He began by dividing a sheet of paper into two columns: Pro|Con. Franklin would then list arguments on each side, carefully weighing their importance. To simplify the decision, he employed a “bookkeepers calculus.” This included striking out arguments of equal weight from both columns. When he found two “cons” that equaled one “pro,” he struck out all three. This process allowed him to visualize “where the balance lies,” offering clarity in moments of indecision.

Daily Schedule

Benjamin approached each day with meticulous order.He assigned each hour a purpose in his “scheme of employment.” This structured schedule wasn’t simply routine – it was Franklin’s productivity blueprint. Each hour of the day had a specific role: mornings were for planning and reflection; afternoons for focused work, evenings for review and personal growth. Franklin began his day with a simple question: “What good shall I do this day?” – setting the tone for his day’s decisions and actions.

The meticulous daily schedule remains relevant today. In fact, modern iterations are still preached by personal development gurus like Steve Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People) and Cal Newport (Deep Work). These books offer daily schedules that emphasize the importance of a well-crafted schedule as is necessary to enhance productivity and personal growth.

Benjamin Franklin’s Daily Learning Systems

Socratic Method

Franklin discovered the power of subtlety in argument through the Socratic Method. After reading about Socrates’ approach, Franklin dropped his confrontational style and became the “humble inquirer.” Instead of contradicting others directly, he used seemingly innocent questions to guide opponents into conceding points (used often in his Junto Club): “I found this method safest for myself and very embarrassing to those against whom I used it,” he admitted.

The Socratic Method, originally crafted by the Greek philosopher Socrates, revolves around asking guided questions to stimulate critical thinking and uncover underlying truths. Franklin applied this technique to foster productive discussions, even encouraging his friends to do the same. By reframing his arguments through inquiry rather than assertion, Franklin not only strengthened his influence but also demonstrated a timeless technique for respectful, persuasive discourse.

Reading

Benjamin dedicated an hour or two daily to reading, treating each book as a stepping stone in his self-education. Lacking a formal academic background, he compensated through disciplined study, immersing himself in the various topics.

Fuel & Focus

Benjamin Franklin’s brief embrace of vegetarianism was a habit rooted more in practicality than philosophy. Although Benjamin discovered the virtues of a plant-based diet through reading, his adoption was less for health reasons. A vegetarian diet was simply cheaper; allowing him to save money so that he could invest in new books. Each day, while his co-workers consumed hearty meals, Franklin was known to consume biscuits and raisins.

While we know Franklin adopted a vegetarian lifestyle early in life, it didn’t seem to last. He eventually included cod into this diet, gravitating towards a more conventional diet as he aged. Franklin wrote, “So I dined upon cod very heartily and have since continued to eat as other people, returning only now and then occasionally to a vegetable diet.”

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke