It seems I could post something of interest here at least daily. But I'm having trouble posting. I've decided it's because I have other projects which require the sort of thinking that normally goes into blogging. Which made me realize how much thinking time I put into blogging. It became obvious when I started posts, but don't finish them because they need more work but I need that time for other things I've committed to do.
For example, I'm reviewing a manuscript for a journal. I've got other personal housekeeping issues that need attention. (I'm not talking about things like the howling pipes we've been hearing in the house at strange times. The plumber came this morning and wasn't sure - he never got to hear it - but there was a faucet that wasn't supposed to be closed down and so maybe that was the cause. We'll see.) And some volunteer work to organize that isn't too difficult, but does require some concentrated thinking time.
How much time do you spend really thinking? Not reading the product of someone else's thinking, but pushing past your habitual stories about how the world works until you see patterns or meaning that eluded you before? That change how you understand something, and perhaps even how you will behave?
You simply can't do that when you are interrupted every few minutes by messages, calls, children, the radio talking, etc. It requires finding a space where you are cut off from the rest of the world and just sit and concentrate and work through things. What hideouts do you have where you can think?
When I go for a run, my brain gets freed to sort through all the junk that's accumulated. Unplugging my computer and finding another spot to write is another way I can block out normal interruptions. It helps if there is no wifi available, but just being unplugged and somewhere different is good enough. Knowing that the battery is running down so I have to stay on task is helpful.
So, back to the manuscript. My comments are due today, though I did tell them I needed a little more time when I accepted the assignment.
Shut off your computer and think.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
3 comments:
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Perhaps not the reply you're expecting but I am feeling a bit of a collective guilt having been chastened by the great blog master. After all, we've been admonished to "Shut off our computer and think".
ReplyDeleteI guess I have a small contribution to make on the subject. Since I've been attending Quakers, I've found in the undisturbed communal quiet a time to attend to 'thinking'. This time engages my reading, lectures I attend, the music I hear, conversations attempted, the world I know as I walk - it gives room for insight which transcends a first purpose for thought, that is more valuable than thought itself.
But on a good day, thought - its author being muse, god or puzzle - is still worth an occasional effort. I make that effort at least once every day, whether I need it or not.
Jay, can you expand on "This time engages my reading, lectures I attend, the music I hear, conversations attempted, the world I know as I walk - it gives room for insight which transcends a first purpose for thought, that is more valuable than thought itself."
ReplyDeleteIt sounds a little like my running time when my brain sorts things out, pulls up ideas or events gathered but then left unattended. But then there's actual thinking through something that takes more concentrated focus. Sort of like solving an unstructured sudoku where you have to organize ideas instead of numbers that have a fixed formula.
The insight might not necessarily come during the concentrated focus, but that concentrated focus enables higher level insights. Sort of like filling the backyard feeder with thoughts to attract the muse.
Give me a while to think about it...
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