To solve messier, protracted problems, we need more than a fast-acting dose, a short break here and there. We need an extended-release pill. Many of us already take longer breaks, after all—an hour, a day, a week, more—when working through some tangled project or other. We step away repeatedly, not only when we’re tired but often because we’re stuck. Part of this is likely instinctive. We’re hoping that the break helps clear away the mental fog so that we can see a path out of the thicket.
