When I’m working on a research problem I generally begin by filling dozens of sheets of scratch paper with partial calculations. When I eventually get to a point where I can think about the problem while swimming, then I’m often ready to solve it.
FROM:Taylor TroeshKnuth Airgaps & Knuth Buffers
Donald Knuth maintains an air gap between his work and the world (separating work computer from networking computer, reading communications all together, etc.) and buffers his ideas on paper before putting them on machines.
Josh Beckman