kfitz
kfitz

Day 1 of my attempt to return to early-morning focus. It was challenging, but I’m hoping that it might help create some much needed clarity for the day (and days) ahead.

|
Embed
kfitz
kfitz

@vasta Thank you! I could very much use them.

|
Embed
dancohen
dancohen

@kfitz heartfelt wishes and good luck—I know how hard these spans of time can be

|
Embed
kfitz
kfitz

@dancohen Thanks, Dan. These lessons about energy, focus, unplugging, and so on are ones I seem to need to relearn every little while.

|
Embed
dancohen
dancohen

@kfitz Yes indeed. Hard, though. Related: I've been thinking recently of Bill Turkel's remarkable early career decision to stop traveling entirely. He was a feature at DH meetings, came to CHNM a couple of times, etc. Then he let everyone know a decade ago that he simply wasn't going to do it anymore, no offense to all of us. Probably not possible for the two of us, and perhaps Bill missed some connections and potential ideas, but he was able to focus on his work more than any of us and recently was highlighted by Canada for that.

|
Embed
christopherchelpka
christopherchelpka

@dancohen Your story about Bill Turkel reminds me of B. B. Warfield, a Princeton theologian, and his choice to stay close to home and care for his wife.

Benjamin and Anna were newlyweds in Germany when they got caught in a thunderstorm that caused Anna severe trauma to her nervous system and eventually made her bedridden. But Benjamin loved his wife. So because of her fragile condition, he made the choice to stay close to home throughout his career. This likely increased B. B. Warfield’s literary output—he “has done about as much work as ten ordinary men,” Machen said. But as Warfield’s friend Francis Patton remembered, his choice also made him unable to preach, take part in the debates of the General Assembly, serve on church boards, and take other speaking engagements.

This is from an article I wrote about pastors and productivity.

|
Embed
ronguest
ronguest

@kfitz I’ve always admired people who can stay well centered, focused and energetic in spite of extensive travel. I’ve admired them from afar because I am far from being one of them. My recovery seems to vary but always involves “first thing in the morning”. Lately I’ve chosen to spend an hour over hot tea at a quiet coffee shop with bright lights doing a bit of a retrospective as well as day planning.

|
Embed
kfitz
kfitz

@ronguest "First thing in the morning" is key to my ability to focus, no question. Today that first thing was about 4:30am, with a very strong cup of coffee and a bit of research/teaching reading. (And with Freedom preventing me from distracting myself otherwise.) It seems to have helped; today has been a much clearer-headed day than I've had of late.

|
Embed
dancohen
dancohen

@christopherchelpka "The cult of productivity also dehumanizes us” indeed. Thanks for highlighting your post.

|
Embed
ayjay
ayjay

@dancohen @kfitz I have made this decision a couple of times and then have gone back on it — not sure why! I am happier when I'm not giving talks! (And my family want me to stop: blog.ayjay.org/speaking/)

|
Embed
In reply to
dancohen
dancohen

@ayjay Love this invitations page and your family’s care. Talks seem innocuous and even a little flattering at the moment of acceptance, and then when the day and travel arrives, they seem totally different. Another failure of the human mind to assess things in the future accurately.

|
Embed