Benjamin Franklin had a lot of ideas. But one of his simplest habits is getting a second look from psychologists today and it has nothing to do with kite-flying in a thunderstorm.
Every morning, Franklin asked himself one question: “What good shall I do this day?” He recorded it in his autobiography, as reported by the New York Times. And according to three psychologists, it is still one of the best ways to start a day. They explained to Parade how it actually works.
Why Such a Simple Question Still Holds Up
“What I like about looking at someone like Benjamin Franklin is not necessarily that we should try to live the way he did,” says Dr. Ernesto Lira de la Rosa, PhD, a psychologist and media advisor for the Hope for Depression Research Foundation. “However, I do think it’s interesting that the question he asked himself hundreds of years ago still feels pretty relevant.”
Most of us measure our days by what we crossed off a list. Did I get through my email? Was I productive enough? Franklin’s question nudges you in a different direction entirely.
“Asking what good you want to do makes you think about the day a little differently,” Dr. Lira de la Rosa explains.
Dr. Brandy Smith, PhD, a licensed psychologist with Thriveworks, says that framing your morning around doing “good” gives you a positive North Star to return to, even when the day gets hard.
“We generally feel better about ourselves when we do something we view as ‘good,'” she says.
Dr. Michele Leno, PhD, a licensed psychologist and host of Mind Matters with Dr. Michele, adds that being intentional first thing in the morning helps you handle whatever comes your way. “Being proactive, not reactive, reduces stress and improves coping,” she says.
The Brain Science Behind It Without the Jargon
Psychologists call this “cognitive priming”, setting an intention early so your brain has something to return to throughout the day.
Dr. Leno describes it this way: “Cognitive priming is an automatic or subconscious process that occurs in the brain when it senses something familiar. The brain has an implicit memory storage that connects emotions and thoughts to prior experience.”
In plain terms, the intention you set in the morning stays somewhere in your awareness. It does not make you perfect. But it gives you something to notice and come back to when you get pulled off course.
“We’re going to get distracted and pulled into things,” Dr. Lira de la Rosa says, “but having that intention gives us something we can notice and return to.”
Franklin Also Asked a Question at the End of the Day
He did not stop at morning. Each evening, Franklin asked himself a second question: “What good have I done today?”
Dr. Smith recommends this bookend approach. Looking back over the day helps you fully absorb what went well, and if it is still early enough, it might remind you there is still time to do something meaningful before the day is done.
Her one gentle caution: “Just be sure not to live in the past to the point of robbing your present self of life and living.”
How to Make This Work in Your Own Morning
You do not need to copy Franklin’s whole daily schedule. Psychologists suggest borrowing what is useful and leaving the rest. Here are three practical ways to start.
- Think about your sleep. Dr. Smith says it is worth asking whether you are getting enough hours to function the way you want. If an earlier bedtime helps, she says be willing to make that change.
- Give yourself a few minutes before the phone. Dr. Lira de la Rosa puts it simply: “If you wake up and immediately open your email, texts, news, Instagram, whatever it is, you’re starting your day by taking in what everyone else wants from you.” Even five quiet minutes (coffee, a moment to think) can change the tone of the whole morning.
- Keep “doing good” small. This is not another item to perform well at. Dr. Lira de la Rosa says good can be tiny. “Maybe you want to actually take your lunch break. Maybe you want to text someone you’ve been thinking about. These are small things, but they’re also the things that make up our lives.”
It is a short question. Four words. But there is something about asking it each morning that still holds up after 200 years and that is certainly something.
