[mgallivan]

This may be a bit off-topic.

I had to code a project in C once - nothing big, maybe 200-300 lines of actual C code. Instead of going straight to the computer, though, I sat down with a coffee for 2 hours and wrote the entire thing on paper.

Have you ever sat down at a computer and not known exactly where to start on a project? Usually this is because you've started too early. There's not enough content in your head to form a mental model of your problem.

Sitting away from the computer introduces a barrier and forces you to reconsider whether you have assimilated enough material before sitting down to program.