Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
Cataloging Our Successes
Self improvement. An aspiration as American as apple pie. Before John Tierney or Gretchen Rubin, before Jay Gatsby wrote his self-improvement plan, there was Benjamin Franklin.
Sure, Ben was a founding father, enlightened Francophile, scientist, author and publisher. But my sources, notably The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, indicate that he strove for even more; as he put it, “to arrive at moral perfection.”
He aimed high, didn’t he? Ben went about his betterment in a systematic way, first cataloging the very virtues he needed to develop and then pursuing them one at a time. He isolated his virtues after finding that when he attacked them en masse, he mastered one, but usually at the expense of another. He made charts to follow his progress and used “the ivory leaves of memorandum book” to wipe off the marks and re-use the chart. So there it is folks, the white board of colonial times. His charts showed his failings, but also, importantly, his successes.
Interesting you say, but what does it have to do with me? Well, while Ben succeeds admirably in achieving admirable traits such as frugality, temperance, and humility (to name just a few) it is order that he finds that he finds the most elusive virtue.
“I found myself incorrigible with respect to Order,” he lamented. Oh, woe that the Perfect Daughter was not there to help dear Ben Franklin. But truly, I have seen it before. And would happily see it again. It is my humble assertion that many of the most disorganized happen also to be the most creative and interesting people I’ve ever met. So what would I have advised for Benjamin Franklin?
“Ben,” I would have said, “Order is a big job. Break it down into smaller little virtues, such as opening your mail, putting your shoes away. Manage one at time for a week or two, kind sir, and then move on to another.”
Messy as Ben was, I know I would have liked him. He is akin to many of my clients who are too hard on themselves. Caring for children and parents, working and giving time to causes they feel passionately about- is it any wonder that papers pile up?
Don’t be discouraged at your own forays into order. Keep in the sunlight, as Ben would say. Few things are solved in a day. Take a cue from Ben to make order a life-long pursuit, honing virtues of opening mail, filing it and paying bills.
So, here is your charge: Channel your inner kindergarten teacher. Make a chart or get an app for your phone. Mind the small victories. It will encourage you to build on them until you have won some major battles- possibly even the war.