Ben Franklin's Daily Schedule

via rhetro.com

I come from a unique age group.  Sometimes I feel like I am one of the last of the Mohegans. Born in the age of Disco, I spent most of my formative years growing up in the over the top 80s.  I was among the last humans to actually take a typing class in high school on a typewriter. I did it wearing a Bill Cosby sweater. I made it through most of my education without the use of a laptop or Windows.  My college thesis was written on a word processor that only had enough memory for one long paper.  As kids, we didn't wear helmets.  My only restraint was to come home before dark.  It was a time when Charlie Sheen was cool and using a computer was nerdy. With today's technology, I couldn't help thinking I missed out.

Today, I have a desktop computer, a laptop, a smart phone and a tablet all in sync with each other.  I can get my schedule from my phone or watch a movie.  Through Facebook and Twitter, I can keep in touch with hundreds of friends and family.  It was a wonder I could accomplish anything in the dark ages of my childhood.  Of course with such a deluge of gadgetry at my finger tips, I am always connected.  Someone can always find me.  Solitude is hard to come by.

What Good Shall I Do This Day?

As such, I have decided to incorporate tech free days into my life.  On these days, I plan to shut off my cell phone and maybe read a book.  Not on Kindle, but a book where I can turn paper pages and hear the binding creak.  I will shut off the television.  I will stop to smell the roses. I may even fly a kite. These will be my Ben Franklin days. In addition to being a statesman and founding father, Franklin was a noted author, printer,  scientist, inventor, satirist, civil activist, postmaster, and polymath.  He did this all without even owning an i Pad.  I can only assume the Philadelphia Best Buy was sold out.  So how did Ben Franklin accomplish so much?  Take a look at his daily schedule. You may want to copy it into your Google calendar.