Habits #2 - A Day in the Life of Benjamin Franklin

Author, scientist, polymath, inventor, politician, diplomat, printer, and above all - one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Yes, Benjamin Franklin wore all these hats.

Same as Nikola Tesla (of which I wrote in Habits #1), Benjamin Franklin was a remarkable figure. And he was active until the very end of his life. He lived between 1706 and 1790 (age 84).

My aim with this series is to focus on the daily habits of big achievers, which is why I will not pay particular attention to familiarizing you with all aspects of their lives. To learn more about Benjamin Franklin, I'd recommend starting from Wikipedia and working your way out from there.

The Daily Habits of Ben Franklin

I have to admit, researching for these habits was not a very difficult job. Franklin himself provided the details in his autobiography:

In his own words: "every part of my business should have its allotted time..."

Now, let's me examine his writing, as best as I can.

• Wakes up at 5. Begins by positively orienting his thoughts

While I'm far from mindlessly following and promoting self-development cheap talk, I think Franklin's approach is very solid and common sense:

If you start your day by allowing your mind to be flooded with concerns, chances are your day may not be as good as you'd expect. Because the word 'breakfast' was the last one to written in the morning 'block', I assume that he had it by 7 A.M.

I'm not sure what 'prosecuting the present study' means. If you guys have a clue, please jump in and leave a comment below.

By 7 A.M. Ben Franklin had done much more than the majority of people (many are still asleep at 7 A.M.).

• Full 3-hour block of 'Work'

As a self-employed person, I experimented with working at different hours throughout the day. Similar to Franklin, I reached the conclusion that I'm most productive during this timeframe.

• Reading + Eating

Some would say that this is like living a luxurious lifestyle - to be able to read midday. But for Franklin this was merely a break from work. He scheduled his meal intake and a short-leisure between two 3-hour blocks of 'work'. In my view, this strategy was crucial to his productivity.

• Work - The 2nd 3-hour block

I have personally experimented with this style of working late mid-day, but so far I haven't been able to refine it efficiently.

• Finishing the day (6 - 9 P.M.)

In late afternoon, Franklin would get his head out of work, eat, relax and allocate himself some social time. This is the part where most of us excel, except for the part that says 'examination of the day'.

I don't think that many people save a minute or two of their lives to examine the day (or the week, or the month) that has just finished. What we do instead is to create year resolution on December 31st, which are long forgotten by February 1st.

• Sleep (6-7 hours)

Franklin, unlike Tesla lived up to his 'quote': "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, happy, and wise"

Things to Know...Diet and Exercise

• Franklin was in good shape for most of his life, even though the portraits in which he's been depicted may make you think otherwise. These portraits were made in his late years, after Ben discovered the cuisine of the French court.

• In Poor Richard's Almanac, he wrote extensively about lifestyle. This is where he coined the following:

"To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals."
"A full belly makes a bad brain."
"Eat to live, live not to eat."

Franklin agreed with Tesla: we eat too much; period.

• Franklin advocated self-monitoring and self-control. He was one hell of a self-experimenter:

"Pay attention to your weight and heed what you eat, he suggested. Be abstemious and utilize self-control. If you find yourself rotund, eat less. If you find yourself too thin, eat more. If you find yourself in good health, eat the same amount. His approach was simple and scientific."

His favorite foods were: potatoes, turkey, pickles, apples, cranberries, ginseng, parmesan cheese, rice and a few others.

By other accounts:

"Very early in his life Franklin attempted to be a vegetarian, but that did not last long when he was introduced to cod by sailors, which was his favorite food next to turkey. Franklin eventually settled down to a well balanced diet consisting of large amounts of fruit and vegetables, lean meats like poultry, turkey, and fish, and whole grains (especially oats).. He avoided foods that were heavy in fat, as well as starchy foods such as bread, noodles, and potatoes, what we would now call carbohydrates."

• Exercise protocols: swimming, walking, and weight lifting and swinging. Kettlebells anyone?

"No gains without pains"

Endnotes

I often say that blindly copying other people's lifestyle will not translate their success to you. I can't say this if we speak about Benjamin Franklin.

It'd be hard to fail if you follow the exemplary life of Franklin. In fact, if you adapt it to modern day life and to your personal preferences, I'm quite positive you can become very successful in your endeavors.

Think only of the thirteen virtues that Benjamin Franklin developed for himself in his twenties (I may write about them in detail in future posts): temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility.

If you enjoyed this series, please tell me who you'd want me to write about next!

#story #entrepreneur #success #habits #life

Credits for Images: here and here

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Cristi Vlad, Self-Experimenter and Author