[itsmemattchung]

There must be some psychological or clinical term for this: to be stuck in some fixated state that prevents forward progress unless a break is actually taken.

[pramodbiligiri]

I've heard it being called Focussed Mode and Diffuse Mode, as described here - https://fs.blog/focused-diffuse-thinking/

Bret Victor links to this book called Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field, which talks a lot about this too - http://worrydream.com/refs/Hadamard%20-%20The%20psychology%2...

[wiredfool]

It's one of the themes of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. A book on programming if I've ever read one.