How to live a meaningful life? Benjamin Franklin asked two questions daily. Learn how this simple habit can help you build a life of purpose and contribution.
September 14, 2025
Benjamin Franklin framed each day with two questions:
Morning: “What good can I do today?”
Evening: “What good have I done today?”
One morning it meant drafting plans for the first public library in America. Another, it meant repairing a friendship through a carefully written letter.
The scale changed. The anchor stayed.
This rhythm naturally created a feedback loop. The morning question pointed him forward. The evening question held him accountable. Together, they forced alignment between intention and action.
Franklin measured life by contribution, not completion.
A to-do list ended when the box was checked. His system kept going, day after day, compounding into institutions, discoveries, and trust that lasted long after him.
Extraordinary lives rarely come from bursts of inspiration. They grow out of ordinary mornings, repeated with discipline.
You don’t usually need more hours, just a sharper calendar.
The simple fact is: not all meetings deserve your best hours.
Think about your calendar in three tiers.
These go in your prime hours — when your mind is sharpest and energy is highest.
These live in mid-day or mid-energy slots.
These belong at the edges of your day — commutes, late afternoons, or any time you’re running lower on focus.
When you layer meetings this way, you stop treating your calendar as a flat grid. The right conversations get your best attention, while lighter ones still happen without draining prime time.
Learn more in our full guide to advanced calendar management.