Person deck · 24 cards · prefix BF
The Useful Imperfection Press
Run small experiments from Benjamin Franklin's recorded methods.
You're curious how Franklin actually worked, from his daily questions and lapse chart to his habits in argument, and want to test them in your own week rather than just read about them.
- Foundation 10
- Growth 7
- Mastery 5
- Challenge 2
18 sources citedCard evidence: 24 C. Grades describe evidence, not deck quality.
Is this deck for you?
Where it takes you.
24 small experiments in attention, conversation, and useful work, drawn from Benjamin Franklin’s recorded methods.
Improvising my attention, arguments and spending as I go
Running deliberate small experiments in attention, talk and useful work
What the cards have you do
- Bracket the day with two questions, “What good shall I do?” and “What good have I done?”, and give one concrete answer to each.
- Soften a disputed opinion with “it appears to me”, and name a case where the other view fits before you disagree.
- Reduce a paragraph to hints, then rebuild it two days later without looking: a writing drill from Franklin's own account.
- Weigh a hard choice his way: collect pros and cons for four days, cancel equal weights, then wait two days.
The world of this deck
Four ways to use this deck.
An experimental printer’s workshop: rough woodcut proofs become teal and red assemblies, finished midnight-blue instruments, and fluorescent surreal prints.
Foundation
Rough proof: cream rag paper, coarse black woodcut, a vermilion intervention.
Growth
Working assembly: teal and vermilion lithographs, interlocking cut-paper forms.
Mastery
Finished instrument: midnight blue, ivory, brass, fine engraving and measured spacing.
Challenge
Press explosion: coral, acid yellow, violet, surreal forms and unruly perspective.
Brisk, wry, and practical. Metaphors are original editorial writing, never Franklin quotations.
The wall
All 24 cards.
Choose recurring practices that work together, or take on a special mission. Tap any card to flip it.
24 cards · tap a card to flip it
Foundation 10
Small recurring actions with little setup. Choose anchors that fit your day.
Growth 7
Practices that need preparation, a recurring slot or a useful tool.
Mastery 5
Practices you develop over weeks through skill, planning and trade-offs.
Challenge 2
A bounded mission with a clear finish. It can combine practices over days or weeks.
Start with your situation
Ways into this deck.
Find a useful first step, with related cards from across the library.
11 cards · draft
How can we share money decisions and plan ahead?
Start by stating an affordable limit at the next shared purchase (F07) and making one weekly cash-flow decision (G01). Add M01 at the next shared bill to agree owners, contributions, personal freedom and a shortfall fallback. Add M02 quarterly only after essentials and required debt payments fit, choosing one future goal and a checked contribution route. Allow 15 minutes weekly, 25 minutes together monthly and 30–45 minutes quarterly; first setup or regulated advice may take longer. C03 tests the agreement for one month; C04 makes a future route executable or records a safe stop. Franklin’s BF-F08 helps name spending trade-offs. Shared work must be safe and voluntary; Canada account rules require current checks.
12 cards · draft
How do I have discoveries of my own to share?
Listen to someone else’s interest, make your own observations and tell the story of what you tried. An object, a drawing or a small demonstration gives the conversation something concrete.
Get the deck
Free to download. Worth printing.
The same 24 cards either way. Download and print them at home today, or get the printed edition and have them ready to pin up.
Free · digital download
Print it at home
$0
- All 24 cards, front and back
- Print on your own printer or save as a PDF
- Each card's full page online, with its source
- No account, no email
Paid · printed edition
Keep it in print
Price set before launch
- Professionally printed, full-colour fronts and backs
- Cut, stacked and ready to pin up
- QR codes that open each card's page
- Pays for the free library
Printed edition in the works · waitlist open
What's the difference between the free deck and the printed deck?
The cards are the same. The free deck is a download: open it in the print studio and print it at home or save it as a PDF. The printed edition is professionally printed, front and back, with each card's QR code, so it's ready to pin up the day it arrives.
Can I buy a printed deck right now?
Not yet. The original boxed decks are sold out, and the printed editions of the library decks are being prepared. Join the waitlist on any deck and we'll email you once when it's ready to order.
Do I have to do a card every day?
No. You can pin one card and keep at it until it sticks, or draw a card a day for variety. Both work. The point is repeating something worthwhile at a moment you already have.
What if I miss a day?
Pick it up the next time the cue comes round. In the best-known study of habit formation, missing a single day didn't measurably set people back. Every card also says how the habit usually slips and what to do about it.
Are Challenge cards required?
No. They're bounded missions with a clear finish, from one evening to a few weeks. Do one when you want a stretch, and skip any that don't fit your life or health.
From the screen to the fridge
Put the card where the habit happens.
Every deck is free to download and print at home, then pin up: on the fridge, the mirror, beside the monitor. Or get the printed edition, ready to pin up the day it arrives.