New York Times columnist David Leonhardt says we all need to take a regular "Shultz Hour." Leonhardt explains:

When George Shultz was Secretary of State in the 1980s, he liked to carve out one hour each week for quiet reflection. He sat down in his office with a pad of paper and pen, closed the door and told his secretary to interrupt him only if one of two people called: "My wife or the president," Shultz recalled.

Shultz, who died at 100 (in 2021), claimed that his hour of solitude was the only way he could find time to think about the strategic aspects of his job. Otherwise, he would be constantly pulled into moment-to-moment tactical issues, never able to focus on larger questions.

But in our day that's not easy do to. Leonhardt continues:

We carry supercomputers in our pockets and place them next to us as we sleep. They're always there, with a new status update to be read, a new photograph to be taken, a new sports score. … Even before smartphones, this country's professional culture had come to venerate freneticism. How often do you hear somebody humble-brag about how busy they are? The saddest version, and I've heard it more than once, is the story of people who send work emails on their wedding day or from the hospital room where their child is born—and are proud of it.

Thus the need for a regular "Shultz Hour."

Possible Preaching Angles: Prayer; Quiet Time; Leaders; Leadership—For Christians—and especially for Christian leaders—the "Schultz Hour" is always more than time for "personal reflection"; it's about spending time with God.