Nearly three hundred years ago,
Benjamin Franklin came up with an
approach to changing habits that has
yet to be surpassed. A young adult
seeking to straighten out his act,
Franklin developed a list of thirteen
virtues, jotting down a brief
definition of each. These were
character traits he took to be
important, but in which he found
himself lacking. He knew that
nurturing these habits would bring
about positive change in his life.
Starting at the top of the list, Franklin
spent one week working on each
virtue. In the morning he thought
about how he would reinforce the
new habit throughout the day. During
the day he looked at his notes to
remind himself of the new habit. At
the end of the day, he counted how
many times he fell back into the old
habit.

While Franklin was surprised at first to see
how “faulty” his behavior was, he was so
resolved that he pressed on, working
through the entire list in a thirteen-week
cycle, and completing four such cycles in a
year. As for results, he noted in his
autobiography that while perfection was
unattainable, he could see big
improvements.

Modern psychologists recognize three key
elements in Franklin’s three-hundred-year-
old procedure for changing habits:
1. He started out committed to the new behavior.
2. He worked on only one habit at a time.
3. He put in place visual reminders.

Applying Benjamin Franklin’s Method
Here are 12 time management habits for
the new year. Tailor these as you like, but
whatever you do, work on one each week
using Benjamin Franklin’s method:

Habit 1: Strive to be authentic. Be as
honest with yourself as you can about
what you want and why you do what you
do.

Habit 2: Favor trusting relationships. Put
your efforts into building relationships
with people you can trust and count on,
and make sure those same people can trust
and count on you.

Habit 3: Maintain a lifestyle that will give
you maximum energy. Work your way up
to doing aerobic exercise at least three
times a week, eating a light lunch, and
getting enough sleep.

Habit 4: Listen to your biorhythms and
organize your day accordingly. Make it a
habit to pay attention to regular
fluctuations in your physical and mental
energy levels throughout the day; and
based on what you learn, make
adjustments to how you schedule tasks.

Habit 5: Set very few priorities and stick
to them. Select a maximum of two things
that are your highest priority, and plan
time to work on them.

Habit 6: Turn down things that are
inconsistent with your priorities. Get good
at saying no to other people, and do so
frequently.

Habit 7: Set aside time for focused effort.
Schedule time every day to work on just
one thing.

Habit 8: Always look for ways of doing
things better and faster. Be on the
lookout for tasks you do over and over
again, and look for ways of improving how
you do them.

Habit 9: Build solid processes. Set up
processes that last and that run without
your attention.

Habit 10: Spot trouble ahead and solve
problems immediately. Set aside time to
think about what lies ahead, and face all
problems as soon as you can.

Habit 11: Break your goals into small
units of work, and think only about one
unit at a time. Spend most of your time
working on the task in front of you, and
avoid dreaming too much about the big
goal.

Habit 12: Finish what’s important and
stop doing what’s no longer worthwhile.
Don’t stop doing what you considered
worth starting unless there’s a good reason
to give it up

www.forbes.com/sites/patbrans/2013/01/01/twelve-time-management-habits-to-master-in-2013/