Reflection Blog - Attempting Franklin's Virtue

For twenty-four hours, I attempted to apply Benjamin Franklin's virtue of industry. I have to say that it was very hard to follow, but at the same time, I learned a lot from thinking about it over a one-day span. His virtue of Industry says, "Lose no time, be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary action." I tried applying this virtue by managing my time more efficiently. It was very interesting to have attempted this virtue last night because I had a Scholastic meet, and on top of that, I had to come home around eight o'clock and finish all of the homework I had due the next day. Earlier in the day, thinking about the virtue, I decided during my free time during Pace and lunch that I would work on the finalized draft of my Zoology project. Looking back at it now, it really applied Franklin's virtue because usually when I have free time during the school day, I spend that time relaxing and putting off homework. I found that by doing my homework when I actually do have some time to work it helps lessen the work load I have when I come home late at night. After the Scholastic meet, I came home with a depressed attitude because I expected I would be working on Zoology all night. Instead, I was able to relax and read a book. By reading, I was doing something productive with the extra free time that I had. Overall, I found that by following Franklin's virtue of Industry, I was able to get a lot more done with the time I had. I will say that it was rather hard to break my habit of relaxing during Pace, but in the end it helped substantially.