Benjamin Franklin's Secret To Productivity

Hey Fam!

Big update from my world: my son, Titus Allen Smith, was born on March 26, 2025! We’re officially a family of four now, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

But I also couldn’t be more aware of how limited time really is. Between residency responsibilities, a toddler and newborn at home, building a business, and trying to create as much valuable content as possible, I’ve been thinking more than ever about how I manage my minutes.

I won’t pretend I’ve figured it all out. But I’ve been experimenting with something that’s helping me feel a little more grounded: time blocking. It’s not glamorous. It doesn’t magically give me more hours. But it’s helping me be more intentional about the ones I do have.

A Timeless Approach: What Franklin, Newport, and Dorsey Got Right

Long before Google Calendars, Benjamin Franklin had a system. Every day, he asked himself two questions. In the morning he asked:

"What good shall I do this day?"

And in the evening he asked:

"What good have I done today?"

And to make sure he would be happy with his answers he famously divided his time deliberately in a daily schedule consisting of 6 blocks of time:

• 5–8AM: Morning routine, reflection, planning
• 8AM–12PM: Deep work
• 12–2PM: Lunch and reading
• 2–6PM: More work
• 6–10PM: Dinner, reflection, rest

That simple framework helped him stay aligned with what mattered most and become one of the most influential people in American history.

Cal Newport, in his book Deep Work, builds on this by arguing that in a world full of distractions, we can’t afford to drift through our days. He blocks every hour of his workday and classifies tasks as either “deep work” (the focused, mentally demanding stuff) or “shallow work” (emails, admin, logistics).

Jack Dorsey, former CEO of both Twitter and Square, used to theme his days to manage two massive companies at once: Mondays for management, Tuesdays for product, Wednesdays for marketing and growth, etc. It wasn’t rigid—it was a system to protect focus.

Different centuries. Same principle: be intentional with your time or it will be taken from you.

Family, Residency, and a Camera

Here’s where I’m at right now: I’m training to become an orthopedic surgeon, parenting two young kids, fulfilling my responsibilities as a husband, growing in my failth, and creating content for you all. It’s a life I love—but only when I’m present for the moments that matter most.

In order to ensure this happens, I've started to block time on my calendar for what once was spontaneous. For example:

• Instead of recording one video at a time and scrambling each week, I now batch my creative work, setting aside a dedicated window to film and upload multiple videos at once.
• I also block out "Family Time" just like I would a meeting. That small move has shifted everything. I can enjoy playing with my kiddos or being present with my wife without that subtle voice in the back of my mind saying, "you should be working right now."

And that’s something I think a lot of young professionals and students wrestle with—that invisible weight of feeling like you’re always behind. But time blocking can liberate those feelings while making us more productive than ever. The goal isn’t to micromanage every second. It’s to give structure to the things that matter most.

A few more time blocking hacks that you may find to be helpful:

• Theme your days: Having a general rhythm (e.g., Mondays for content, Tuesdays for admin) helps reduce decision fatigue.
• Protect your white space: Build in margins to breathe, reset, and recover.
• Classify your time: I label blocks as either deep work (studying, research, case prep) or shallow work (emails, admin stuff). That clarity has been a game changer for my focus.

You don’t need to be Franklin or Dorsey to benefit from this—just someone trying to show up fully for the things that matter.

"The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." —Stephen R. Covey

Resources for Further Growth

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See you next week!

JR