I recently learned about a “20-20-20” rule for reducing eyestrain caused by spending too much time in front of a computer screen: Every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds to look at a point at least 20 feet away. As someone who buries my nose in a laptop for hours at a time, I found this in some ways very reasonable and simple, and in other ways ridiculous. I’ve barely dug in deep to some good writing after 20 minutes. Who wants to stop then? However, as I practice this exercise, I notice an added benefit. When the timer goes off and I look into the mid-distance, something is happening in my brain. When I pause, I consider what I’m doing in new ways. I return