Blog Note (Dr. Johnson's Maxim)

I've apparently reached one of those times when I need to take a few days off. I don't have any excuse, and I'm fine; it's just that every now and then a person needs a few days off.

Dr. Johnson's maxim, taped to my monitor

I never know when these times are going to hit me—there's a confusion with "setting oneself doggedly to it" and knowing when to step away. Sometimes when you feel overwhelmed and exhausted you have to power through it. Other times you need to rest. Which is which? It's often hard to say.

One year back when I was trying to build this business, I took a grand total of seven days off. Another year, 14 days. I was in my 40s then. I'm in my 60s now. I was more dogged then. I used to work like a dog! Now I get dog-tired. (Have you ever noticed how we blame all sorts of things on dogs? A good life is a dog's life, but a bad lens is a dog. You can be as loyal as a dog, which is good, but when a man is being a dog, he's being bad. And so on.)

Now, the way I feel sometimes just makes it clear: time for a break. Those times are getting a bit more frequent now. Such is life.

I'll be back on Friday, off on Saturday, back on Sunday. Apologies for the down time! While I'm gone, why not root around in the archives a little? There's lots in there.

More anon.

—Yr. Hmbl. Ed.

Original contents copyright 2019 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Jim Metzger: "Is your boss OK with this?  :-)  "

Mike replies: Not really. He always worries.

David Evans: "I notice that there is no such thing as cat-tired. That's because cats have the good sense to get all the sleep they need."

Jeff: "Please do not bother to feature this comment."

Mike replies: But it made me laugh, so I had to.

Steve W: "There's wisdom in knowing when to take a breather, and you are doing the right thing. Over the long course of my career this kind of judicious time off I would call a 'mental health day.' To take this kind of time off from the 'treadmill' of work felt essential to me. From time to time we need some quiet time for rejuvenation from the pace of life. As I said, there is wisdom in it. The corollary of all this is the guilt we feel when not working. Discard such feelings; guilt is an insidious emotion. In other words, it is okay to do good for yourself and practice forms of self-compassion, and there should be no guilt in it, nor anxiety."

Comments

[Hans Muus]

Mike,
No problem at all. This is the best way IMO, act on how you feel. Much better than just doggedly keeping on. At the end of the day, I think it not only furthers one's quality of life, but also the quality of one's work. Take it easy, we'll stick around!

[David Miller]

Have a good break, Yr. Humbleness. I hope you will come back refreshed and rejuvenated.
~ David

[Richard Parkin]

Yes, I had a feeling you were in need of a break. Have well-earned rest!

[Joe B]

Certainly no need to apologize. Your faithful readers will always be here.

While I was working (now retired) a few days a year were called "mental health" days off. No not ill, but:
sometimes ya just need to get away from it.
cheers and beers,

[Roger Lambert]

One of those "days off" looks like it might be spent shoveling snow? :D

We've got about a foot coming tonight in Vermont.

[Andrew John]

If you take time off to write that book, I'll be in line to buy it!
Enjoy your break.

[JG]

What a coincidence! I was just thinking I need to take a few days off from reading blogs and puttering around the internet....

See you on Friday!

[Richard Alan Fox]

Enjoy!

[David Raboin]

Your quote about pursuing writing doggedly reminded me of Ernest K Gann, a favorite writer of mine. He would chain himself to his desk because he had such an aversion to writing. http://www.publicationconsultants.com/are-you-a-confident-writer-ernest-k-gann-chained-himself-to-his-desk/

Enjoy your break. Please be back in time to discuss the Canon RP release on Valentines Day. If the price rumors are true, the RP will completely change the FF mirrorless market. And, Canon is rumored to be releasing 5 to 8 new R Mount lenses on the 14fh too.

[Eric Rose]

Why don't you just take two weeks off and be done with it. You obviously need a break. I'm sure your blogging system will allow you to run old articles on a timed release basis. One each day for two weeks. This taking a couple of days here and there just won't give you the mental rest you need. Doctor Eric has spoke.

[John Krumm]

That documentary on Gary Winogrand recently arrived on Amazon. That's a nice winter break for a couple hours. I really enjoyed it. Also the Marie Kondo series on Netflix is strangely life affirming. My wife and I binge-watched them, and now my dresser drawers are the most organized they have ever been.

The snow is piling up here in Duluth as I type, and I need to start up the blower, but I might just wait until morning.

[Patrick Perez]

The Johnson quote I think of is “No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.“

Take care,

Patrick

[Michael]

Ok, let's take it down a notch. You may need some help from Doc Johnson!

[subroto mukerji]

Doggone it, Mike, just grab the G9 and take a few pictures of Butters and them sycamores. Then spend a few happy hours processing them. Best way to relax I can think of.

[Dan Khong]

What you described seems like a certain kind of "Writers' Block".

Going doggedly is like stepping on the accelerator in a traffic jam. Good idea to spend a bit of time away.

[Rob Campbell]

I hope it's just a sense of physical weariness; worse, in my experience, are times when the mind just says the hell with it, what's the point of doing this all the time? It usually comes, if at all, later in life, after retirement. With photographers, the chances are that we don't hang up the cameras at all, but feel ourselves driven to going through the motions even when there is nobody to satisfy, at which time we start on that familiar "I'm doing it for myself" kick. I may be extrapolating here from a huge base of 1, but it seems to me to be fairly common, and problems arise when we confront that situation.

Is disillusion less damaging than false illusion? Dunno...

Rob

[Not THAT Ross Cameron]

Enjoy! I find that when work pressures start to build up, I need to take about a 1/2 hour of a night to mentally “defrag” my mind, so I can sleep without churning over the day.
When it really builds up, I need a few days to “tune out, turn off & defrag.” No devices, screens, social media etc. Maybe just some background music - audio only, no video. The continual 24/7/365 visual & mental stimulation is too much for the human mind.

[Jacques]

Enjoy your time.

[Bill Tyler]

Your Amazon purchasing links are missing. What’s up?

[John Camp]

When I was working for a newspaper, this was officially known as "undertime." "I think I'll take a little undertime," said to your pals, never to the boss. You know, "I'm going to run up to the Capitol, check around." Yeah. Check into a movie theater for the matinee was more like it, maybe a little light shopping at the Mall of America. Gotta keep up appearances, after all.

[Richard Nugent]

Hey Mike, This is out of place, but I just got back from another trip to Cuba and am trying to catch up on my favorite blogs...yours comes second after Thom's...but only because I found him first :-)).

I'd like to share with you a bit of wisdom that was imparted to me about health clubs. My doc told me to start going to the club regularly at a time that best suited me and to start chatting up the others (male or female) that were also regulars at that time. Pretty soon he said I would become part of the "gang" or find a particular individual or two with whom I hit it off. Thereafter, I would be better motivated to get to the club to socialize or to not let my compatriots down or to avoid their jibes if I missed a session or two. If there was nobody there during my first time-choice, then try another time slot.

He was correct and it works! New friends...regular exercise.

Cheers