How To Make A Good To-do List (Benjamin Fraklin Style )

How To Make A Good To-Do List ? This is the same question that came up in my mind when I started my journey of self-growth, I was confused and overwhelmed about taking notes, writing down unnecessary things that did not add any values in my daily routine, until I found one of the best solutions- A To-do list ( Not mobile apps ). A physical paper to-do list.

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How do you create an effective to do list?

Creating an effective to-do list is all about simplicity and elegancy, in other words, your to-do list should be simple, containing only tasks that are urgent at the same time significant for the particular day. An effective and proper to-do list should contain no more than 5 tasks per day. ( Further explained below )

Benjamin franklin to-do list

You will feel more assembled and your task will be in order. Having a to-do list has its benefits, some of the benefits are as follow —

It helps you to do the important tasks
helps in planning
Just getting things down on paper makes you more focused
It helps you to remove the unnecessary schedules.
You will feel more productive.

in simple words, it will simplify your weekdays. here is an actual To-do List that Benjamin Franklin used

The Surprising History of the To-Do List and How to Design One That Actually Works

Benjamin Franklin is best remembered as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, but he accomplished much more in his lifetime.

During Franklin’s 84 years alive, he developed the lightning rod, made notable discoveries in physics and population studies, wrote best-selling books, composed music and played the violin, harp and guitar at a high level, established many civic organizations, including the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and much more.

Create a list of values to live by

Before putting pen to paper on his daily schedule, Franklin created a list of virtues to live by.He referred to these as his 13 virtues: a list of values designed to help guide his daily schedule.

Here’s the list of Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues:

1. Temperance: Eat not to dullness and drink not to elevation.
2. Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation.
3. Order: Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time.
4. Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.
5. Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself: i.e. Waste nothing.
6. Industry: Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly; and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. Justice: Wrong none, by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. Moderation: Avoid extremes. Forebear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. Cleanliness: Tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes or habitation.
11. 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.
12. Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
13. Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

Franklin arranged each virtue in order of importance, and instead of tackling all of them at once, he planned to: “fix it on one of them at a time; and, when I should be master of that, then to proceed to another, and so on, till I should have gone thro’ the thirteen.”

Here below is the modified To-do list that I have created inspired by Benjamin Franklin-